20-May-2013
(Official Notice) | In terms of the Pillar III disclosure requirements under Basel III, registered banks and controlling companies are required to comprehensively disclose risk and capital information to the public on a semi-annual and annual basis.
The semi-annual disclosure for ABIL and its subsidiaries, based on information as at 31 March 2013, has been published on the ABIL website (www.abil.co.za) under investor and media/Basel III public disclosures. |
20-May-2013
(C) | Interest income on advances was up 25% to R5.7 billion (R4.6 billion). Profit from operations declined by 28% to R1.5 billion (R2 billion). Basic earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders fell 26% to R1 billion (R1.4 billion). In addition, headline earnings per share of was lower at 125.7cps (170.4cps).
Dividend
A gross interim ordinary dividend of 25cps has been declared. In addition, gross interim preference share dividend of 322c was also declared.
Outlook
ABIL remains profitable and well-funded, with a solid capital position. The existing loan book continues to generate strong cash flows and the group's conservative funding approach continues to enable the bank to withstand volatile economic cycles.
While the outlook for the short term is for continuing challenging conditions, ABIL has spent the past few years building a group that is financially and operationally robust and resilient and can withstand downturns in the economy and in credit markets. ABIL remains confident of its ability to entrench its position as the market leader in a larger, more competitive and fast changing unsecured credit market, despite the challenging outlook. |
08-May-2013
(Official Notice) | |
08-May-2013
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that ABIL will hold a conference call at 17:00 (SA time) on 8 May 2013, to provide context to the trading statement released on SENS on 2 May 2013. Interested investors are invited to use the details below to participate in the call. ABIL will issue a SENS announcement containing the key aspects to be covered by the conference call.
The conference call playback will be available on ABIL's website at www.abil.co.za for investors who cannot participate in the call. The group's interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2013 are expected to be released on SENS and RNS on or about Monday, 20 May 2013. |
02-May-2013
(Official Notice) | |
25-Mar-2013
(Official Notice) | African Bank (a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABIL) has successfully raised R2 billion in senior unsecured funding in the domestic market from a tap of an existing bond in issue, and through a new issue of bonds under its Domestic Medium Term Note ('DMTN') programme. The funds are designated to be used for general funding purposes.
An amount R1.2 billion was tapped from the existing R800 million inflation linked note ABLI05 (ISIN ZAG000102872) which was issued with a coupon of the South African consumer inflation rate ('CPI') plus 3.2% on 19th February 2013. The additional R1.2 billion was issued at a premium to the original issue which translates into a lower effective yield of CPI plus 2.99%. The tap increases the original bond size to R2 billion and is set to mature in February 2018.
A new three year floating rate note ABL16 (ISIN ZAG000104183) to the value of R800 million was also issued. Set to mature in March 2016, the bond bears a coupon of 3 month JIBAR plus a margin of 199 bps per annum, which was also tighter than the last similar bond issued in October 2012. |
05-Mar-2013
(Official Notice) | ABIL announced that Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's? or "the agency") has, on the 4th of March 2013, downgraded African Bank Ltd.'s global senior debt and deposit ratings by one notch to Baa3/Prime-3, from Baa2/Prime-2. Concurrently, African Bank's local national scale issuer ratings were also adjusted to A2.za/P-1.za from A1.za/P-1.za. All ratings now carry a stable outlook. This follows the rating action in October 2012, where Moody's changed African Bank's outlook to negative in line with the negative sovereign rating outlook and the downgrade of the South Africa's government bond rating.
This rating action reflects Moody's assessment of the risks associated with the continued challenging
operational conditions in South Africa's unsecured lending market, which African Bank has communicated to
the market from August 2012. In addition, Moody's also noted African Bank's concentrated wholesale
funding profile, notwithstanding the gradual increased diversification over the past few years.
The stable outlook on African Bank's rating reflects Moody's view that the impact will be partially contained by management's proactive approach in tightening underwriting standards over the past 18 months. The stable outlook is further supported by African Bank's robust loss-absorption capacity, as demonstrated by its capital buffers and its earnings-generating capabilities. |
15-Feb-2013
(Official Notice) | In terms of the Pillar III disclosure requirements under Basel 2.5, registered banks and controlling companies are required to disclose quantitative information on its capital adequacy ratios on a quarterly basis. The group's third quarter disclosure as at 31 December 2012 has been published on the ABIL website (www.abil.co.za) under financial information heading. |
05-Feb-2013
(Official Notice) | At the annual general meeting of the shareholders of ABIL held today, 5 February 2013, at 11h00, all the resolutions proposed at the meeting were approved by the requisite majority of votes.
Additionally, the resolution proposed at the special class meeting was approved by the requisite majority of votes.
The relevant special resolutions will be lodged for registration with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission in due course. |
30-Jan-2013
(Official Notice) | In terms of the Pillar III disclosure requirements under Basel II, registered banks and controlling companies are required to comprehensively disclose risk and capital information to the public on a semi-annual and annual basis. The group's disclosure for the year ended 30 September 2012 has been published on the ABIL website and can be accessed via the following link: http://africanbank.investoreports.com/financial-information/basel-ii-pillar-3/. |
30-Jan-2013
(Official Notice) | |
29-Jan-2013
(Official Notice) | With reference to the Special Class Meeting ("the meeting") of the preference shareholders of the company held at 10h00, on 29 January 2013, at the head office of ABIL, 59 16th Road, Halfway House, Midrand, shareholders were advised that the meeting was postponed due to no quorum being present and will instead be held at 10h00 on 5 February 2013 at the head office of ABIL, 59 16th Road, Midrand.
The following business was to be put before the meeting at the time of the postponement:
A resolution to amend preference share provisions in the Memorandum of Incorporation ("MOI"), subject to a resolution to adopt a revised MOI of the company being passed as a special resolution at the annual general meeting of ABIL shareholders to be held on Tuesday, 5 February 2013, clauses 38 and 39 of the MOI be amended in the manner set out in the Notice of Special Class Meeting of Preference Shareholders available at http://africanbank.investoreports.com/financial-information/annual-reports/. |
16-Jan-2013
(Official Notice) | Notice was given that a special class meeting of the preference shareholders of ABIL will be held at 10h00 on Tuesday, 29 January 2013 at 59 16th Road, Halfway House, Midrand to approve the amendment of preference share provisions in the company's memorandum of incorporation, which memorandum of incorporation is subject to shareholder approval at the annual general meeting of ABIL shareholders to be held on 5 February 2013.
Salient dates
*Record date to determine which preference shareholders were entitled to receive the notice of special class meeting Friday, 7 December 2012
*Last day to trade in order to be eligible to attend and vote at the special class meeting Friday, 11 January 2013
*Record date to determine which preference shareholders are entitled to attend and vote at the special class meeting -- Friday, 18 January 2013
*Forms of proxy for the special class meeting to be lodged by 10h00 on Friday, 25 January 2013 |
21-Dec-2012
(Official Notice) | Shareholders were advised that the annual financial statements will be distributed to shareholders on 21 December 2012 and contain no modifications to the reviewed results which were published on SENS on 19 November 2012. The annual report is currently available on ABIL's website and can be accessed via the following link: http://africanbank.investoreports.com/financial-information/annual- reports/.
Notice of the annual general meeting
Notice was given that the 66th annual general meeting of the shareholders of ABIL will be held at 11h00 on Tuesday, 5 February 2013 at 59 16th Road, Halfway House, Midrand to transact the business as stated in the annual general meeting notice.
Salient dates
*Record date to determine which shareholders are entitled to receive the notice of annual general meeting -- Friday, 7 December 2012
*Last day to trade in order to be eligible to attend and vote at the annual general meeting -- Friday, 18 January 2013
*Record date to determine which shareholders are entitled to attend and vote at the annual general meeting -- Friday, 25 January 2013
*Forms of proxy for the annual general meeting to be lodged by 11h00 on^ Friday, 1 February 2013
^any proxies not lodged by this time must be handed to the chairperson of the annual general meeting immediately prior to the annual general meeting.
Publication of ABIL annual financial statements
ABIL advised noteholders that the annual financial statements of the company for the year ended 30 September 2012 are available for inspection at: http://africanbank.investoreports.com/financial-information/annual- reports/. |
18-Dec-2012
(Official Notice) | African Bank Investments Ltd. ordinary shareholders are referred to the announcement released on SENS on Friday, 30 November 2012 and published in the press on 3 December 2012 regarding the capitalisation issue ratio with respect to the election to receive capitalisation shares (Capitalisation Shares) in terms of a capitalisation issue (the Capitalisation Issue) in lieu of a cash dividend (the Cash Dividend).
