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| Kenya's Equity says 2012 profit beats own expectations Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:28 PM PST NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's Equity Bank posted a 36 percent jump in pretax profit in 2012, above its own expectations, aided by solid growth in its loan book and a jump in net interest earnings, the company said on Thursday. Equity, which is the largest bank by customer numbers in the country, said its expansion across east Africa and growth in mobile phone banking had spurred the bank's growth, the bank's chief executive James Mwangi said. Pretax profits for the 12 months ended December climbed to 17.42 billion shillings. ... Full Story | Top |
| Scangroup profit hit by west African expansion costs Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:25 PM PST NAIROBI (Reuters) - Scangroup, Kenya's top marketing firm, posted a 14 percent drop in full-year pretax profit to 1.1 billion shillings, hit by costs setting up in new west African markets. Scangroup, the only listed marketing and advertising company on the Kenyan bourse, said on Thursday direct costs jumped by a third to 3.3 billion shillings, mainly due to startup expenses in Nigeria and operations in Ghana. During the year, the firm launched two units in Nigeria, Millward Brown Nigeria and Scanad Nigeria. ... Full Story | Top |
| S.Africa's rand softens, growth concerns linger Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:25 PM PST JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand softened against the dollar on Thursday as investors worried about the government's ability to finance a wide budget deficit in the face of poor economic growth. The rand was at 8.8425 against the greenback at 0628 GMT, 0.27 percent softer than New York's Wednesday close of 8.8195. "Probably closer to the truth is that there was nothing significantly new to either promote growth or reduce the budget deficit or tackle the unemployment rate," Tradition Analytics said in a note. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan likely to make exception to arms export ban for F-35 parts Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:31 PM PST TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday the government will issue a statement on the export of Japanese-made parts for Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter jet, suggesting Japan will make an exception to its ban on arms exports. Japan plans to buy 42 of the F-35 fighters with an initial batch of four planes scheduled for delivery by March 2017. A Japanese defense ministry spokesman said this week there was no change to that plan after this year's second grounding of the warplane over a crack found in a test aircraft engine. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenya's Co-operative Bank says FY 2012 pretax profit up 57 pct Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:25 PM PST NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's Co-operative Bank's full-year 2012 pretax profit rose 57 percent to 9.97 billion shillings from 6.36 billion shillings in the previous year, helped by growth in its loan book, it said on Thursday Kenyan lenders have so far reported robust growth in profits in 2012, despite operating in a high-interest environment at the start of the year that rolled over from 2011, when interest rates ate into bond holdings, and high inflation took its toll on general economic performance. The Co-operative's total assets in the 12 months to the end of December grew to 200. ... Full Story | Top |
| Coal of Africa declares force majeure after derailment Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:24 PM PST JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Junior coal minining company Coal of Africa has declared force majeure on coal shipments from its collieries in South Africa after a derailment on the rail corridor linking with the Maputo port in Mozambique. South African logistics group Transnet advised the company that the line would be suspended for at least seven weeks. Coal of Africa said it had temporarily suspended production at its Vele colliery where stocks are at full capacity, while output at its Mooiplaats and Woestalleen operations will continue until stockpiles capacity is exhausted. Full Story | Top |
| Hanlong talks to China steel mills on $4.7-bln Africa project Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:24 PM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's privately-owned Hanlong Group is talking to four state-owned steel mills to find a partner for the $4.7-billion Mbalam iron ore project in Africa, the chief executive of project owner and takeover target, Sundance Resources, said on Thursday. Hanlong has been ordered to team up with a large Chinese company for the Mbalam project in order to secure final approval from China's top planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), for the A$1.38-billion Sundance takeover. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenya's Equity Bank says profit rises 36 pct in 2012 Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:23 PM PST NAIROBI (Reuters) - Equity Bank of Kenya posted a 36 percent rise in pretax profit for 2012 to 17.42 billion shillings thanks to solid growth in its loan book and a jump in net interest earnings, the company said on Thursday. Earnings per share in Equity, which is the largest bank by customer numbers in the east African country, rose 17 percent to 3.26 shillings, the bank's Chief Executive Officer James Mwangi told an investor briefing. The bank recommended a dividend of 1.25 shillings per share, up 25 percent on 2011. Full Story | Top |
| S.Africa January credit growth slows to 8.64 pct Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:23 PM PST  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Growth in credit demand by South Africa's private sector slowed to 8.64 percent year-on-year in January, compared with a 10.09 percent rise in December, central bank data showed on Thursday. Expansion in the broadly defined M3 measure of money supply accelerated to 6.75 percent year-on-year in January after rising by 5.17 percent the previous month, the South African Reserve Bank said. Full Story | Top |
| S.Africa's Massmart profit down as spending slows Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:22 PM PST  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Massmart, the South African unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc reported a 21 percent drop in first-half profit, hit by costs related to its deal with the world's biggest retailer. Massmart, the high volume, low margin retailer that sells everything from televisions to groceries, said diluted headline earnings per share totalled 321.7 cents in the six months to end-December compared with 407.3 cents a year earlier. Headline EPS, the primary measure of profit in South African, exclude certain one-off items. ... Full Story | Top |
| S.Africa's Liberty scouting Africa for M&A deals Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:22 PM PST JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Liberty Holdings said on Thursday it was scouting Nigeria for acquisition opportunities and may enter two other African countries on the back of an assurance deal with Standard Bank. "The obvious area, where we are under-represented, is West Africa," Chief Executive Bruce Hemphill told reporters. Full Story | Top |
| Wal-Mart's U.S. administrative chief to step down: WSJ Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:15 PM PST  (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc's U.S. Chief Administrative Officer Tom Mars will step down in March after more than a decade with the company, in which he also served as general counsel, the Wall Street Journal reported. A Wal-Mart spokesman declined to provide a reason for his departure and Mars could not immediately be reached for comment, the paper said. He will leave the company on March 13, it added. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Cuts unlikely to deliver promised U.S. budget savings Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:06 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - On paper, there's one thing to like about the ugly spending cuts due to kick in on Friday: $85 billion in budget savings at a time when Washington continues to bleed red ink. In reality, the so-called "sequester" is likely to yield less than half that much in the short term. In part, that has to do with the complex way the government handles its money. But it also reflects the probability that the spending cuts will hurt the economy, which in turn will lower tax revenue and drive up the costs of social safety-net programs like unemployment insurance. ... Full Story | Top |
| Australian lawmakers confident in F-35's future Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 09:58 PM PST  CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's conservative opposition, which is expected to win elections in September, said on Thursday it supported Lockheed Martin's troubled F-35 to be the country's next frontline warplane, despite problems and huge cost blowouts. A day after the Pentagon's F-35 program chief lashed Lockheed and engine maker Pratt & Whitney for trying to "squeeze every nickel" out of the U.S. government, Australian lawmakers expressed confidence in the futuristic jet. ... Full Story | Top |
| Risk assets rise on Fed stimulus vow, Italy debt sale Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 09:48 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares, commodity currencies and oil rose on Thursday as sentiment improved after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reaffirmed his commitment to strong stimulus measures, while a smooth debt sale calmed nerves jangled by Italy's political deadlock. European markets are seen extending gains for a second day, with financial spreadbetters predicting London's FTSE 100 , Paris's CAC-40 and Frankfurt's DAX would open as much as 0.6 percent higher. A 0.1 percent rise in U.S. stock futures also hinted at a firm Wall Street start. ... Full Story | Top |
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