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☆ African online retailer Jumia's Q3 losses narrow with further fall expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Workers are seen inside an Africa-focused tech startup Jumia Technologies, pickup station in downtown central business district in Nairobi, Kenya November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsJOHANNESBURG, Nov 15 (Reuters) - African e-commerce firm Jumia Technologies said on Wednesday that cost savings had helped it reduce third quarter losses by 67% from a year earlier, with a further sharp drop expected this year. It now expects an adjusted 2023 EBITDA loss of $80 million to $90 million compared to the previously communicated range of $90 million to $100 million. Quarterly active consumers fell 24.3% to 2.3 million, largely driven by deliberate decisions to focus on core categories and reduce consumer incentives. Inflation effects persisted in the period, affecting both consumers' spending power and sellers' ability to source goods from abroad, Jumia said.

Persons: Monicah, Jumia, Francis Dufay, Nqobile Dludla, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Technologies, REUTERS, Rights, Jumia Technologies, New York Stock Exchange, Revenue, Thomson Locations: Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, Rights JOHANNESBURG

☆ South Africa's Vodacom half-year profit hit by Ethiopia costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 13 (Reuters) - South Africa's biggest telecoms operator Vodacom (VODJ.J) reported a 4.2% drop in half-year earnings on Monday, hit by the cost of starting operations in Ethiopia and higher interest rates. The company, which is majority owned by Britain's Vodafone (VOD.L), co-launched Safaricom Ethiopia last year, betting that the populous nation will power growth after about five years of investment. Group CEO Shameel Joosub said Safaricom Ethiopia has already reached 4.1 million customers and more recently it launched its mobile financial services business M-Pesa there. Group service revenue grew 42.2% to 59.3 billion rand ($3.16 billion), thanks to the acquisition of Vodafone Egypt and rand depreciation against its basket of international currencies. Excluding the contribution of Vodafone Egypt, group service revenue growth was 7.9% or 4.1% on a normalised basis, supported by a resilient performance in South Africa, the operator said.

Persons: Shameel Joosub, Nqobile Dludla, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Africa's, Vodacom, Britain's Vodafone, Vodafone, Thomson Locations: JOHANNESBURG, Ethiopia, Vodafone Egypt, South Africa

☆ Amazon to launch online shopping service in South Africa in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Nqobile Dludla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

South Africa will be Amazon's 21st country with a local domain name-based website, challenging a slew of online retailers dominated mainly by Naspers' (NPNJn.J) Takealot.com. "The launch of Amazon.co.za in 2024 will provide independent sellers throughout the country an opportunity to rapidly launch, grow, and scale their businesses," Amazon said in a statement. The launch of its service comes at a time when South Africa has seen a sharp rise in online shopping after the pandemic created an opportunity for e-commerce to finally take hold, with retailers doubling down on investments in response. "I don't think their takeover of South Africa retail is a slam dunk," said Sasfin Wealth senior equity analyst Alec Abraham. While Amazon is expected to intensify competition with local online and traditional retailers, "the reality is that the consumer pie in South Africa is not growing," he said.

Persons: Naspers, Pascal, Alec Abraham, Mamongae Mahlare, Nqobile, Promit Mukherjee, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Sasfin Wealth, Amazon, Takealot, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Africa, JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Egypt

☆ South Africa to probe Meta, Google competition with news publishers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A 3D printed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen in front of displayed Google logo in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsJOHANNESBURG, Oct 17 (Reuters) - South Africa's Competition Commission will investigate whether digital platforms like Meta (META.O) and Google (GOOGL.O) were unfairly competing with news publishers by using their content to generate ad revenue, it said on Tuesday. The Commission will be investigating among other things market features that may distort competition for advertising revenue between news media organisations and digital platforms, and whether these are affected by imbalances in bargaining power. The inquiry will include general search engines such as Alphabet's Google and Bing, social media platforms such as Meta and X, news aggregation platforms, video sharing platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, and ad networks such as Google Ads. It will also examine generative artificial intelligence such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and how it uses original news content in its output, the Commission added.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Doris Tshepe, James Hodge, Nqobile Dludla, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Africa's, Google, YouTube, Thomson Locations: Rights JOHANNESBURG