As set out in that announcement, the number of Capitalisation Shares to which Shareholders participating in the Capitalisation Issue would become entitled was determined in the ratio of 3,46311 Capitalisation Shares for every 100 Ordinary Shares held. Where a Shareholder`s entitlement to Capitalisation Shares, calculated in accordance with the above ratio, gave rise to a fraction of a new Ordinary Share, such fraction of a new Ordinary Share was rounded up to the nearest whole number where the fraction was greater than or equal to 0,5 and rounded down to the nearest whole number where the fraction was less than 0,5.
6 056 918 new Ordinary Shares were issued today to Shareholders who elected to receive Capitalisation Shares in terms of the Capitalisation Issue, resulting in a capitalisation out of the share premium of the Company of R151 423. Shareholders recorded in the register of the Company at the close of business on 14 December 2012 holding 629 276 992 Ordinary Shares received the gross Cash Dividend of 110 cents per Ordinary Share, resulting in a total gross cash dividend of R692 204 691.20, which was paid out of the profits of the Company. Share certificates and dividend cheques, where applicable, were dispatched to certificated Shareholders at their own risk, and the Central Securities Depository Participant/broker accounts of dematerialised Shareholders were credited, today. |
30-Nov-2012
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are referred to the company's reviewed annual financial results for the year ended 30 September 2012, published on SENS on 19 November 2012 and in the press on 20 November 2012, and to the announcement on SENS on Friday, 23 November 2012 regarding the posting of a circular relating to the company's declaration of a final gross cash dividend of 110 cents per ordinary share with the right to elect to receive fully paid ordinary shares with a par value of 2.5 cents in ABIL ("capitalisation shares"), in respect of all or part of their ordinary shareholding instead of the Cash Dividend ("capitalisation issue").
The number of Capitalisation Shares to which Shareholders will become entitled pursuant to the Capitalisation Issue (should they so elect) will be determined by the ratio that 110 cents bears to 3176.33719 cents, representing the volume weighted average price ("VWAP") of an ordinary ABIL share traded on the JSE during the nine-day trading period ending on Thursday, 29 November 2012. The ratio of Capitalisation Shares that may be applied for in terms of the Capitalisation Issue is therefore 3,46311 Capitalisation Shares for every 100 ordinary shares held on the Record Date, being Friday, 14 December 2012 ("the Record Date").
If the application of this ratio gives rise to a fraction of an ordinary share, no fractional entitlement shall arise and the result of such calculation will be rounded up to the nearest whole number where the fraction is greater than or equal to 0.5 and rounded down to the nearest whole number where the fraction is less than 0.5 (the "Rounding Provision").
Example of Capitalisation Issue entitlement:
This example assumes that a Shareholder holds 100 ordinary shares at the close of business on the Record Date and elects to receive the Capitalisation Shares for all of such ordinary shares.
New ordinary share entitlement = 100 x 110cents 3176.33719cents = 3.46311 (then apply the Rounding Provision described above) = 3 Capitalisation Shares per 100 ordinary shares held. |
23-Nov-2012
(Official Notice) | |
19-Nov-2012
(C) | Gross margin on retail business rose 2% to R2.1 billion (R2.08 billion). Profit from operations was up 14% to R4 billion (R3.5 billion). Net attributable profit improved 17% to R2.7 billion (R2.3 billion). In addition, headline earnings per share grew to 342.5cps (291cps).
Dividends
A final gross ordinary dividend of 110cps has been declared. In addition, a gross preference share dividend of 327cps has been declared.
Outlook ABIL's core philosophy has always been to build a business that is consistently delivering a valuable proposition to customers through the different macroeconomic cycles. While ABIL will remain vigilant, given the economic environment and increased competition, the group has spent the last few years building a business that we believe is robust and one that can withstand external pressures. Accordingly, ABIL remains focused towards generating sustainable and growing returns rather than expansive growth targets. The banking unit will continue to target good sales and advances growth, albeit at a slower pace than in recent years, with stable yields and steady asset quality.
At the retail unit the focus will shift towards optimising and growing the business, now that the major changes to the operating model and the roll out of the supply chain are largely complete. Over the next two to three years the strategic imperatives will shift to reflect the changes in objectives and the progress made to date. New strategic imperatives are to grow the retail business in a challenging economic environment and to maximise and optimise financial services value extraction from the Retail unit. |
07-Nov-2012
(Official Notice) | ABIL has issued the second, fixed rate senior unsecured Swiss bond of CHF125 million, equivalent to ZAR1.164 billion, with a term of four years. The bond will be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange under ABIL's existing USD2 billion Euro Medium Term Note ("EMTN") Programme. The bond, ISIN CH0199541308, due 09 November 2016, has an annual coupon rate of 4%. The coupon payment dates for the notes will fall annually on 09 November.
This latest issue follows shortly after the inaugural Swiss Franc issue in July 2012, demonstrating the keen interest in ABIL credit from Swiss investors after the original Swiss issue had performed well in the secondary markets. ABIL has executed a CHF/ZAR cross currency hedge, swapping all Swiss Franc coupon and principal flows into ZAR. |
31-Oct-2012
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that both headline earnings and earnings for the period are expected to increase by between 17% and 19% relative to the R2 339 million reported for the 2011 financial year. Similarly, headline earnings per share and earnings per share are expected to increase by between 17% and 19% relative to the 291,0 cents per share reported for the 2011 financial year.
ABIL benefited from strong credit sales and advances growth through its expanded distribution and innovative products and a slower reduction in yield than in recent years. Cost growth, while higher than in previous years, remains well below revenue growth, resulting in positive operating leverage. The credit loss ratio was marginally up from that published in the interim results.
The Retail unit (EHL) experienced sluggish sales as the economy slowed and consumers came under increasing pressure. However, its improving efficiencies and solid margins helped maintain the positive momentum achieved through operating leverage in the first half of the year.
The group is comfortable that risk remains well controlled, from the perspective of the economic environment, recent legislative and regulatory developments, as well as credit quality. It is pleasing to note that the combination of regulatory scrutiny and heightened awareness by key players in the market have begun to curb excess supply of credit and that a slowdown of credit extension is evident in the most recent bureau information. ABIL's own underwriting interventions during the year have been successful in achieving the group's targeted risk adjusted returns and in further limiting its exposure to emerging risk in the market.
The full year results for the year ended 30 September 2012 are expected to be released on SENS and RNS on or about Monday, 19 November 2012. ABIL will also hold a conference call for interested parties on Wednesday, 31 October 2012 at 16:30 (SA time). |
18-Oct-2012
(Official Notice) | Shareholders were advised that Ms Leeanne Goliath has been appointed as Company Secretary of ABIL and its group companies effective 18 October 2012. |
27-Aug-2012
(Official Notice) | In terms of Pillar 3 under Basel II, registered banks and controlling companies are required to disclose quantitative information on its capital adequacy ratios on a quarterly basis. The group's third quarter disclosure as at 30 June 2012 has been published on the ABIL website (www.abil.co.za) under financial information heading. |
06-Aug-2012
(Official Notice) | |
03-Aug-2012
(Official Notice) | Michael Mduduzi Luthuli resigned as company secretary to African Bank Investments Limited with effect from 1 August 2012. |
23-Jul-2012
(Official Notice) | African Bank (a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABIL) has issued an inaugural three year, fixed rate senior unsecured Swiss bond of CHF150 million, equivalent to R1.263 billion. The bond will be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange under African Bank's existing USD2 billion Euro Medium Term (EMTN) Note Programme. The bond, ISIN CH0190227691 and due 24 July 2015, has an annual coupon rate of 4.75%. The coupon payment dates for the notes will fall annually on 24 July.
African Bank decided to pursue an offering and listing in the Swiss market after substantial interest from Swiss investors in its US dollar bonds issued under the EMTN programme in June 2011 and February 2012. The new issue has further diversified African Bank?s funding base and broadened its investor universe. It is the first ever CHF issuance by a bank in Africa and the first bond to be issued by a South African institution in the Swiss public market in more than 20 years. African Bank has executed a CHF/ZAR cross currency hedge, swapping all Swiss Franc coupon and principal flows into ZAR. |
21-May-2012
(C) | Interest income on advances increased by 32% to R4.6 billion (R3.4 billion). Income from operations was up 26% to R9.3 billion (R7.4 billion). Net attributable profit jumped by 25% to R1.4 billion (R1.1 billion). In addition, headline earnings on a per share basis grew by 25% to 170.4c (136.3cps).
Dividends
The directors have declared an interim gross cash dividend of 85 cents (72.25 cents net of dividend withholding tax) per ordinary share for the six months to 31 March 2012. The directors have also declared an interim gross cash preference share dividend of 341 cents per share (289.85 cents net of dividend withholding tax).
