Business Briefs

US regulator probes Gold Fields' BEE deal

GOLD Fields is being investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over a R2.1-billion black empowerment deal involving a senior member of the ANC, the company said yesterday.

Gold Fields, which is also listed in the US and is therefore subject to the scrutiny of US regulators, said it was being investigated in connection with the 2010 deal and the granting of a mining licence for its South Deep mine, near Johannesburg.

Gold Fields give a 9% stake in South Deep to a group of black investors to meet government targets for black economic empowerment.

The South Deep deal has come under particular scrutiny because the beneficiaries include the ANC's chairman, Baleka Mbete. - Reuters

Rand boosts Steinhoff

STEINHOFF International reported a 25% increase in earnings, bolstered by rand weakness against the euro and a rise in revenue, the group reported.

Steinhoff, which runs furniture stores such as Britain's Harveys and Conforama, in France, said "the volatility of the rand exchange rate will continue to influence the group's reported earnings."

Sales climbed 44% to R115.5-billion, with business in Continental Europe making up the bulk of its revenue.

Turnover in Africa - where retail growth has been surging - doubled to over R47-billion but the group said it needed to contain costs and improve efficiencies to maintain margins. - Reuters.

Comair takes off again

COMAIR, which operates kulula.com and British Airways in South Africa, increased earnings to 47c a share from 1.6c in 2012, it announced yesterday.

Turnover increased by 29%, mostly as a result of increased ticket prices in response to exchange rate-related cost inflation, the company said.

Comair made an average profit of R45 a passenger. About 5million people flew with the company last year, CFO Yasas Sri-Chandana told The Times. - TJ Strydom