☆ S.Africa's first virtual renewable electricity transfer model to go live next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsJOHANNESBURG, Oct 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's first virtual electricity transfer model is likely to go live by end of next year, a top government official said on Friday, a move that could rapidly ramp up renewable power consumption and reduce the burden on ailing state utility Eskom. The utility in August signed an agreement with Vodacom (VODJ.J), the African telecoms arm of Vodafone (VOD.L), to introduce an electricity transfer model known as virtual wheeling, which will allow a consumer to buy renewable power from any producer anywhere in the country. This is expected to make power from large renewable producers available to smaller users such as standalone buildings, housing societies and factories. "What we're trying to resolve really is to ensure that we protect the South African economy from total collapse," Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said during a conference. Vodacom's South Africa Chief Executive Sitho Mdlalose told Reuters this would help it to run its 15,000 network sites on renewable power.

Persons: Sun, Siphiwe, Ramokgopa, Onicah Rantwane, Sitho Mdlalose, Nqobile, Promit Mukherjee, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Kendal Power, REUTERS, Rights, Vodacom, Vodafone, Electricity, Eskom, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Kendal, Witbank, Mpumalanga, South Africa, Rights JOHANNESBURG

☆ South Africa's MTN fintech arm pushes into remittances, business payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An MTN logo is seen outside the company's headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, March 13, 2023. With about 9 million registered mobile money subscribers in South Africa, MTN South Africa's Chief Financial Services Officer Bradwin Roper told reporters on Thursday the group is largely focusing on the roughly 15% of South Africans that are still unbanked. South Africa-based mobile money users will now be able to send money to recipients across over 10 African countries in real time if they are also registered users of the MTN service, Roper said. To make payments easier for such business owners, MTN also launched what it says are cheaper-to-rent point-of-sale devices that merge payments and other added services like airtime purchases into one device. MTN relaunched its South African mobile money business early in 2020, more than three years after closing it.

Persons: Siphiwe, Bradwin Roper, Roper, Nqobile Dludla, Jan Harvey Organizations: MTN, REUTERS, Rights, MTN South Africa's, Financial, Thomson Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Rights JOHANNESBURG, Africa, South

☆ South African insurer Discovery resumes dividend on strong balance sheet
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Nqobile Dludla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of South Africa's Discovery group in seen on its headquarters in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, February 20, 2020. Discovery, which has a market share of 57.8% in the health insurance space, declared a final dividend of 110 South Africa cents per share. The company said organic cash generation was strong during the year after increased cash generation in its life insurance Discovery Life following high COVID-19 related claims in the prior period and the reduction in the cost of new initiatives. Discovery's headline earnings per share (HEPS) were 834.3 South African cents, up 5% from 792.4 cents a year earlier. Normalised HEPS, which Discovery considers a more accurate measure of its profit and which also excludes exceptional items, rose by 32%.

Persons: Mike Hutchings, Adrian Gore, Gore, Nqobile, Mark Potter, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Bank, Discovery Ltd, Thomson Locations: Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, JOHANNESBURG, Africa, Britain

☆ Raymond Ackerman, founder of South African grocer Pick n Pay, dies at 92
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Raymond Ackerman, who founded Pick n Pay (PIKJ.J) from just four stores 56 years ago and turned them into one of South Africa's leading grocery retailers, has died aged 92, the company said on Thursday. "It is with profound sadness that we announce the death at the age of 92 of visionary South African, and founder of Pick n Pay, Raymond Ackerman," the company said. The Ackermans retail group was later sold to competitor Greatermans, which started the supermarket group Checkers, now part of bigger rival Shoprite (SHPJ.J). After leaving Greatermans, Ackerman bought four small stores in Cape Town trading under the name Pick 'n Pay. Today it generates 106 billion rand in annual turnover and owns more than 2,000 stores across South Africa and seven other African countries.