Outlook
It is expected that the current economic environment will continue for the rest of the financial year. The bank should continue to benefit for the enlarged distribution base, the growth in customers and new products. The retail environment seems to be weakening and it is envisaged that trading conditions will be difficult. Innovation and energy have resulted in strong levels of activity in the first half of the year and these are expected to continue in the second half. Given the current impetus in the business, our financial objectives for 2012 remain on track. |
02-May-2012
(Official Notice) | ABIL is currently finalising its interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2012, expected to be released on SENS on Monday, 21 May 2012. Shareholders are advised that both headline earnings and earnings for the period are expected to increase by between 24% and 26% relative to the R1 095 million reported for the comparative period of the 2011 financial year. Similarly headline earnings per share and earnings per share are expected to increase by between 24% and 26% relative to the 136.3 cents per share reported for the comparative period of the 2011 financial year. |
19-Mar-2012
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are referred to the announcement on 9 March 2012 regarding the private placement of ABIL perpetual, non-cumulative, non-participating preference shares. Following a book building process jointly run by Absa Capital (the investment banking division of Absa Bank Ltd., affiliated with Barclays) and Investec Capital Markets (a division of Investec Bank Ltd.), 5,480,778 preference shares have been placed with selected investors.
In aggregate, R426,020,873.94 in cash was raised at an issue price per preference share of R77.73, including accrued dividends. The additional preference shares, which will rank pari passu with the preference shares already in issue, will be issued and listed on the JSE, from commencement of business on Friday, 23 March 2012. The capital raised through the issue, after deduction of costs and accrued dividends, will be applied towards the subscription by ABIL of ordinary shares in its wholly owned subsidiary, African Bank Ltd. |
09-Mar-2012
(Official Notice) | |
05-Mar-2012
(Official Notice) | ABIL announces that Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has updated its credit opinion on African Bank, and maintains its national scale ratings of A1.za (long term) and P-1.za (short-term), and its foreign currency deposit ratings of Baa2 (long-term) and P-2 (short-term). All ratings continue to carry a stable outlook. |
29-Feb-2012
(Official Notice) | In terms of the Pillar III disclosure requirements under Basel II, registered banks and controlling companies are required to comprehensively disclose risk and capital information to the public on a quarterly, semi-annual and annual basis. The group's disclosure for the quarter ended 31 December 2011 has been published on the ABIL website and can be accessed via the following link: http://africanbank.investoreports.com/financial-information/basel-ii-pillar-3/. |
27-Feb-2012
(Official Notice) | African Bank (a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABIL) has tapped its existing 6.000% fixed rate senior unsecured notes due 15 June 2016 (ISIN XS0638008051) for an amount of USD50 million. The notes were issued at a credit spread of 649bps above the prevailing five year US Dollar midswaps rate. African Bank has executed a USD/ZAR cross currency hedge, swapping all future US Dollar exposure into fixed ZAR exposure. The additional tranche of notes will be listed on the London Stock Exchange on 2 March 2012 and will be indicated by the temporary ISIN number XS0752725530 until the 40 days after the date of the settlement of the additional tranche (11 April 2012). At this time the new tranche of notes will become fungible with the existing series of notes, whereupon the temporary ISIN number will fall away and the new tranche of notes will become incorporated into the original bond, having the ISIN number XS0638008051. The notes were issued under African Bank's USD2 billion Euro Medium Term Note programme. The coupon payment dates for the new tranche of notes will fall on the same dates as the existing series (15th of June and 15th of December, starting from 15th of June 2012). |
27-Feb-2012
(Official Notice) | Interested parties are referred to previous announcements regarding the fact that ABIL has recently been in the process of preparing to issue a further tranche of preference shares as part of a general capital management programme. The Minister of Finance, Minister Pravin Gordhan, announced in the budget speech on Wednesday, 22nd February 2012, that the new so-called "dividend tax" will, along with the abolition of the Secondary Tax on Companies ("STC"), be introduced at the rate of 15% instead of the 10% rate that the market had generally anticipated. The company wished to reiterate that its articles of association were amended in March 2010 to ensure that dividends payable to preference shareholders will be increased ("grossed-up") after the dividend tax law change becomes effective. This increase will be equal to the entire STC saving that the company receives per preference share as a result of the dividend tax law change becoming effective. ABIL wishes to devote appropriate time to review the impact of the budget speech announcement on its preference share offering and interested parties are accordingly advised that it has taken the decision to postpone its proposed issue of new preference shares until further notice. |
22-Feb-2012
(Official Notice) | African Bank (a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABIL) has issued a USD 350 million five year fixed rate senior unsecured bond (ISIN XS0751016865), with a final redemption date of 24 February 2017. This bond was issued at a credit spread of 693bps above the prevailing five year US Dollar midswaps rate. African Bank has executed a USD/ZAR cross currency hedge, swapping all future US Dollar exposure into fixed ZAR exposure. The bond will listed on the London Stock Exchange on 27 February 2012. It is the second listed bond issued under African Bank's USD 2 billion Euro Medium Term Note programme. For further information please contact Steven Kahanovitz on +27 11 564 6709 or Gavin Jones on +27 11 564 6868.
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08-Feb-2012
(Official Notice) | Further to the announcement released on SENS on 7 February 2012, shareholders are advised that reference to the special class meeting of preference shareholders therein was an oversight, and that no such meeting took place. Accordingly, and for the sake of clarity: At the annual general meeting of the shareholders of African Bank Investments Ltd held on 07 February 2012, at 11h00, all the resolutions proposed at the meeting were approved by the requisite majority of votes. |
07-Feb-2012
(Official Notice) | At the annual general meeting of the shareholders of ABIL held on 07 February 2012, at 11h00, all the resolutions proposed at the meeting were approved by the requisite majority of votes. Additionally, all the resolutions proposed at the special class meeting were approved by the requisite majority of votes. |
06-Feb-2012
(Official Notice) | |
21-Nov-2011
(C) | Interest income on advances increased by 23% to R7.3 billion (R6 billion). Income from operations was up by 20% to R15.3 billion (R12.7 billion). Net attributable profit rose by 23% to R2.3 billion (R1.9 billion). In addition, headline earnings per share grew by 24% to 291c (235.2cps).
Dividends
ABIL has declared a final dividend of 100 cents per ordinary share and a final preference dividend of 310 cents per share.
Outlook
While it is expected that the subdued economic environment will continue in 2012, the group is confident of its prospects for the next financial year. The bank should continue to benefit from the substantially greater distribution base that was achieved this year and the number of new products and initiatives in development. The EHL group similarly, has a number of innovations and product enhancements that are expected to impact positively on growth. Above all, management believes that continued focus on the development of people will accelerate the energy and the momentum that manifested during 2011. |
08-Nov-2011
(Official Notice) | Investec Asset Management Holdings (Pty) Ltd has on 4 November 2011, notified the company that its holding in the company has increased from 4.8% to 5.18% of the voting rights in the company. |
02-Nov-2011
(Official Notice) | In terms of the Listing Requirements of the JSE Limited, the following information is disclosed: ABIL is currently finalising its annual results for the year ended 30 September 2011, expected to be released on SENS on Monday, 21 November 2011.
Shareholders are advised that headline earnings and headline earnings per share for the period are expected to increase by between 23% and 25%, relative to the R1 890 million and 235,2 cents per share respectively reported for the 2010 financial year. Earnings and earnings per share are similarly expected to increase by between 22% and 24% relative to the R1 906 million and 237,2 cents per share respectively reported in 2010.
The forecast financial information, on which this trading statement is based, has not been reviewed nor audited and reported on by ABIL's external auditors.
