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GOLD REEF RESORTS LTD. said H1 profit dropped 23% as consumers continued to battle high debt levels and municipal and utility price increases. Net income slipped to R108m in the six months to end-Jun. from 140m y/y. Sales fell 1.6% to R1.1bn. GOLD REEF said economic condition in SA remained difficult, and that interest-rate cuts made during 2009 were only expected to start benefiting consumers in the final quarter of 2010.

SABMILLER PLC is working on a service it says will provide more accurate and precise methodology for collating analysts' expectations for corporate performance, the Financial Times reported. According to the report, analysts will be able to update their published forecasts to a template provided to the VUMA CONSENSUS system, and in return will be able to see their peers' estimates on the same measurements. Differences among analysts' models mean existing consensus figures are not a fair representation, VICTORIA FERRIER of SAB said. TESCO PLC, DIAGEO PLC and ANGLO AMERICAN PLC have singed up for the new service, and SAB will use it for the company's interim results in Nov.

The JSE LTD said its Stock Exchange News Service isn't working because of a technical problem. The JSE said technicians were trying to solve the problem.

FRED ROBERTSON, CEO of BRIMSTONE, may soon be forced to remove portions of his recently completed Bantry Bay building after city councillors refused to grant an after-the-fact approval for the structure. The seafront building, which residents have estimated to be worth tens of millions of rand, has been criticised by neighbours and ratepayers associations who say it affected their privacy and sea views and therefore depressed the value of surrounding properties. ROBERTSON last year had the building erected, which exceeded the three-storey limit imposed by municipal regulations in that part of Cape Town. The building was occupied despite an occupation certificate being withheld by the council. In an effort to avoid demolishing parts of the building to ensure compliance with council by-laws, an application for a five-storey building was then lodged, though the building was already completed.

FIRST URANIUM subsidiary MINE WASTE SOLUTIONS said it was withholding information from the Federation for a Sustainable Environment on the potential effect of its Klerksdorp waste dump. This appears to contravene environmental regulations as affected stakeholders are not able to evaluate the risks of the planned development, the federation said. The federation fears the mine dump, set to be on-stream by May 2011, could pollute the Vaal River system, contaminate groundwater and create acid mine drainage. It said there was insufficient information in the environmental impact assessment and in the environmental management plan to support the facility. But MINE WASTE said it conducted independent environmental studies as part of the environmental impact assessment, including the potential effect on groundwater. The company's COO, SCOT SOBEY, said extra studies of the facility's effect had been undertaken, but it was company policy not to hand over documents in isolation to prevent interest groups from raising issues out of context. SOBEY said a community forum had been set up to address concerns.

PICK N PAY yesterday said it plans to stock an increasing number of FAIRTRADE-certified products. While the only products certified by FAIRTRADE that are sold in SA are coffee and wine, this country is a large producer of FAIRTRADE products, which have been bought in Europe for about a decade. PNP said it would become a key player in the creation of a FAIRTRADE market in SA through its 700+ stores around the country. The target market for FAIRTRADE in this country is the 10%-15% of consumers in the upper income bands of LSM 7-10. FAIRTRADE LABEL SA estimated this part of the population at about 12.5m people.

STANDARD BANK has hired the former head of retail banking from Japan's SHINSEI BANK to help expand its retail presence in Africa. The bank has hired SANDEEP DEOBHAKTA, former COO of SHINSEI's retail unit, according to a source. DEOBHAKTA would relocate to SA from Japan. STANDARD BANK recently poached STANDARD CHARTERED's head of African transaction banking.

SHOPRITE had its price estimate raised to R82 from R78 at MORGAN STANLEY, which maintained its "underweight" recommendation on the stock. Analysts said they stayed 'underweight' on SHOPRITE despite positive earnings revisions as they believed a further rerating looked unlikely given the risk from lower food inflation and growth constraints in Africa. The price estimate was 9.3% lower than Tuesday's close of R90.40. The stock rose a further 1.2% to R91.50 yesterday.

SANTAM posted an 80% jump in H1 profit yesterday, helped by strong performance in its underwriting business, and said it would hike its dividend. Shares of SANTAM, jumped as much as 2.6% on the news, but later retreated to close just 0.08% up at R113.14 yesterday. The company said HEPS totalled R5.11 in the six months to June, compared with R2.84 in the some period a year earlier. Gross written premiums rose 6% to R7.7bn. SANTAM said it would pay out a total of R6.85 for its half-year dividend, including a special dividend of R5. Last year's interim dividend was R1.66.

BARLOWORLD has sold its remaining 50% shareholding in SUBARU SOUTHERN AFRICA to TOYOTA TSUSHO CORPORATION. The value of the transaction was undisclosed. BARLOWORLD sold its initial 50% to TOYOTA TSUSHO in Nov. 2008. BARLOWORLD AUTOMOTIVE CE MARTIN LAUBSCHER yesterday said the transaction further aligned the firm to its core business model. SUBARU was not a strategic fit for BARLOWORLD AUTOMOTIVE. BARLOWORLD AUTOMOTIVE comprised fleet service, leasing, car rental and new and used vehicle retail busineses and it was unable to put huge volumes of SUBARU into its rental or fleet businesses.

