Company news in brief
B2Gold begins arbitration against Mali
Canadian gold miner B2Gold Corp said on Thursday it has begun international arbitration against Mali in a months-long dispute over the West African country's denial of a mining permit extension requested by the company.
The Menankoto permit covers an area located 20 km north of B2Gold's Fekola mine, which is in southwest Mali on the border with Senegal. B2Gold has invested about US$27 million in exploration over the last seven years.
The previous government, which was ousted in a military takeover last month, had granted an exploration permit held by B2Gold to a little-known domestic company in March.
The permit was up for grabs again in May when the ousted prime minister Moctar Ouane issued a decree cancelling the decision.
However, the ministry of mines, energy and water informed the Canadian miner that its application for permit was rejected because it was subject of a court decision, the company said on June 18. – Nampa/Reuters
Eskom to pay disputed wage rise
South African power utility Eskom said on Friday that it would implement a 1.5% salary increase from July 1 and adjust some employee benefits, defying union demands for a far larger hike and opposition to the changes.
Wage talks between the unions and Eskom, which is struggling to power Africa's most industrialised nation and is choking under a mountain of debt, ended this month without agreement and arbitration is yet to start.
Eskom's offer is dependent on savings from benefits including overtime and travel, where the state-owned utility says it has found "excesses".
Unions rejected the offer after demanding increases of between 9.5% and 15%, well above South Africa's current level of annual inflation of around 5%.
A previous pay dispute in 2018 led to electricity supply interruptions, and Eskom has warned the same could happen again. – Nampa/Reuters
Steinhoff half-year earnings up 7%
South Africa-based retailer Steinhoff said its half-year core earnings rose by 7%, as demand for value lines and a focus on home furnishings offset the impact of pandemic restrictions.
During Steinhoff's October to March reporting period many countries in Europe tightened restrictions or re-imposed lockdowns which hit its in-store operations and trading hours.
Despite this, Steinhoff said on Friday that its total revenue from continuing operations rose 4% to 4.497 billion euro (US$5.37 billion) in the period, from 4.342 billion euro.
"Individual businesses, such as Pepkor Africa and Pepco Group, with their everyday value focus, continued to perform robustly," Steinhoff said in a statement.
It said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) - a measure of operating profit – from continuing operations rose to 686 million euro, from a restated 639 million euro in the comparable prior period.
The loss from continuing operations dropped to 319 million euro from 1.3 billion euro.
Total group debt increased to 10.4 billion euro from 9.9 billion euro as the interest accrued exceeded debt repaid, Dutch-registered Steinhoff said. – Nampa/Reuters
Virgin Galactic's stock soars
Virgin Galactic skyrocketed on Wall Street Friday after US officials approved the first commercial license to take consumers to space.
Shares of the company founded by Richard Branson were up almost 35% at midday at US$53.98 as the Federal Aviation Administration said its approval of Virgin's license marked "a new chapter in the story of human space flight."
FAA approval came after the agency determined that company's hardware and software functioned well during a test flight.
Virgin Galactic chief executive Michael Colglazier cheered the decision, saying FAA approval gives "us confidence as we proceed toward our first fully crewed test flight this summer." The company still plans three additional test flights, one of which is expected to include Branson himself.
Virgin Galactic is targeting early 2022 to begin commercial service. The company has sold some 600 tickets priced at between US$200 000 to US$250 000. – Nampa/AFP
Canadian gold miner B2Gold Corp said on Thursday it has begun international arbitration against Mali in a months-long dispute over the West African country's denial of a mining permit extension requested by the company.
The Menankoto permit covers an area located 20 km north of B2Gold's Fekola mine, which is in southwest Mali on the border with Senegal. B2Gold has invested about US$27 million in exploration over the last seven years.
The previous government, which was ousted in a military takeover last month, had granted an exploration permit held by B2Gold to a little-known domestic company in March.
The permit was up for grabs again in May when the ousted prime minister Moctar Ouane issued a decree cancelling the decision.
However, the ministry of mines, energy and water informed the Canadian miner that its application for permit was rejected because it was subject of a court decision, the company said on June 18. – Nampa/Reuters
Eskom to pay disputed wage rise
South African power utility Eskom said on Friday that it would implement a 1.5% salary increase from July 1 and adjust some employee benefits, defying union demands for a far larger hike and opposition to the changes.
Wage talks between the unions and Eskom, which is struggling to power Africa's most industrialised nation and is choking under a mountain of debt, ended this month without agreement and arbitration is yet to start.
Eskom's offer is dependent on savings from benefits including overtime and travel, where the state-owned utility says it has found "excesses".
Unions rejected the offer after demanding increases of between 9.5% and 15%, well above South Africa's current level of annual inflation of around 5%.
A previous pay dispute in 2018 led to electricity supply interruptions, and Eskom has warned the same could happen again. – Nampa/Reuters
Steinhoff half-year earnings up 7%
South Africa-based retailer Steinhoff said its half-year core earnings rose by 7%, as demand for value lines and a focus on home furnishings offset the impact of pandemic restrictions.
During Steinhoff's October to March reporting period many countries in Europe tightened restrictions or re-imposed lockdowns which hit its in-store operations and trading hours.
Despite this, Steinhoff said on Friday that its total revenue from continuing operations rose 4% to 4.497 billion euro (US$5.37 billion) in the period, from 4.342 billion euro.
"Individual businesses, such as Pepkor Africa and Pepco Group, with their everyday value focus, continued to perform robustly," Steinhoff said in a statement.
It said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) - a measure of operating profit – from continuing operations rose to 686 million euro, from a restated 639 million euro in the comparable prior period.
The loss from continuing operations dropped to 319 million euro from 1.3 billion euro.
Total group debt increased to 10.4 billion euro from 9.9 billion euro as the interest accrued exceeded debt repaid, Dutch-registered Steinhoff said. – Nampa/Reuters
Virgin Galactic's stock soars
Virgin Galactic skyrocketed on Wall Street Friday after US officials approved the first commercial license to take consumers to space.
Shares of the company founded by Richard Branson were up almost 35% at midday at US$53.98 as the Federal Aviation Administration said its approval of Virgin's license marked "a new chapter in the story of human space flight."
FAA approval came after the agency determined that company's hardware and software functioned well during a test flight.
Virgin Galactic chief executive Michael Colglazier cheered the decision, saying FAA approval gives "us confidence as we proceed toward our first fully crewed test flight this summer." The company still plans three additional test flights, one of which is expected to include Branson himself.
Virgin Galactic is targeting early 2022 to begin commercial service. The company has sold some 600 tickets priced at between US$200 000 to US$250 000. – Nampa/AFP
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