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05-Sep-2011
(Official Notice) | ABIL will be hosting an investor day from 09:30 on Tuesday, 6 September 2011. The investor day will specifically focus on the operations of Ellerine Holdings Ltd. All the presentations, as well as a live and delayed webcast will be available for interested investors via a link on Abil's website at http://africanbank.investoreports.com/financial-information/results- presentation/. |
05-Sep-2011
(Official Notice) | In terms of Pillar 3 under Basel II, registered banks and controlling companies are required to disclose quantitative information on its capital adequacy ratio on a quarterly basis. The group's third quarter disclosure as at 30 June 2011 has been published on the ABIL website (www.abil.co.za) under the financial information heading. |
18-Aug-2011
(Official Notice) | ABIL will be hosting an investor day from 09:30 on Thursday, 18 August 2011. The investor day will cover a wide range of topics specific to the group. All the presentations, as well as a live and delayed webcast will be available for interested investors via a link on ABIL's website at http://africanbank.investoreports.com/financial-information/results- presentation/. |
04-Aug-2011
(Official Notice) | |
21-Jul-2011
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are referred to ABIL's announcements of 21 February 2011 and 1 July 2011 in which shareholders were advised of the private placement to selected investors of ABIL variable-rate, perpetual, non- cumulative, non-participating preference shares ("preference shares"), pursuant to receipt of approval for a specific issue for cash. Results of private placement A joint book building process was run by Absa Capital (the investment banking division of Absa Bank Ltd, and affiliated with Barclays Capital) and Investec Capital Markets (a division of Investec Bank Ltd), which closed on 19 July 2011. In aggregate, R242 619 517.25 in cash was raised pursuant to the private placement. ABIL has allocated 3 042 251 preference shares at an issue price per preference share of R79.75, including accrued dividends, (the "additional preference shares") to selected investors (not being persons considered to be non-public shareholders or related parties to the Company in terms of the JSE Ltd Listings Requirements and subject to minimum subscription limits per principal institutional investor, (as contemplated in section 96(1)(a) of the Companies Act, 2008) of R100 000 and per non-institutional investor of R1 000 000.) The additional preference shares, which will rank pari passu with the preference shares already in issue, will be issued and listed on the JSE on Tuesday, 26 July 2011. The capital raised through the issue will be applied towards the subscription by ABIL of ordinary shares in its wholly owned subsidiary, African Bank Ltd. |
11-Jul-2011
(Official Notice) | In compliance with paragraph 3.59 of the Listings Requirements of the JSE Limited, shareholders are advised that Mr Michael Mduduzi Luthuli has been appointed as company secretary of ABIL and its group companies effective 11 July 2011.
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01-Jul-2011
(Official Notice) | |
01-Jul-2011
(Official Notice) | In terms of the Pillar 3 disclosure requirements under Basel II, registered banks and controlling companies are required to comprehensively disclose risk and capital information to the public on a semi-annual and annual basis. The semi-annual disclosure for ABIL and its subsidiaries, based on information as at 31 March 2011, has been published on the ABIL website (www.abil.co.za) under the heading financial information. |
15-Jun-2011
(Official Notice) | African Bank Ltd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABIL) has issued a USD 300 million five year fixed rate senior unsecured bond (ISIN XS0638008051), with a final redemption date of 15 June 2016. This bond was issued at a credit spread of 425bps above the prevailing five year US Dollar midswaps rate. African Bank has executed a USD / ZAR cross currency hedge, swapping all future US Dollar exposure into fixed ZAR exposure. The bond has been listed on the London Stock Exchange on 15 June 2011, and is the first listed bond issued under African Bank`s USD1 billion Euro Medium Term Note programme. For further information please contact Steven Kahanovitz on +27 11 564 6709 or Gavin Jones on +27 11 564 6868.
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23-May-2011
(C) | Interest income on advances improved to R3.4 billion (R2.9 billion) and profit from operations increased to R1.7 billion (R1.3 billion). Also, profit for the period rose to R1.1 billion (R948 million) and headline earnings per share jumped to 136.3cps (113.7cps).
Dividend
ABIL has declared an interim ordinary dividend of 85cps and an interim preference share dividend of 310cps.
Outlook
It is expected that the subdued external trading environment will continue for the rest of the financial year. Innovation and renewed energy have resulted in strong levels of activity in the first half of the year and these are expected to continue into the second half. Given the current impetus in the business, our financial objectives for 2011 therefore remain unchanged |
12-May-2011
(Official Notice) | ABIL is currently finalising its interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2011, expected to be released on SENS on 23 May 2011. Shareholders are advised that headline earnings and headline earnings per share for the period are expected to increase by approximately 20% relative to the R914 million and 113,7 cents per share respectively reported for the first six months of the 2010 financial year. Earnings per shares are expected to increase by approximately 18%. The forecast financial information, on which this trading statement is based, has not been reviewed nor audited and reported on by ABIL's external auditors. |
06-May-2011
(Official Notice) | ABIL announced that Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has updated its credit opinion on African Bank Ltd ("African Bank"), and maintains its national scale ratings of A1.za (long-term) and P-1.za (short-term), and its foreign currency deposit ratings of Baa2 (long-term) and P-2 (short-term). Moody's said that the rating reflects ABIL's niche franchise as South Africa's largest specialised unsecured credit provider as well as its historically good profitability, efficiency and capitalisation metrics. All ratings continue to carry a stable outlook. |
30-Mar-2011
(Official Notice) | At the general meeting of the shareholders of ABIL held on 30 March 2011, at 11h00, all the resolutions as listed below and proposed at the meeting were approved by the requisite majority of votes:
*Ordinary resolution 1 - Specific authority to issue preference shares for cash
*Special resolution 1 - Specific authority to issue preference shares for cash, in the form of a special resolution
*Special resolution 2 - Amendment to Articles of Association relating to the preference shares
*Ordinary resolution 2 - Authorised signatories
The registration of special resolution number one is subject to approval of the resolution at a special class meeting, held on 30 March 2011 at 10h30. All the resolutions proposed at the special class meeting were approved by the requisite majority of votes. All special resolutions will be lodged for registration with the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office in due course. |
30-Mar-2011
(Official Notice) | Yashmita Mistry has resigned as company secretary to ABIL with effect from 31 March 2011. |
23-Mar-2011
(Official Notice) | With reference to the special class meeting ("the meeting") of the preference shareholders of the company held at 10h30, on 23 March 2011, at the head office of ABIL, 59 16th Road, Halfway House, Midrand, shareholders are advised that the meeting was adjourned due to no quorum being present and will instead be held on the 30th March 2011 at 10h30 at the head office of ABIL, 59 16th Road, Midrand.
The following business was put before the meeting at the time of the adjournment:
A resolution to amend Articles 38 and 39 of the Articles of Association of ABIL relating to the non-redeemable non-cumulative non-participating preference shares:
*Amendments to Articles 38.4.2 and 39.1 are necessary for practical purposes to align the dividend periods applicable to any new issue of preference shares with those already in issue so as to ensure that it is possible for new issues of preference shares to form part of the same class of preference shares as the class of preference shares already in issue;
*The amendments will enable any new preference shares in a class of preference shares issued by the Company to carry the same rights to dividends as are carried by existing preference shares of such class irrespective of the date of issue of such new preference shares.
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15-Mar-2011
(Official Notice) | In compliance with the JSE Limited Listings Requirements, the following information is disclosed: ABIL has an approved term limit policy in respect of its board of directors ("the board"), whereby the Chairman's service tenure is limited to a maximum of ten years and other Non-Executive Directors to a maximum of eight years in total. In terms of this policy, David Braidwood Gibbon (Non-Executive Director) and Ashley Tugendhaft (Non-Executive Director) have reached their term limit and therefore will retire from the boards of both ABIL and African Bank Ltd with effect from 31 March 2011.
At the same time, the board announce the appointment of two Independent Non-Executive Directors, namely Ntombi Langa Royds and Jack Koolen, to the boards of ABIL and African Bank Limited with effect from 15 March 2011.
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14-Mar-2011
(Official Notice) | We refer to the recent budget speech by the Minister of Finance, Mr Pravin Gordhan, and the announcement of the implementation in April 2012 of the withholding tax on dividends. ABIL confirm that its articles of association were amended in March 2010 to ensure that dividends payable to preference shareholders will be increased ("grossed-up") after the dividend tax law change becomes effective. This increase will be equal to the entire secondary taxation on companies ("STC") saving that the company receives per preference share as a result of the dividend tax law change becoming effective.
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08-Mar-2011
(Official Notice) | African Bank Ltd ("African Bank"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABIL, has issued a R1 billion four year, floating rate senior unsecured bond, with a redemption date of 08 March 2015 (ABL12B). The bond was issued at a credit spread of 240 basis points above 3 month JIBAR.
ABL12B will be listed on the Bond Market of the JSE Limited on 08 March 2011. This is the 23rd issuance of bonds under African Bank's R15 billion domestic medium term note programme. For further information please contact Steven Kahanovitz on 011 564 6709 or Gavin Jones on 011 564 6868.
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02-Mar-2011
(Official Notice) | Advocate Mojankunyane Gumbi has been appointed as a non-executive director to the boards of African Bank Investments Ltd and African Bank Ltd with effect from 1 March 2011. |
23-Feb-2011
(Official Notice) | In terms of Pillar 3 under Basel II, registered banks and controlling companies are required to disclose quantitative information on its capital adequacy ratio on a quarterly basis. The group's first quarter disclosure as at 31 December 2010 has been published on the ABIL website (www.abil.co.za) under the financial information heading. |
21-Feb-2011
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that ABIL is considering issuing up to 15 000 000 preference shares to selected investors for cash by way of a private placement. The shares will rank on a pari passu basis with its existing listed preference shares. ABIL wishes to raise cost effective permanent share capital as part of a general capital management programme. It is intended that capital raised through the issue of preference shares will be applied towards the subscription by ABIL of ordinary shares in its wholly owned subsidiary, African Bank Ltd.
