Company news in brief

SA court rules Old Mutual CEO dismissal unlawfulShares in South Africa's Old Mutual fell on Tuesday after a High Court judge ruled that the company's suspension and subsequent dismissal of CEO Peter Moyo earlier this year was unlawful and that he must be temporarily reinstated. The judge also blocked South Africa's No.2 insurer, which suspended Moyo in May and fired him in June following a disagreement over an alleged conflict of interest, from taking any steps to replace the CEO while a fuller case against his dismissal was heard.Moyo punched the air in celebration on hearing the ruling, which is a blow to Old Mutual after a dispute that has already hit the reputation of one of South Africa’s oldest companies. As well as leaving a question mark over who will lead the insurer less than two years into its existence as a stand-alone African financial services group, it could prove costly if a broader case brought by Moyo is successful. An Old Mutual spokeswoman said the company, which had hoped the case would be thrown out, was studying the judgement and will decide on a course of action. – Nampa/Reuters JSE chief to retire after eight years at the helm The chief executive of Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) will retire at the end of September after a transformative eight years at the helm of Africa's biggest securities exchange, the bourse said on Tuesday. Nicky Newton-King has been instrumental in demutualising and listing JSE in 2006 as well as its acquisition of the South African Futures Exchange and the Bond Exchange of South Africa. "She leaves the JSE stronger, more diverse, more technologically advanced, commercially savvy and client focused," chairman Nonkululeko Nyembezi said. Newton-King said: "There is a time at which a CEO needs to step back and allow an institution to be led by a new energy - and that time, for me, is now." The board has appointed Commonwealth Bank of Australia executive Leila Fourie as group CEO with effect from 1 October, the JSE said. – Nampa/Reuters Massmart shares hit 13-year low after warns of loss Massmart has warned it expects to make a loss in the first half of the year as a result of softer than expected sales, margin weakness and higher expenses, sending its shares to a 13-year low. Massmart, in which Walmart has a majority stake, is the latest South African retailer to confirm tough domestic conditions as increased value-added tax, unemployment and inflation coupled with higher fuel prices reduce consumer spending power. The retailer, which owns general merchandise and food wholesaler Makro, said it expected to report an operating loss before non-trading items, foreign exchange movements and net interest of between 0 and R30 million for the six months to June. That compares with operating profit before foreign exchange movements and interest for the previous corresponding period of R547.5 million. – Nampa/Reuters Huawei: China smartphone sales drive H1 revenue Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies warned on Tuesday a US trade blacklisting will impact short-term revenue growth, even as its half-year revenue surged 23% thanks to soaring smartphone sales at home. In its first results since Washington placed it on a so-called entity list in May that effectively banned US firms from supplying to it, Huawei also said it remained focused on improving the global smartphone business which bore the brunt of supply chain disruptions caused by the US action. Unlisted Huawei, which only started disclosing quarterly results this year, said revenue in the first half rose to 401.3 billion yuan (US$58.28 billion), faster than the 15% growth of a year earlier. Shipments of its smartphones jumped 24% to 118 million units, as robust sales in China more than offset a global sales drop. According to data from Canalys, Huawei expanded its lead in China's smartphone market in the second quarter by more than 10 percentage points to nearly 40% of the market, while overseas smartphones sales had a slight drop year-on-year. – Nampa/Reuters BP profit again outstrips forecasts A strong rise in oil and gas production helped BP offset weaker crude prices and refining profit to again beat profit expectations on Tuesday, boosting its shares. BP's second quarter contrasts with Total and Norway's Equinor, which posted sharp earnings drops, and builds on a steady recovery after deep cost cuts since the 2014 downturn, project start-ups and last year's US$10.5 billion purchase of BHP's US shale assets. Although BP's dividend remained unchanged at 10.25 US cents per share, its chief financial officer Brian Gilvary said the company would consider raising it towards the end of the year as proceeds from asset sales come through and debt is reduced. BP's results beat expectations for 10 quarters in a row, analysts at Bernstein said. The second-quarter profit was up from US$2.4 billion in the previous quarter, while BP's operating cash flow recovered to US$6.8 billion in the quarter from US$5.3 billion in the previous quarter as a result of a one-off working capital release. – Nampa/Reuters

Company news in brief

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Namibian Sun 2026-04-09

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Company news in brief

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Namibian Sun 2026-04-09

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