A ruling earlier this year barring SASOL from monopolising the entire fertiliser value chain has worked in favour of AFGRI. CE CHRIS VENTER yesterday said that with SASOL curtailed, AFGRI would sell more fertiliser. This would mitigate the 10% expected reduction in turnover in its retail business for the fiscal year due to low prices for maize. VENTER said AFGRI had employed a former SASOL retail manager and would distribute fertiliser to farmers via former SASOL agents - this would allow AFGRI's direct sales business to contribute 2% of total group sales, from 1.5%. The company's retail and equipment business recorded an 11% decline for the year to Jun. after adjusting for the disposal of two retail stores. A significant portion of this decline could be attributed to the 25%-40% reductions in fertiliser and animal feed retail prices. VENTER said if prices for maize did not recover over the next 6-12 months, the retail business would face much pressure. He said AFGRI was investigating opportunities to export maize to Russia and eastern Europe, and soybeans to india, but there were no firm deals.

An application by the Competition Commission to confirm a negotiated settlement with SPRING LIGHTS GAS over price-fixing in the piped gas sector was yesterday postponed by the Competition Tribunal. This was because the commission was currently considering a separate matter involving SPRING LIGHTS' application for an exemption for its conduct in terms of its market allocation agreements with SASOL GAS, on the basis that it had promoted the ability of small businesses.

KEATON ENERGY yesterday said it would produce the first coal from its Vanggatfontein project by Nov., which would be followed shortly by the start of production from the mine's second phase, dedicated for use by ESKOM. MD PAUL MILLER sai the project was the right type of product, being developed at the right time. The first phase of the project would produce metallurgical coal from the number-five seam, at an initial rate of 12 000t/m from Nov. The site will then undergo a tight ramp-up schedule and reach capacity of about 30 000t/m by Mar. 2011. MILLER said about 50% of the metallurgical product woud to into the sized-market and could be sold at premium prices. The first phase of the development would cost R158m, which KEATON would fund from its cash reserves of around R335m. But capex would peak at R430m, and MILLER indicated that the company would probably be going to the markets to raise further equity of around R150m-R200m at the end of the year. KEATON in July secured a 7-year contract to supply energy coal to ESKOM. KEATON would supply ESKOM with 200 000t/m of coal from the sean two and seam four. KEATON decided it would wash the coal on-site and supply the utility with coal to the right specifications.

IMUNITI HOLDINGS' previously reported annual headline loss for the year to Feb. had swelled to R1.02/share from 98c, the company said yesterday. An audit of the financial results originally reported in May discovered a debtor who would not pay the company back. As a result an amount of R370 433 was written off as bad debt, IMUNITI said.

BLUE FINANCIAL SERVICES yesterday said it would delay its 2010 results. The troubled micro-lender, recently bought out by MAYIBUYE, said the results announcement would be extended until there was finality in relation to the MAYIBUYE transaction. The extension would not be longer than a month. MAYIBUYE CEO JOHAN MEIRING believed on finalisation of the MAYIBUYE deal, the audit option could move from a 'disclaimer' to a more positive opinion. Without finalisation of the deal, there is still uncertainty of the financial viability of BLUE. BLUE is expected to cut about 10-15% of the company's head count. The majority of the job losses will be in SA. According to a 2009 report, BLUE employs 797 people in SA.

MERCK & CO and ADCOCK INGRAM have expanded their cross-distribution deal to sub-Saharan Africa, raising both companies' presence on the continent. The companies signed a similar five-year deal for the SA market in June. The tie-up markss the latest push by big international companies to emerging markets where they see much of their future revenue growth as sales stall in developed markets. The deal also helps ADCOCK's expansion drive into the rest of the continent where it has small operations in Ghana and Kenya, and gives it access to a wider product range. MERCK's products to be co-promoted in countries such as Botswana, Kenya and Ghana include medicines for asthma, dermatology, hypertension and migraines.

The NUM yesterday announced that 8 000 workers at NORTHAM PLATINUM would go on strike on Monday over a pay rise dispute. NORTHAM has offered workers an 8% increase on a two-year deal. The union is demanding a 15% wage rise. The union promised to cause havoc at NORTHAM's operations. Meanwhile, the union also said it had restarted talks with EXXARO and would hold separate talks with RICHARDS BAY MINERALS to try and end wage strikes at two mines.

SA's head of bank regulation, ERROL KRUGER, yesterday said he did not expect a decision on HSBC's bid for NEDBANK before the end of this year. HSBC has yet to submit a formal application to buy up to 70% of NEDBANK. HSBC needs to submit a request to the board after their due diligence, probably about 8-10 weeks from last week, KRUGER said.

Shares of EOH HOLDINGS yesterday rose more than 1% as the company forecast as much as a 30% increase in full-year profit. EOH was trading 1.51% higher at R11.45, outpacing a 0.5% rise in the All-share index yesterday morning.

CLICKS has repurchased 8 264 743 ordinary shares, equivalent to 3% of the group's issued share capital in the open market for a total consideration of R250.9m. The repurchase was in terms of a general authority granted to CLICKS GROUP by shareholders to repurchase a maximum of 27 547 355 ordinary shares (10% of issued share capital). The repurchases were carried out between Jan. 29 and Aug. 30. The highest price paid was R36.94/share and the lowest was R25.73. The average price paid per share was R30.35.