Placing of the preference shares
Placements of preference shares will be made by ABSA Capital (a division of ABSA Bank Ltd) and Investec Capital Markets (a division of Investec Bank Ltd) through a joint bookbuilding process, in terms of which selected investors will be invited to participate in the proposed issue. The issue of preference shares will be conditional upon the fulfilment of the conditions precedent referred to below.
*Selected investors may not be non-public shareholders or related parties to the company in terms of the JSE Ltd Listings Requirements.
*The minimum subscription amount per principal investor will be R100 000.
Conditions precedent
The issue of any preference shares to investors following the successful completion of the bookbuilding and placement process will be conditional upon the fulfilment of the following conditions precedent:
*the approval by ABIL shareholders of the requisite resolutions to issue the preference shares;
*the approval by the board of directors of ABIL of the terms of the issue of the preference shares;
*the approval of the listing of the preference shares to be issued by the JSE Ltd; and
*the requisite approval of the Registrar of Banks.
Circular
Further announcements and a circular containing the details of the specific issue of any preference shares for cash will be issued to shareholders in due course. |
07-Feb-2011
(Official Notice) | |
28-Jan-2011
(Official Notice) | In terms of the Pillar III disclosure requirements under Basel II, registered banks and controlling companies are required to comprehensively disclose risk and capital information to the public on a semi-annual and annual basis. The group's disclosure for the year ended 30 September 2010 has been published on the ABIL website (www.abil.co.za) under the heading financial information. |
27-Jan-2011
(Official Notice) | At the 64th annual general meeting of the shareholders of African Bank Investments Limited held today, 25th January 2011, all the resolutions, proposed at the meeting were approved by the requisite majority of votes, with the exception of Ordinary Resolution Number 4 which was withdrawn.
The special resolutions will be lodged for registration with the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office in due course. In addition Mpho Nkeli has resigned from the boards of African Bank Investments Limited and African Bank Limited with effect from 25th January 2011. |
20 Dec 2010 12:48:50
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that ABIL's annual report is available on its website at www.abil.co.za. The annual financial statements relating to the audited results for the year ended 30 September 2010, will be distributed to shareholders on or about 28 December 2010 and contain no modifications to the reviewed results which were published on SENS on 22 November 2010.
Notice of annual general meeting
Notice was given that the annual general meeting of ABIL shareholders will be held on 25 January 2011, at 11h00 at African Bank Ltd, 59 16th Road, Halfway House, Midrand, to transact the business as stated in the annual general meeting notice forming part of the annual financial statements. |
03 Dec 2010 10:59:02
(Official Notice) | ABIL indicated in its annual results announcement for the twelve months to September 2010 that it had achieved a significant increase in credit sales in the second half of the 2010 financial year, which represented growth of 33% over the prior year's comparable period. This growth was achieved largely on the back of various new product initiatives and a reinvigorated distribution network, and was amplified by the relatively low base of 2009.
In order to provide investors with timely insights into operational performance trends, the group would like to confirm that the accelerating sales momentum has been sustained into the new financial year. While some seasonal growth is to be expected over the traditional peak trading period, group credit sales for October 2010 and November 2010 increased by some 60% over the prior year`s comparable period. The growth in credit sales has been driven largely by a significant increase in application volumes, including strong growth in new clients.
Investors should note that this sales data is not in itself an indicator of group profitability, and has not been reviewed or reported on by ABIL's external auditors. Further details for the quarter ended December 2010 will be provided on the 7th of February 2011, when the group is scheduled to release its first quarter trading update.
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22 Nov 2010 08:51:03
(C) | Interest income on advances was up 9% to R6 billion (R5.4 billion). Net attributable profit increased by 6% to R1.9 billion (R1.8 billion). In addition, headline earnings on a per share basis grew by 4% to 235.2cps (225.2cps).
Dividends
ABIL has declared a final ordinary dividend of 100cps. The group has also declared a final preference share dividend of 336cps.
Outlook
Whilst economic conditions are expected to remain challenging, ABIL does expect some improvement during 2011 as lower inflation and interest rates start to stimulate consumer spending. For African Bank, the recent lift in sales bodes well for the 2011 financial year. The Bank is targeting an acceleration in its sales and advances growth, a moderate decline in yield, a more efficient application of cash resources and steady asset quality. The card division will concentrate on promoting credit cards to the EHL customer base, increasing call centre sales and improving the value proposition for existing customers. The bank is targeting modest growth in operating costs for the next financial year.
The bank's focus areas for 2011 will include becoming more people centered with regard to staff, increasing the number of new customers, building on the recent sales momentum, controlling cost growth, reducing the average cost of funds, enhancing the branch collection capabilities and branch empowerment programme, focusing on the rehabilitation of customers in financial distress and improving client service levels and streamlining customer processes. EHL's priorities for the retail part of the business for 2011 will remain on margin delivery, stock, working capital and cash management, supply chain optimisation and sales growth, while African Bank as the credit provider, will concentrate on providing EHL with differentiated lowest price credit and innovative value added products to the EHL customer base. The merchandising focus for 2011 will be on product innovation to drive higher margin opportunities, on developing strategic supplier relationships, growing the imported component of the business in order to ensure differentiation and enhance margins, and on bringing a number of new opportunities to fruition. |
28 Sep 2010 07:30:02
(Official Notice) | African Bank Ltd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABIL) ("African Bank") has agreed to issue R1 billion of four year senior unsecured bonds, the details of which are as follows:
*A R525 million, 9.50% fixed rate senior unsecured bond with a redemption date of 29 September 2014 (ABL11A). This bond was issued at a credit spread of 230 bps above the benchmark R201.
*A R475 million, floating rate senior unsecured bond with a redemption date of 29 September 2014 (ABL11B). This bond was issued at a credit spread of 250 bps above 3 month JIBAR.
In aggregate, the issue was 63% oversubscribed. The bonds will be listed on the Bond Market of the JSE Limited on 29 September 2010. This is the 19th and 20th issuance of bonds under African Bank?s R15 billion domestic medium term note programme. For further information please contact Steven Kahanovitz on 011 564 6709 or Gavin Jones on 011 564 6868.
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13 Sep 2010 07:58:39
(Official Notice) | |
16 Aug 2010 09:25:59
(Official Notice) | In terms of Pillar 3 under Basel II, registered banks and controlling companies are required to disclose quantitative information on its capital adequacy ratios on a quarterly basis. The group's third quarter disclosure as at 30 June 2010 has been published on the ABIL website (www.abil.co.za) under investor relations.
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05 Aug 2010 09:01:22
(Media Comment) | Business Report indicated that African Bank Investments Ltd (Abil) increased by 29% in its fiscal third quarter, bringing its revenue growth to 6% for the nine months to June. Releasing its trading update the provider of unsecured credit products to South Africa's domestic market attributed the surge to a branch reinvigoration programme, product enhancements and the world cup. Leon Kirkinis, the chief executive of Abil, said both businesses- the bank and its furniture retailer subsidiary Ellerines were performing closer to expectations. |
04 Aug 2010 07:59:52
(Official Notice) | |
26 Jul 2010 13:48:09
(Official Notice) | The Hlumisa offer to black ordinary shareholders and ABIL black employees and directors to apply for shares in Hlumisa closed on 27 November 2009. The offer was oversubscribed as applications for shares exceeded the available shares by 1.7 million. The articles of Hlumisa were amended at the Hlumisa AGM held on 27 March 2010 to allow for private placements to be made at a price of R5.40 per share to certain black persons who over-subscribed for the shares in terms of the offer as per above. A total of R69.6 million was raised on the initial offer and private placement, which was used to purchase ABIL ordinary shares on the JSE Ltd. The purchase of the ABIL ordinary shares has now been completed which has resulted in a change in the effective indirect holding in ABIL by the black directors. |
06 Jul 2010 17:03:48
(Official Notice) | African Bank Ltd ("African Bank" or "the Bank"), a registered bank and subsidiary of African Bank Investments Ltd, announced on Tuesday, 06 July 2010 that it has listed a USD1 billion Euro Medium Term Note programme on the London Stock Exchange. The bank also maintains a R15 billion domestic medium term note programme, listed on the bond market of the JSE Ltd and through which the bank has since 2001, issued 18 distinct bonds, totalling R16.8 billion. The EMTN programme was launched to further broaden the sources of funding for the bank and support groNwth in the bank's loan book. The following prospectus has been approved by the UK listing authority. |
21 Jun 2010 10:23:42
(Official Notice) | The semi-annual disclosure for African Bank Investments Ltd and its subsidiaries, based on information as at 31 March 2010, has been published on 21 June 2010 on the ABIL website (www.abil.co.za) under investor relations. |
24 May 2010 09:15:39
(C) | Revenue increased from R7.4 billion to R7.5 billion in 2010.Profit before taxation decreased to R1.4 billion (2009:R1.5 billion).Headline earnings on a per share basis decreased to 113.70cps (116.60cps).
