Transnet: Revenue up 6.6% for the year.

[Steve Appleton]

From Business Day, 27 June 2011.http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/C ... ?id=146858

Transnet reports revenue up 6,6%
Parastatal announces plans to spend R110 billion on infrastructure and CEO Brian Molefe promises to improve coal services
DES LATHAM
Published: 2011/06/27 11:41:17 AM

Transnet has reported a rise in profits for the year, and plans to spend over R110bn on infrastructure and capital goods for the next five years.

The logistics and transport group says its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the year to end-March totalled R15,8 billion rand compared with R14,4bn in 2010.

Revenue from operations increased by 6.6% to R38bn.

Speaking at a results presentation this morning filmed by Summit TV, Group Chief Executive, Brian Molefe, said gearing had deteriorated slightly due to borrowing as a result of Transnet’s capital projects.

"These were higher than anticipated," Molefe said.

"Return on assets have decreased from 7,7% to 6,6%," he told shareholders.

"In the last five years, Transnet asset base has broadened," he said.

"We’ve had a marginal increase in the export of coal, I know that this is a matter that concerns the export coal industry," he said.

"We’ve been having discussions about that in the last couple of weeks and we think that we have ideas that can help improve our performance of exports," said Molefe.

"Efficiencies on the line have not been good, on time departures and arrivals have deteriorated, so all of the productivity ratios have decreased."

"What we have done is changed the TFR business from corridors, to specific lines," said Molefe.

"People now don’t work for corridors, but whole lines."

"We measure their performance with respect to the performance of the particular commodity."

In the past, Transnet corridors were managed from remote, at the Carlton Centre.

"The real business was monitored in Braamfontein," said Molefe.