Author: Staff Writer
JSE-listed tech group Altron has posted an 18% drop in headline earnings per share (HEPS) but increased shareholder returns by announcing an increased dividend for the year ended 28 February 2021. HEPS is South Africa’s main profit gauge. The company announced today that HEPS shrank to 31c a share. However, the group declared 15 cents a share dividend and it also unlocked shareholder value by 152% from a share price of R20.19 to a share value of R50.80. The group said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) declined 8% to R1 billion. The operating free cash flow of…
Pick n Pay has launched a new and affordable fitness equipment range and Smart Shoppers will receive 12 free online fitness classes when purchasing any product from the new range during the next month. Lockdown became synonymous with home workouts, and many have continued with this habit they adopted when gyms were closed due to the ease it offers. The new LIVEFIT range of exercise equipment consists of over 75 products – ranging from yoga mats, bands, balls, and dumbbell sets to exercise bikes and weightlifting benches and home gyms. Over the next few months, the range will be growing…
NextNow, a world-class African e-hailing company that aims to firmly put the continent on the ride-sharing map. NextNow officially launched its services in Johannesburg on 10 May 2021. “As every other mobility solution provider across the world is securing its own continent, Africa is not going to be left behind. Next is Africa and Now is Africa,” says Head of Operations South Africa, Mlungisi Ntombela. He explains that the homegrown e-hailing service’s competitive pricing will set it apart from established international competitors in the market. It aims to be more affordable than its rival competition. NextNow is launching the following…
Google Cloud announced today a new partnership with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to deliver data, cloud services, and applications to customers at the network edge. The deal will leverage Starlink’s ability to provide high-speed broadband internet around the world and Google Cloud’s infrastructure. SpaceX will begin to locate Starlink ground stations within Google data centre properties, enabling the secure, low-latency, and reliable delivery of data from more than 1,500 Starlink satellites launched to orbit to date to locations at the network edge via Google Cloud. Google Cloud’s high-capacity private network will support the delivery of Starlink’s global satellite internet service, bringing…
Cabinet has welcomed the R3 billion commitment, to transfer the latest technology for producing vaccines and biological therapies to South Africa, announced by Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong. Soon-Shiong, who is a South African born biotechnology entrepreneur, now based in the United States, announced this during a meeting organised by the World Health Organisation, on Wednesday. “Cabinet applauds the active support of Dr Soon-Shiong and other philanthropists for equitable distribution of COVID 19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics,” Cabinet said in statement on Thursday. “Cabinet also appreciate the acknowledgement by Dr Soon-Shiong of South Africa’s advancement in the science, the human capital, the…
When we think of computers our mind automatically jumps to big-name brands such as HP, Lenovo and Apple. But aspiring entrepreneur Mpumelelo Mahlangu is aiming to change this perception and show South Africans that local is lekker. Mpumelelo recently founded and is about to launch the first-ever entry-level South African laptop Dot Connect. It’s the first laptop to be launched by a black South African Township-based company and entrepreneur and competes with a wide range of budget entry-level laptops such ASUS, ILIFE and Connex. Mahlangu left matric knowing fully well that university was not his destiny yet after completing his…
The South African Post Office (SAPO) has seen a dramatic increase in members of the public who want to apply for a subsidised television decoder or set-top boxes. This follows the announcement earlier in the year that South Africa will switch to digital television transmissions in early 2022. The country is preparing to migrate from analogue to digital broadcasting. In order to receive digital signals on an ordinary analogue TV set, viewers will need set-top boxes (STBs) or digital-enabled television sets to decode signals. The decoder brings a much better picture quality and a bigger choice of television channels. “The…
According to a new study, South Africa’s online retail more than doubled in just two years, spurred by the explosion in demand for home deliveries brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Online Retail in South Africa 2021, a study conducted by World Wide Worx with the support of Mastercard, Standard Bank and Platinum Seed, reveals that the total growth for online retail in South Africa in 2020 came to 66%, bringing the total of online retail in South Africa to R30,2 billion. “The most astonishing aspect of this total is that it is more than double the R14,1-billion reached in…
DeepMind, an Alphabet company and a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence research and its applications in the real world, has donated scholarship funding for four Wits students to complete their Master’s degrees in the field of machine learning. The scholarships will fund students registering for MSc degrees in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or Robotics in the academic years between 2022 and 2024. The scholarships, known as the DeepMind Scholarships, will only be awarded to students who would not take up their studies without financial assistance. Preference will also be afforded to South African citizens from underrepresented groups,…
Vodacom Central Region, covering the Free State and Northern Cape provinces, has switched on 21 new 3G and 4G enabled base station sites in deep rural areas across the province during March and April alone. Deployed across 21 villages, these base stations will provide connectivity in some of the big local municipalities in Free State and Northern Cape provinces for the first time. The new sites will deliver fast internet connectivity and connect the unconnected, particularly in deep rural areas of the province to ensure inclusion for all. The new sites in Ubuntu, Joe Morolong, Siyancuma, Tokologo, Mangaung, Tswaing, Ga-Segonyana,…