Dividends per share
An interim dividend of 85 cps was declared for the period under review.
Prospects
Whilst trading conditions are not expected to show any material improvement in the short term, the group expects a stronger performance for the full year, given the better sales momentum evident in recent months, the expectation of lower bad debt charges as previously higher vintages work their way through, and the benefits of the various cost savings initiatives recently implemented. At the same time, the integration of the group's financial services activities into the African Bank business unit will enable more efficient utilisation of capital and liquidity balances, with a positive impact on overall group returns. African Bank is targeting an acceleration in its sales growth, a lower rate of increase in operating costs, more efficient application of cash resources and improved collections from its branch collections initiative amongst others. Ellerines' priorities for the retail part of the business for the next six months will remain on margin delivery, stock management, supply chain optimisation and sales growth, while the financial services part of the business will concentrate on finalising the integration and providing innovative value added products to its customer base. |
07 May 2010 11:24:01
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that headline earnings and headline earnings per share for the period are expected to decline by 2% relative to the R937 million and 116.6 cents per share respectively reported for the first six months of the 2009 financial year. The African Bank business unit is expected to report a decrease in headline earnings of 5%, whilst Ellerines is expected to report a 6% increase relative to the results reported for the six months to 31 March 2009. As previously communicated, trading conditions in the first quarter of the current financial year remained particularly challenging. Trading volumes in both businesses have, however, recovered modestly in the second quarter, which bodes well for an improved group performance for the full financial year. |
21 Apr 2010 11:59:14
(Official Notice) | ABIL announced that Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has updated its credit opinion on African Bank Ltd ("African Bank"), and maintains its national scale ratings of A1.za (long-term) and P-1.za (short-term), and its foreign currency deposit ratings of Baa2 (long-term) and P-2 (short-term). Moody's stated that the rating reflects African Bank's niche franchise as South Africa's largest specialised unsecured credit provider as well as its historically sound financial fundamentals. All ratings continue to carry a stable outlook. |
30 Mar 2010 14:39:16
(Official Notice) | At the special class meeting of the preference shareholders of African Bank Investments Ltd held on 30th March 2010, all the resolutions proposed at the meeting were approved by the requisite majority of votes. The special resolution will be lodged for registration with the Companies Registration Office in due course. |
23 Mar 2010 16:45:38
(Official Notice) | At the 63rd annual general meeting held on 23 March 2010, all the resolutions proposed at the meeting were approved by the requisite majority of votes. The registration of special resolution number one is subject to approval of the resolution at a special class meeting, which was to be held at the AGM. This special class meeting was adjourned due to no quorum being present at the meeting and will instead be held on the 30 March 2010 at 10h45 at 59 16th Road, Midrand. |
12 Mar 2010 10:11:16
(Official Notice) | African Bank Ltd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABIL) ("African Bank") has issued R1.75 billion of five year senior unsecured bonds, the details of which are as follows:
*A R500 million, fixed rate senior unsecured bond with a redemption date of 15 March 2015 (ABL10A). This bond was issued at a credit spread of 325bps above the benchmark R157.
*A R500 million, floating rate senior unsecured bond with a redemption date of 15 March 2015 (ABL10B). This bond was issued at a credit spread of 315bps above 3 month JIBAR.
*A R750 million, inflation linked senior unsecured bond with a redemption date of 15 March 2015 (ABLI03). This bond was issued at a credit spread of 270bps above the equivalent government inflation linked yield.
In aggregate, the issue was 81% oversubscribed. The bonds will be listed on the Bond Market of the JSE Ltd on 15 March 2010. This issue is the 16th, 17th and 18th tranche of bonds issued under African Bank's R15 billion domestic medium term note programme. For further information please contact Steven Kahanovitz on 011 564 6709 or Gavin Jones on 011 564 6868. |
01 Mar 2010 12:00:35
(Official Notice) | Shareholders were advised that the date of ABIL's annual general meeting for the financial period ended 30th September 2009 is Tuesday, 23rd March 2010 at 11:00 at the registered offices of ABIL, 59 16th road, Halfway House, Midrand, 1685. |
11 Feb 2010 09:33:50
(Media Comment) | African Bank yesterday said bad debts had peaked in it's financial first quarter and it was starting to relax credit underwriting criteria once more. The mass market lender said in a trading update for the first quarter to December that a continuing cautious approach to credit underwriting in the recent past resulted in new loan sales falling 12% to R2.6 billion compared with the first quarter a year previously.
The shift at Abil to lower-risk clients and market segments also caused the average loan size in the quarter to increase 11% compared with the equivalent period in 2008, to R7 600. The average term of the loans increased to 39 months, compared with the 33-month average for the full-year 2009. The bank has started to relax credit underwriting criteria for clients in the riskier segment of the market, as economic conditions has begun to stabilise and it was important to be "relevant" to all customer segments.
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10 Feb 2010 11:08:39
(Official Notice) | |
29 Dec 2009 08:37:27
(Media Comment) | Business Day reported that ABIL, which cut more than 2 350 staff in the year to September 30, has started focusing on growing its customer base once again. According to chairman Mutle Mogase, executive deputy chairman Gordon Schachat and CEO Leon Kirkinis this was because underwriting and collection methods had been refined in the past financial year, the liquidity position has strengthened and the economy had improved. ABIL had a tough year against the backdrop of the global financial crisis and recession in SA, but ABIL's share prices rose from R4.42 in April 2003 to R29.44 in 2009. |
21 Dec 2009 16:05:08
(Official Notice) | ABIL's annual report is available on its website at www.abil.co.za. With regard to the audited results for the year ended 30 September 2009, shareholders are advised that the annual financial statements will be distributed to shareholders on or about 28 December 2009 and contain no modifications to the reviewed results which were published on SENS on 23 November 2009. Notice of ABIL's annual general meeting of shareholders will be given at a later date. |
21 Dec 2009 13:07:40
(Official Notice) | The Hlumisa offer to black ordinary shareholders and ABIL black employees and directors to apply for shares in Hlumisa closed on 27 November 2009 and almost 2000 applications were received, amounting to a total consideration of R80 million. The applications represented an oversubscription of approximately 1.7 million shares. The allocation process was undertaken by the Hlumisa board acting in consultation with an independent subcommittee of the ABIL board comprised of ABIL board members who were not entitled to participate in the BEE programme. At the date of this notice, Hlumisa has not utilised the proceeds of the share offer to purchase any ABIL shares.
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23-Nov-2009
(C) | Revenue rose by 24% to R14.3 billion (R11.5 billion). Profit from operations increased by 12% to R2.7 billion (R2.5 billion) and profit attributable to ordinary shareholders improved by 19% to R1.8 billion (R1.5 billion). Headline earnings increased by 6% to 225.2cps (211.6cps).
Dividend
A final ordinary dividend of 100cps has been declared. In addition, a preference share dividend of 367cps has been declared.
Outlook
ABIL begins the new financial year with a renewed emphasis on growth, given increasing stability in the external trading environment and far more settled management and operational structures in Ellerines. Within African Bank, the group expects a steady financial performance over the next year, driven by a further growth in customers, relatively stable income yields, improving asset quality, further gains in operating cost absorption and a decline in funding rates. Ellerines similarly is expected to benefit from these factors, and in addition should start to see a gradual recovery in consumer demand and the positive impact of the repositioning of its retail activities and its new pricing proposition. At its core, the vision is to enable customers to improve their lives through access to unsecured credit. Growing to critical mass, with the scale benefits that this brings, is central to this vision and the acquisition of Ellerines has opened up several significant opportunities in this regard. We fully intend to exploit these opportunities in the years ahead, for the benefit of loyal and growing customer base. |
13 Nov 2009 11:39:04
(Official Notice) | ABIL is currently finalising its results for the financial year ended 30 September 2009, expected to be released on SENS on 23rd November 2009. ABIL achieved headline earnings of R1 519 million or 211.6 cps for the year ended 30 September 2008, after deducting a once-off BEE charge of R291 million. Headline earnings before the BEE charge was R1 810 million or 252.1 cps.
