South AfricaM
• The University of Cape Town (UCT) is set to be the first African university to become part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU – an alliance of some of the world’s best universities – this year. UCT – consistently ranked as the leading university in Africa (by the Times Higher Education, Quaquarelli Symonds and Shanghai Jiao Tong rankings) – will become the 11th member in the strategic partnership and the first new member since the formation of the alliance 10 years ago.
• Industrial and commercial communications operator Metacom has acquired 100% of Stellenbosch-based hardware development company, Multenet. Metacom MD Réan van Niekerk says the purchase makes Metacom “the strongest player in South Africa in our market niche, serving financial, industrial and commercial clients who need reliable, secure, low-cost communications.” Existing Multenet clients will now also have access to Metacom’s full range of products and managed network services which integrate GSM, satellite, short-range radio and fixed-line systems such as ADSL, Diginet, fibre, frame relay and X25. Outgoing Multenet MD Henry de Ruyter, who founded the company as a subsidiary of Control Instruments in 1999, is retiring but will stay on as a consultant to help manage the transition and transfer knowledge.
• Reunert’s revenue for the year increased by 7% to R8,3 billion (2014: R7,8 billion). Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 14% to R1,3 billion (2014: R1,1 billion). Headline earnings per share from continuing operations rose by 47% to 576 cps (2014: 391 cps). The company forecasts that the business drivers of its performance will continue to be challenged by its strong concentration in the South African market. Accordingly, the future growth prospects of the group are likely to be constrained by the domestic macro-economic environment. On the other hand, its future prospects are augmented by recently secured long-term contracts, specifically in applied electronics.
• Altron, through its Powertech subsidiary, has entered into an agreement to sell its controlling stake in Aberdare Cables, and Aberdare International will dispose of 100% of its shareholding in Aberdare Europe (comprising its Spanish and Portuguese operations) to Chinese cable manufacturer Hengtong Optic – Electric for approximately R1,232 billion in cash.
Overseas
Business
• Toshiba is facing a fine of $60 million recommended by Japan’s financial regulator for falsifying its financial statements over the 2012/3 period.
The Nikkei-listed company, whose stock fell more than 40% in 2015, has announced plans to restructure its operations and sell off assets.
• For the fourth quarter of its 2015 fiscal year, Analog Devices reported revenue totalling $979 million, up 13% sequentially and 23% year-over-year. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $0,30 based on net income of $96,31 million, down compared with the preceding quarter’s EPS of $0,68 based on net income of $216,5 million as well as the prior year’s fourth quarter EPS of $0,34 based on net income of $108,7 million.
Companies
• Silicon Labs announced the acquisition of Telegesis, a leading supplier of wireless mesh networking modules based on ZigBee technology. A privately held company founded in 1998 and based near London, Telegesis has established itself as a ZigBee expert with strong momentum in the smart energy market, providing module solutions to many of the world’s top smart metering manufacturers.
• NXP Semiconductors and Freescale Semiconductor announced the completion of their merger pursuant to the terms of the previously announced agreement from March 2015. The merged entity, which is a high performance mixed signal semiconductor industry leader with combined revenue of over $10 billion, will continue operations as NXP Semiconductors. NXP also announced the closing of the divestiture of its RF Power business to Jianguang Asset Management
Co. Ltd (JAC Capital), after receiving official confirmation that JAC Capital had deposited the required funds at its bank in China to pay the purchase price.
Industry
• The US Department of Justice has arrested three Chinese nationals in connection with a scheme to obtain and illegally export sophisticated semiconductors stolen from the US military, as well selling counterfeit hardware to US military contractors. If convicted, the men could face millions of dollars in fines and possible prison sentences numbering in the decades.
• The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $28,9 billion for the month of November 2015, 0,3% lower than the previous month’s total and 3,0% down from the November 2014 figure. Regionally, month-to-month sales increased in China (1,0%), Europe (1,0%) and the Americas (0,3%), but decreased in Japan (-0,6%), and Asia Pacific/All Other (-2,4%). Compared to November 2014, sales were up in China (5,3%), but down in Asia Pacific/All Other (-4,1%), the Americas (-7,1%), Europe (-8,0%), and Japan (-8,6%).
• The European Commission (EC) has filed antitrust charges against wireless technology giant Qualcomm, alleging business practices described as “exclusivity payments and predatory pricing.” More specifically, the EC’s legal statements of objections accuse Qualcomm firstly of having paid, since 2011, significant amounts to a major smartphone and tablet manufacturer on condition that it exclusively use Qualcomm baseband chipsets in its smartphones and tablets; and secondly that between 2009 and 2011 the company engaged in predatory pricing by selling certain baseband chipsets at prices below cost, with the intention of hindering competition in the market.
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