COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

SAA concerned about the sale of Mango

Concerns that South African Airways (SAA) has about the sale process of its subsidiary Mango are "of a mere housekeeping nature" and not material at all, according to the low-cost airline's business rescue practitioner Sipho Sono.

Mango was placed in voluntary business rescue in July 2021 and has not flown since. Rescue practitioner Sipho Sono wanted Mango to restart operations on 2 December 2021. However, SAA's shareholder, the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), made it clear this could only be done if an investor bought Mango.

After a due diligence process a consortium, whose identity has not yet been revealed, was selected by Sono as the preferred bidder to buy Mango.

In his latest business rescue report to creditors, Sono says he had submitted an application to SAA for consideration on 21 September. In terms of the Public Finance Management Act, SAA had until the end of September to provide feedback, after which Sono planned to submit a final application to the DPE for approval in the first week of October.

Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan would then have 30 days to consider and approve the application as provided for in Mango's business rescue plan.

According to Sono's report, SAA, however, went ahead and submitted the PFMA application directly to the DPE "along with correspondence highlighting some areas of concern".-Fin24

Jasco warns shareholders of possible delisting

Jasco Electronics has warned shareholders its going concern status is in doubt, hinting that it may soon delist from the JSE. The company has faced a turbulent 2022 to date, which included firing dozens of employees for misconduct amid strikes, as well as implementing a forensic probe after uncovering alleged management misconduct in its security and fire division.

Valued at R80.8 million on the JSE, Jasco provides digital media equipment, components for energy solutions and manufactures electrical plugs, adaptors and extensions. Its 2022 results paint a clear picture of a company in distress, and as of the end of June, Jasco accumulated losses of R268.5 million.

The firm swung into a R16.3 million loss in its year to end-June, from profit of R6.5 million previously, hit by civil unrest and flooding in KwaZulu-Natal, supply chain disruptions that resulted in shortages for key products, a strike in its manufacturing business, as well as the discovery of gross misconduct in its security and fire division.

The company said on Wednesday the leadership team within its security and fire division had since left the group, while restructuring began in August. It has also decided to exit the fire business. In addition, a forensic investigation was launched in late July to evaluate the extent of mismanagement. "Initial findings have uncovered significant misrepresentation," it said.

Manufacturing was severely impacted by the social unrest, the national strike and a plant-level strike between March and June 2022. Due to the significant operating losses caused by the strike, a section 189 (retrenchment) review of the business commenced. In addition, 123 production employees were dismissed in June due to gross misconduct during the strike.-Fin24