SA business gears up for its 'Oscar' awards

19 October 2014 - 02:06 By BRENDAN PEACOCK
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NOT SO TOUGH AT THE TOP: Jacko Maree, former chief of Standard Bank, Hilary Lubner, PG Group founder Bertie Lubner and Sandy Maree at last year's event
NOT SO TOUGH AT THE TOP: Jacko Maree, former chief of Standard Bank, Hilary Lubner, PG Group founder Bertie Lubner and Sandy Maree at last year's event
Image: Picture:RAYMOND PRESTON

SOUTH Africa's top company will be named at the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies awards dinner, taking place on October 28 in association with Johnnie Walker .

SOUTH Africa's top company will be named at the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies awards dinner, taking place on October 28 in association with Johnnie Walker .

Last year FNB's former CEO, Michael Jordaan, won the business leader of the year accolade, which is granted on the basis of a vote by the executives of the Top 100 Companies from the year before.

It was a vote of confidence in Jordaan's executive decision-making from his peers in South African-listed businesses.

After he was appointed to head the bank at the relatively young age of 34, client numbers shot up from about 5.2million in 2006 to 7.5million in 2013.

When he accepted the award last year, Jordaan had only recently left the helm of FNB - quitting the weekly 2800km return commute between Johannesburg and Stellenbosch - to become chairman of Mxit.

Speaking to Business Times at the time, Jordaan said his career at FNB's parent company, Rand Merchant Bank, started in unusual circumstances when he spotted a job vacancy advertised in a newspaper that involved answering a riddle.

It read: "Archie and Ben were professional golfers and keen rivals. One day during a game they had each scored 30 when Ben hit a bad shot. Archie immediately added 10 to his own score. Archie then hit a good shot and he had won the game. Why?"

That riddle intrigued Jordaan, who sent in his application with the answer that Archie and Ben were playing tennis.

Jordaan, then 26, was interviewed by Paul Harris, one of the three founders of the FirstRand group - and he never looked back.

In winning the award, he followed in the footsteps of some of South Africa's most successful entrepreneurs.

The year before, Aspen Pharmacare's group CEO Stephen Saad took the award, while earlier winners include Shoprite's Whitey Basson, Discovery's Adrian Gore, MTN's Phuthuma Nhleko and Richemont's Johann Rupert.

But after a rocky year in the stock markets, one award that will be keenly watched will be the winning company in the top 100 rankings.

This is determined by assessing which company has provided the best return on a hypothetical investment of R10000 over five years, with all dividends and special payments reinvested.

This year, that time frame stretches back to a hypothetical investment in 2009 - immediately after the collapse of global financial markets.

While South Africans were relatively shielded from the global fallout and every economic sector has a cyclical nature, the five years to 2014 have been characterised by difficult trading environments, weakened consumer demand and low growth.

Last year, asset manager Coronation topped the table, followed by IT services company EOH and retailer Woolworths. Others in the top 10 included investment companies, fast food specialists, pharmaceutical manufacturers, IT services providers and technology companies.

While the top performer is keenly watched, there is another category with arguably greater impact on longer-term investors - and that is the list of "royals".

These are the companies that have earned a place in the top 20 rankings for at least five years in a row - underscoring the rarefied credentials of leadership through the peaks and troughs.

Last year's royals included Coronation, Capitec, EOH, Woolworths, Famous Brands, Mr Price, Pinnacle Technology, Howden Africa and Oceana Group.

Given the bumpy markets in the past year, in which some previously strong business models came under pressure (particularly that of unsecured lending), the prestige of belonging to such a group is evident.

Capitec Bank, twice winners in 2010 and 2012, can attest to the strength of competition in sustaining returns.

And it reminds other companies of their own fallibility - as a case from the distant past of this competition illustrates.

Back in the 1970s, a company called Metro Cash & Carry landed the accolade three years in a row.

But in 2004 it was delisted after splitting its business, then fell on hard times two years later.

All the more reason to celebrate success that has been sustained over a considerable period.

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