Persons: Raymond Ackerman, Gus, Ackerman, Gareth, Pick, Nqobile Dludla, Christina Fincher Organizations: Greatermans, Thomson Locations: JOHANNESBURG, Greatermans, Cape Town, South Africa

☆ South Africa's Redefine reports 9.2% fall in distributable income
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, May 8 (Reuters) - South African commercial property group Redefine (RDFJ.J) reported on Monday that its half-year distributable income fell 9.2% and declared an interim divided of 20.32 cents, down 14.2% from the previous period. The group said its distributable income per share - the primary measure of underlying financial performance in the listed property sector - fell to 23.91 cents in the six months ended Feb. 28, from 26.33 cents a year earlier. But revenue was capped by negative rental reversions - when a tenant pays a lower rental on a lease than they did before - and disposals. The company said it expects full-year 2023 distributable income per share of between 48 cents per share and 52 cents per share. ($1 = 18.3833 rand)Reporting by Tannur Anders Editing by Nqobile DludlaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Africa revokes 'state of disaster' declared over power crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Kopano Gumbi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The state of disaster gave the government additional powers to respond to the crisis, including by permitting emergency procurement procedures with fewer bureaucratic delays and less oversight. The newly appointed electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said some crisis measures would remain in place. "The state is withdrawing the national state of disaster in response to OUTA's legal action challenging its rationality," said OUTA, a non-profit organisation that focuses on fighting government corruption and tax abuses. REUTERS/Esa AlexanderOUTA said the disaster regulations would have enabled corruption and that the crisis could be managed using existing laws. President Cyril Ramaphosa invoked disaster regulations on Feb. 9 to fight a paralysing power crisis that has included daily rolling power cuts by Eskom.

☆ South Africa fights to keep phone networks up as lights go out
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Nqobile Dludla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

A bank of expensive backup batteries, theft-proofed within a block of concrete. "Our costs have gone through the roof," lamented Sitho Mdlalose, managing director of Vodacom South Africa (VODJ.J). President Cyril Ramaphosa in February declared a national state of disaster, calling the crisis an existential threat to South Africa's social fabric. While most network towers in South Africa are equipped with a battery for backup power, more advanced systems are less common. That risks delaying South Africa's pivot to the digital economy and could leave rural areas, which already suffer from sparse coverage, lagging even further behind.

☆ Nokia signs deal with MTN to expand 5G in South Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Nokia (NOKIA.HE) said on Monday it has been selected by MTN South Africa (MTNJ.J) for the first time ever as one of its 5G radio access network equipment providers, as the mobile carrier expands next-generation wireless services across the country. "Under the deal, Nokia will modernise the existing 2G, 3G, 4G radio network and expand MTN's 5G radio network across 2,800 sites in the central and eastern part of the country," Nokia said in a statement. Nokia did not give financial details of the deal. MTN South Africa, the second biggest carrier in the country, snapped up airwaves worth 5.2 billion rand ($282.66 million) in a 14.4 billion rand spectrum auction in March last year. Even before the auction it had launched 5G services in select cities.