Shareholders are advised that headline earnings for the financial year ended 30 September 2009 are expected to be at a similar level to the R1 810 million reported in 2008. Headline earnings per share are expected to be 10%-12% lower than the 252.1 cps reported in the previous financial year as a result of the increase in the weighted number of shares in issue.
The African bank business unit is expected to report an increase in headline earnings of 5%-8% for the year ended 30 September 2009, whilst Ellerines is expected to report a 20%-25% decrease relative to the results reported for the nine months to 30 September 2008. |
03 Nov 2009 13:55:55
(Official Notice) | African Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AABIL, announced that it has raised a R150 million subordinated Tier II capital qualifying loan from DEG. DEG is a German development finance institution and a member of the KfW Bankengruppe. As one of Europe's largest development finance institutions, it promotes private business structures to contribute to sustainable economic growth and improved living conditions.
The subordinated debt instrument has a seven year term which, after being fully hedged via a cross currency swap, is priced at 3mth JIBAR plus 538bps. In line with its risk management strategy, African Bank has also hedged this JIBAR floating rate exposure, via an interest rate swap, resulting in an effective 14.46% nominal annual compounded quarterly (nacq) fixed rate for the duration of the loan. African Bank provides its customers in the predominantly low to middle-income market with unsecured credit, approximately 50% of which is typically applied towards incremental housing and education related purposes. As such, DEG's loan will facilitate broader access for African Bank's clients for these important markets. |
01 Oct 2009 12:14:35
(Official Notice) | Yashmita Mistry has been appointed as company secretary to African Bank Investments Ltd with effect from 5 August 2009. |
21 Sep 2009 11:28:10
(Official Notice) | ABIL announced that Moody's Investors Service has updated its credit opinion on African Bank Ltd, reaffirming its national scale ratings of A1.za (long-term) and P-1.za (short-term), and its foreign currency deposit ratings of Baa2 (long-term) and P-2 (short-term). All ratings continue to carry a stable outlook. |
01 Sep 2009 16:04:55
(Official Notice) | African Bank Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of African Bank Investments Ltd, is pleased to announce that it has raised a R100 million subordinated Tier II capital qualifying loan from Proparco. Proparco is a French Development Financial Institution partly held by Agence Francaise de Developpement and private shareholders. Its mission is to be a catalyst for private investment in developing countries which targets growth, sustainable development and reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Proparco finances operations which are economically viable, socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and financially profitable. The subordinated debt instrument, which has a final maturity of 12 years, is callable by African Bank after 7 years. The pricing of the loan for the initial 7 year non-callable period, after being fully hedged via a cross currency swap, translates into 3mth JIBAR plus 578bps. In line with its existing risk management strategy, African Bank has hedged this floating rate exposure, via an interest rate swap, resulting in an effective 14.4% nacq fixed rate for the duration of the loan. African Bank provides its clients, who are largely in the low-middle-income market, with unsecured credit, approximately 50% of which is applied towards incremental housing and education related purposes. As such, Proparco's loan will facilitate deeper access for African Bank's clients to incremental housing and education related loans. |
06 Aug 2009 08:41:35
(Official Notice) | |
31 Jul 2009 12:33:19
(Media Comment) | Business Report quoted ABIL CE, Leon Kirkinis, as saying the bank was about five years way from starting operations in sub-Saharan Africa. The delay could prove disastrous for ABIL as competitors such as Blue Financial Services Ltd are already operating aggressively in Africa. Analysts have speculated that the bank will use Ellerines' presence in southern Africa to expand in other parts of the continent. |
13 Jul 2009 11:23:09
(Official Notice) | African Bank Ltd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABIL) has issued R1 billion of seven year subordinated unsecured tier II qualifying bonds, details of which are as follows:
* A R520 million, fixed rate subordinated unsecured capital note with a coupon of 15.5% per annum, paid semi-annually and with a redemption date of 13 July 2016 (ABLS2A). This bond was issued at a credit spread of 625bps above the government benchmark R203 bond.
* A R480 million, floating rate subordinated unsecured capital note with a redemption date of 13 July 2016 (ABLS2B). This bond was issued at a credit spread of 630bps above the 3 months JIBAR.
The bonds will be listed on the Bond Exchange of South Africa (BESA) on 13 July 2009. This issue is the 13th tranche of bonds issued under the R10 billion domestic medium term note programme. |
29 May 2009 17:38:26
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that Craig Brighten has resigned as company secretary of ABIL and African Bank Ltd with effect from Friday, 29th May 2009. The board of directors thanks Craig for his contribution and wishes him well in his future career. Anton Voogt, the current group risk officer, will in addition assume the role of company secretary until the vacancy is filled. |
25 May 2009 09:04:40
(C) | Revenue increased by 57% to R7.4 billion (R4.7 billion) and interest income on advances rose by 36% to R2.7 billion (R2 billion). Basic earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders was up 16% to R930 million (R805 million). However, headline earnings on a per share basis fell by 7% to 116.6cps (125.1cps).
Dividend
An interim ordinary dividend of 85cps has been declared. In addition, an interim preference share dividend of 475cps has been declared.
Prospects
The first half of the 2009 financial year has yielded steady progress in respect of ABIL's long-term strategic objectives, notwithstanding the weaker external environment and the significant ongoing investment in restructuring Ellerines. The group continues to gain valuable insights from the current credit cycle, and is confident that the quality of the strategic decisions currently being implemented will be reflected in superior financial returns over time.
The group does not expect any material improvement in trading conditions over the balance of the current financial year and has established an appropriate operational plan to reflect this. Focus will be given to the further integration of financial services activities across the group, as well as the continued revitalisation of Ellerines' core retail activities and refinement of the bank's underwriting and collections processes.
ABIL expects an improvement in financial performance for the full financial year, driven by a gradual recovery in volumes and asset quality at Ellerines, and continued steady progress at African Bank. |
18 May 2009 16:15:53
(Media Comment) | ABIL and its rival Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd are holding up better than their larger rivals amid the financial turmoil, according to Finweek. ABIL's shares up by 10.5% over the past six months. CEO Leon Kirkinis says the strength and sustainability of the business is best measured in tough market conditions. |
06 May 2009 15:52:29
(Official Notice) | African Bank Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABIL has issued, by way of a private placement, a five year, R2 billion senior unsecured inflation linked bond. The yield to maturity on the instrument equates to CPI plus 8%, which represents a spread of approximately 500 bps above the benchmark R189 government inflation linked bond. In line with existing practice, African Bank will hedge the inflation risk embedded in the bond. |
05 May 2009 08:45:44
(Official Notice) | ABIL is pleased to announce the appointment of its current CFO, Nithiananthan Nalliah (Nithia), as Group FD, and as an executive director of African Bank Ltd. Both appointments are effective immediately. |
31 Mar 2009 13:51:22
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that, at the annual general meeting of the company held on 31 March 2009, all of the resolutions set out in the notice of annual general meeting sent to shareholders on 6 March 2009 were passed by the requisite majority of shareholders. The special resolution will be lodged for registration with CIPRO in due course. |
31 Mar 2009 11:06:00
(Official Notice) | ABIL has an approved term limit policy in respect of its board of directors, whereby the chairman's service tenure is limited to a maximum of ten years and other non-executive directors to a maximum of eight years in total. In terms of this policy, Ashley Sefako Mabogoane, non-executive chairman, has reached his term limit and therefore will resign from the boards of both ABIL and African Bank Ltd with effect from 1 April 2009.
The board has approved the appointment of Mutle Constantine Mogase as non- executive chairman of ABIL and African Bank Ltd. Mutle was appointed to both boards during March 2007, and his appointment as non-executive chairman takes effect from 1 April 2009.
Bahle Dawn Goba and Brian Paxton Furbank Steele have also reached their term limits and therefore will resign their positions as non-executive directors of ABIL and African Bank Limited with effect from 21 May 2009.
At the same time, the board is pleased to announce the appointment of two independent non-executive directors, namely Robert John Symmonds (Johnny) and Samuel Sithole (Sam), to the boards of ABIL and African Bank Ltd with effect from 21 May 2009.
