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Pepkor says half-year earnings rose up to 54.1%

By Nick Hedley

Pepkor, previously Steinhoff Africa Retail, said that its half-year earnings rose by up to 54.1%.

In the six months to end-March, headline earnings per share (HEPS) were between 34.1% and 54.1% higher than in the same period a year before, Pepkor said in a trading statement.

The group, whose brand’s include Pep, Ackermans, Incredible Connection, and Timbercity, was a wholly owned subsidiary of Steinhoff until it was listed on the JSE in September 2017.

Pepkor said it plans to publish its interim results on May 29. Its shares rose 0.6% to R19.39 late on Friday morning, while Steinhoff’s were down 8.8% to R1.46, continuing a slide that started after the group’s long-delayed 2017 results showed it was in a precarious financial position.

Cratos Capital portfolio manager Ron Klipin said Pepkor’s “solid results” were driven by the affordability of its products in a weak consumer environment. “The results are a pleasant surprise in the current environment.”

The company’s shares could be set to gain versus peers such as Mr Price, Klipin said.

Even if Steinhoff became a forced seller of Pepkor’s shares, “the authorities would unlikely be amenable to let the funds be repatriated offshore” he said. “So a bookbuild could be on the cards in due course, which would be an opportunity to add to holdings.”  Business Live

China’s Jiangyin BaoRui Textile to invest in Rwanda

Pic: Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels

Chinese textile company Jiangyin BaoRui Textile recently signed a deal to produce fabrics and apparel in Rwanda through a local partner, Apparel Manufacturing Group (AMG). The initiative is expected to reduce imports of high-end clothes. AMG chairperson Dianne Mukasahaha and her counterpart from the Chinese side Hua Huang signed the agreement in China.

A delegation of Rwanda business operator’s textile industry visited China recently to look for potential investment partnerships.

Chinese textile experts will also provide new technology and capacity building techniques to the member companies of AMG, which are mostly small and medium enterprises, according to statement from Rwanda’s Private Sector Federation (PSF).

“This is a great milestone for our sector. We have been facing the challenge of inadequate fabrics and importing finished clothes from different countries but now this will be done locally,” said Dianne Mukasahaha, Chairperson of the AMG Company.

PSF formed AMG to promote collective investment, according to Rwandan media reports.

The manufactured garments will be sold in the domestic market and exported.

Kenya approves setting up of textile factory in EPZ

The Kenyan Government recently approved setting up of a big textile factory by Mas Holdings Singapore, a Sri Lankan apparel and textile manufacturer, in the export processing zone (EPZ) in what is being projected as a big boost for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s employment generation plans. The unit will create jobs for 3,100 once operational in Machakos County.

With an investment of Sh1.5 billion, Mass Holdings Singapore Pte EPZ Ltd will leave behind Hela Clothing, which employs 1,500 workers, as the largest apparel and textile manufacturer in the country, according to a Kenyan newspaper report..

The unit in the Athi River textile hub is expected to start operations in June. Mas Holdings will export products to the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Mas Holdings has a presence in 16 countries. It has received financing of Sh1.1 billion, including Sh900 million in foreign loans, Sh181 million in paid-up capital from shareholders, and a similar amount of money in authorised capital.

The President aims to create over 500,000 cotton jobs and 100,000 apparel jobs.F2F

Did you know……..

New York Fashion Week is attended by 232,000 people per year.

China is one of the largest producers of cotton, bringing over 90 million yards of the material into the fashion industry every year