☆ African online retailer Jumia's Q4 losses narrow on cost savings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 16 (Reuters) - African e-commerce firm Jumia Technologies said on Thursday that cost savings had helped it reduce fourth quarter losses by 30% from a year earlier, with a further sharp drop expected this year. The group cut more than 900 jobs in the fourth quarter and also significantly reduced its presence in Dubai, relocating most of its remaining staff to its African offices. "We expect these headcount reductions to allow us to save over 30% in monthly staff costs starting from March 2023, as compared to the October 2022 staff cost baseline," Jumia said. It also significantly reduced its sales and advertising expenditure, by 41% year on year. Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Crippling power shortages hit South Africa's Telkom Q3 profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 14 (Reuters) - South African telecoms group Telkom (TKGJ.J) said on Tuesday its third-quarter core profit declined by 13.5% as crippling power cuts inflated costs and impacted its service revenue. The operator also announced a cost savings programme to improve profit, which drove its shares up 6.33% by 0921 GMT. The telecom industry specifically is having to crank up diesel generators to power its vast towers, rollout additional batteries and increase security at these sites to protect them from theft, additional costs that are putting pressure on their margins. The blackouts resulted in a year-on-year increase of more than 150 million rand ($8.41 million) of additional costs for the quarter. ($1 = 17.8439 rand)Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Africa's consumer goods firms warn of much higher prices as power cuts bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Nqobile Dludla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A shopper looks for goods during an electricity load-shedding blackout in Johannesburg, South Africa, February 12, 2019. Food, consumer goods companies and retailers in South Africa are cranking up diesel generators and spending more on back up power supplies, adding to the pressure from soaring costs for raw materials, transportation and packaging. In an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the chief executives of member companies of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa pleaded for urgent and decisive action from the government to solve the power crisis. Shoprite has said its additional spend on diesel to operate generators amounted to 560 million rand ($32 million) in the six months to Jan.1. Supermarket group Pick n Pay (PIKJ.J) spent 346 million rand in the 10 months to Dec. 25 to run generators, and is currently spending about 60 million rand per month.

☆ Black Friday, holiday sales spur demand at South Africa's Shoprite
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 31 (Reuters) - South Africa's biggest supermarket group Shoprite (SHPJ.J) reported a 16.8% jump in half year sales on Tuesday, supported by a record Black Friday and festive season as both cash-strapped shoppers and upmarket consumers went after deals. But the offerings would hurt margins of its South Africa supermarkets business, the company said. The retailer, with over 2,100 stores across Africa, said group sales for the six months ended Jan. 1 jumped to 106.3 billion rand ($6.10 billion). The group's core business, Supermarkets South Africa, which contributes up to 80% to the topline, grew sales by 17.5%, with like-for-like sales growth of 11.1%. Its rest of Africa business grew sales by 17.5% in rand terms.

☆ South African retailer TFG posts 17% third-quarter sales jump
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 23 (Reuters) - South African retailer TFG (TFGJ.J) on Monday reported a 17.3% rise in third-quarter sales after Black Friday sales and holiday specials spurred demand for summer clothes and furniture. "TFG achieved a record Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with turnover exceeding 1 billion rand ($58.14 million) over these two days," the owner of Foschini and Markham clothing brands said. ($1 = 17.1985 rand)Reporting by Nqobile Dludla Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Africa's president to skip WEF to deal with crippling power cuts at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 15 (Reuters) - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will no longer attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos due to the ongoing energy crisis in the country, his spokesman said on Sunday. Power cuts have worsened since Tuesday when struggling state utility Eskom said it would implement its worst-ever outages until further notice. The power cuts are a major source of public frustration with the governing African National Congress (ANC) and a brake on economic growth in Africa's most industrialised nation. "Currently the President is convening a meeting with leaders of political parties represented in parliament, NECCOM (National Energy Crisis Committee) and the Eskom board," Vincent Magwenya, presidential spokesman said. The beleaguered utility supplies the vast majority of South Africa's electricity, relying mainly on an ageing fleet of coal-fired power stations that are unreliable and prone to faults.

☆ South Africa's ANC gathers to vote on new leader
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attends the nomination process of the top African National Congress (ANC) officials in the 55th National Conference of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, December 18, 2022. REUTERS/Sumaya HishamJOHANNESBURG, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Delegates of South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) gathered on Sunday to choose a new party leader, pitting President Cyril Ramaphosa against former health minister Zweli Mkhize. They will vote on Sunday after the ANC nominated the two candidates late on Saturday. Ramaphosa's backers were singing songs in support of him and were holding up two fingers signalling a second term as leader. Former president Jacob Zuma's supporters are seeking to use the scandal to oust Ramaphosa.

[1/2] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attends the 55th National Conference of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg. REUTERS/Sumaya HishamJOHANNESBURG, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Party allies, and even some rivals, of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday condemned opponents who disrupted his opening speech with chants and shouting at a conference of the ruling ANC on Friday. Ramaphosa, who was speaking at a five-day gathering of the African National Congress (ANC) to elect candidates for 2024 national elections, is seeking a second term and is widely seen as the party's strongest candidate. We are all interested to emerge here with a very solid, strong leadership," ANC deputy presidential hopeful and Eastern Cape ANC Chairperson Oscar Mabuyane told reporters. What they did yesterday soiled (their) campaign," Zamani Saul, Northern Cape ANC chairperson told SABC news.

☆ South Africa's Ramaphosa: ANC executive to decide my fate
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 4 (Reuters) - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday it was up to the governing party's National Executive Committee (NEC) to decide his future in the face of allegations of misconduct against him. Ramaphosa has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crimes. The president's allies have rallied around him and on Saturday his spokesman said he would not resign. The governing African National Congress (ANC) party's National Working Committee (NWC) was meeting in Johannesburg on Sunday to discuss the panel's report. "It is up to the National Executive Committee, to which I am accountable, to take whatever decision (it deems fit)."

☆ UK retailer Next to buy collapsed rival Joules - media reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 1 (Reuters) - British fashion chain Next Plc (NXT.L) has secured a deal to buy collapsed retailer Joules (JOUL.L) out of administration, according to media reports on Thursday. Before Joules went into administration, Next was in talks with the company over a potential 15 million pound equity investment, but talks were eventually terminated. Last month, some reports said South African fashion retailer TFG (TFGJ.J), the owner of British brands such as Phase Eight, Hobbs, Whistles and Damsel, was also in the race to buy Joules. loadingNext, TFG, M&S, Frasers and Joules' administrator, Interpath Ltd, did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. TFG's chief executive on Wednesday had declined to comment on reports that it was buying Joules.

☆ Vodacom gets fibre boost as regulator approves transfer of DFA licences
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Andreas Rinke | Miranda Murray | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A branch South African mobile communications provider Vodacom in Cape Town is shown in this picture taken November 10, 2015. REUTERS/Mike HutchingsJOHANNESBURG, Nov 9 (Reuters) - South Africa's Vodacom (VODJ.J) moved a step closer to a considerable expansion of its fibre footprint after the country's telecoms regulator approved the transfer of Dark Fibre Africa's licences to the mobile operator. If approved, Vodacom will also transfer its fibre assets to MAZIV. The deal gives South Africa's largest mobile operator exposure to the country's biggest open access fibre players. DFA is a leading provider of carrier-grade dark fibre - unused optical fibre - specialising in building, installing, and operating a national metro fibre network spanning 13,000 kilometres.

☆ South Africa's Takealot to extend reach in towns and townships
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Nqobile Dludla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Takealot group, which includes South Africa's biggest e-commerce retailer Takealot.com, is pushing further into townships and growing its new grocery partnership to defend its market share. Competition is expected to intensify following a report U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN.O) will launch locally in the coming year. Mamongae Mahlare, the chief executive officer of Takealot, said the group's delivery network and local appeal would ensure it competed. "Our confidence lies in South Africans, lies in us as a home-grown South African business," she said in an interview with Reuters. Without giving any investment figures, Mahlare said Takealot was investing to increase the penetration and take-up of its businesses, including on-demand food delivery Mr D Food and fashion online retailer Superbalist.

☆ Grocery retailer Pick n Pay to start accepting cryptocurrency payments
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 1 (Reuters) - One of South Africa's largest grocery retailers Pick n Pay (PIKJ.J) is expanding a pilot of adding cryptocurrency as a payment option to more stores after the successful completion of the first phase, it said on Tuesday. Many companies are responding to this by accepting Bitcoin," Pick n Pay said in a statement. It has now extended it to a further 29 stores for testing with customers, with the intention to roll it out to all stores in the coming months, Pick n Pay said. Pick n Pay has partnered with Electrum and CryptoConvert on its latest pilot. Electrum's payment platform connects Cryptoconvert and Pick n Pay, letting customers pay with the Bitcoin Lightning technology at the till point, the company added.

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