The retirement of Ashley, Bahle and Brian, and the appointment of Mutle as Chairman and Johnny and Sam to the board, has necessitated changes to the membership of the sub-committees of the board. |
05 Mar 2009 16:42:25
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that the date of ABIL's annual general meeting for the financial period ended 30th September 2008 is Tuesday, 31st March 2009 at 11h00 at the registered offices of ABIL, 59 16th Road, Halfway House, Midrand, 1685. The notice of annual general meeting will be posted to shareholders on Thursday, 5th March 2009. The notice will also be available on the website: www.ABIL.co.za. |
25 Feb 2009 12:13:41
(Official Notice) | ABIL announces that Moody's Investor Services as at 11 February 2009, reaffirmed African Bank Ltd national scale ratings of A1.za (long- term) and P-1.za (short-term), and its foreign currency deposit ratings of Baa2 (long-term) and P-2 (short-term). All ratings continue to carry a stable outlook. |
17 Feb 2009 10:27:03
(Official Notice) | African Bank Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of African Bank Investments Ltd, has issued a R550 million senior unsecured floating rate bond with a redemption date of 19 February 2012 and priced at a credit spread of 330bps above 3 month JIBAR. In line with its existing risk management strategy, African Bank has hedged this floating rate exposure via an interest rate swap, resulting in an effective 11.4% fixed rate. The bond is the 10th tranche of senior unsecured bonds under the R10 billion domestic medium term note programme. The bond will be listed on the Bond Exchange of South Africa (BESA) on 19 February 2009. The issue was arranged and led by Nedbank Capital, a division of Nedbank Ltd. |
10 Feb 2009 09:40:05
(Official Notice) | ABIL believes that the strength and sustainability of its businesses are best measured in tough market conditions. During the quarter under review, the contrasting performance of African Bank and Ellerines clearly illustrates the different stages of strategic development of these two business units. African Bank has achieved a strong operating result and displayed greater resilience, whilst Ellerines` weaker operating model has led to its short term performance being below expectation.
Sales of new loans granted for the quarter increased by 17% to R3.0 billion (31 December 2007: R2.6 billion). As a result, gross advances increased by 10% to R17.4 billion (30 September 2008: R15.8 billion). The December quarter is traditionally the strongest in terms of sales volumes and therefore results in a stronger annualised growth rate in gross advances than can be expected for the full financial year.
The growth in sales was achieved primarily as a result of an increase in the volume of new loans granted, particularly to medium and low risk segments, whilst the average loan size of R6 900 and average loan term of 32 months have remained steady. The average monthly instalment has fallen by 5% to R530 per month, whilst wage levels have increased by approximately 10% over the past year, resulting in improved client affordability. |
20 Jan 2009 15:30:55
(Official Notice) | Further to the announcement released on SENS on 1 October 2008, the extended public offer to apply for shares in Masonge closed on 28 November 2008. An additional 3 388 applications were received, amounting to a consideration of R16 million. A total of 12,800 applications have been received for the entire Masonge offer to date, amounting to a consideration of R74 million. These applicants have all been successful and have had their full application of shares allotted to them. The allocation process was undertaken by an independent sub committee of the ABIL board comprised of ABIL non-executive board members who were not entitled to participate in the BEE programme. The total number of Masonge shares issued to all applicants is 16 million, which leaves a further 18 million shares to be issued at a future date.
Masonge has utilised the proceeds from the public offer and purchased a total of 2.4 million ABIL ordinary shares through the market at an average price of R26,25 per share. This brings the total number of ABIL ordinary shares owned by Masonge at 15 January 2009 to 13,9 million which is equal to 1.7% of the total issued ordinary shares of ABIL. The total holding by both Masonge and Eyomhlaba of 49.5 million ABIL shares equates to an effective total BEE shareholding of 6.2%. ABIL's stated objective remains that the BEE programs achieve an unencumbered shareholding of 10% by 2015. |
13 Jan 2009 13:12:59
(Official Notice) | African Bank Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of African Bank Investments Ltd, is pleased to announce that it has raised a R350 million subordinated Tier II capital qualifying loan from the International Finance Corporation ("IFC"), a member of the World Bank Group. African Bank provides its clients, who are largely in the low-middle-income market, with unsecured credit, in excess of 50% of which is applied towards incremental housing and education related purposes. As such, IFC's loan will facilitate deeper access for African Bank's clients to incremental housing and education related loans. The instrument, which has a final maturity of 12 years, is callable by African Bank after 7 years. The pricing of the loan for the initial 7 year non-callable period, after being fully hedged via a cross currency swap, translates into 3mth JIBAR plus 365bps. In line with its existing risk management strategy, African Bank has hedged this floating rate exposure, via an interest rate swap, resulting in an effective 11.6% nacq fixed rate for the duration of the loan. |
29 Dec 2008 14:41:23
(Official Notice) | As of 29 December 2008, ABIL's annual report is available on its website at www.abil.co.za. With regard to the audited results for the year ended 30 September 2008, shareholders are advised that the annual financial statements will be distributed to shareholders on or about 30 December 2008 and contain no modifications to the reviewed results which were published on SENS on 24 November 2008.
Notice to annual general meeting
Notice of ABIL's annual general meeting of shareholders will be given at a later date. |
01 Dec 2008 10:26:45
(Media Comment) | Finweek reported that ABIL has discovered that Ellerine's traditional furniture business is running at a loss and that only the credit side is profitable. There is also no evidence that Ellerine was falsely boosting sales to make the business look good before the sale. ABIL CEO Leon Kirkinis admitted that the integration is proving more difficult than expected. This means that management is having to spend more time on the restructuring on the business than they would have liked. |
24 Nov 2008 08:26:50
(C) | Revenue rose by 144% to R11.5 billion (R4.7 billion). Profit from operations increased by 18% to R2.5 billion (R2.1 billion) and profit attributable to ordinary shareholders improved by 13% to R1.5 billion (R1.3 billion). Nevertheless, headline earnings fell by 21% to 211.6cps (268.4cps).
Dividend
A final ordinary dividend of 105cps has been declared. In addition, a preference share dividend of 551cps has been declared.
Outlook
The outlook for the 2009 financial year is informed by the strong internal momentum of the ABIL business unit and the significant restructuring of Ellerines currently underway. ABIL's strategic intent is to double the size of its advances portfolio over the next four years, by continuing to bring credit pricing down, optimising the bank's weighted average cost of capital and operating costs, growing ABIL's active client base and maximising the value proposition to clients. ABIL remains confident that this business unit will achieve these objectives and that this will further entrench its position as the market leader in a larger, more competitive and fast changing unsecured credit market.
The group expects the restructuring of Ellerines to gain momentum in the 2009 financial year. Its retail activities will begin to benefit from changes made to its merchandising strategy, as well as the cost reductions emanating from the organisational restructure and brand optimisation strategy previously announced. ABIL expects to complete the migration of Ellerines financial services activities into African Bank, which should enable the group to reduce the cost of credit while improving the risk parameters of the business. ABIL also expects to largely complete the restructuring of Ellerines balance sheet and funding base. Ultimately, ABIL expects these initiatives to double Ellerines' sales over the next four years, driving appropriate returns on this investment. Notwithstanding the uncertainties in the macro-economic environment, ABIL enters the new financial year with a strong balance sheet, clear operational objectives and every confidence in the company's ability to make further substantive progress towards medium term strategic objectives. |
07 Nov 2008 11:46:45
(Official Notice) | Earnings per share and headline earnings per share are expected to be 21% lower than the previous financial year. This is largely attributable to the previously disclosed BEE charge of R291 million, after tax, relating to the issue of 11.6 million ABIL ordinary shares to Masonge - ABIL's second BEE programme, which in terms of IFRS 2-Share-based payments will be expensed through the income statement in the year ending 30 September 2008.
Excluding this once-off charge, earnings per share and headline earnings per share are expected to be 6% lower than the previous financial year, reflecting the dilutive impact of the consolidation of Ellerines for the nine month period ending 30 September 2008. The African Bank business unit is expected to report an increase in earnings and headline earnings of 8% for the year ending 30 September 2008. These results are due to be released on Monday, 24 November 2008. |
01 Oct 2008 16:42:58
(Official Notice) | The initial public offer to apply for shares in Masonge closed on 13 September 2008 and 9 300 applications were received, amounting to a total consideration of R58 million. These initial applicants have all been successful and have had their full application of shares allotted to them. The allocation process was undertaken by an independent sub committee of the ABIL board comprised of ABIL non-executive board members who were not entitled to participate in the BEE programme. As the initial offer was undersubscribed, ABIL has decided to extend the offer to 28 November 2008. The extended offer is open to all categories of eligible participants, ie. General Ellerines Employees, Black Ellerines Employees, African Bank Black employees and directors, Eyomhlaba black shareholders, Nozala black participants and individuals from the Black general public. The terms of the extended offer are the same as the initial public offer.
As part of the ABIL's BEE programme, ABIL issued 11 557 109 ordinary shares to Masonge on 30 September 2008 at an issue price of 2.5cps. The total consideration paid by Masonge for these shares was R288 928 while they had a market value of R291 million calculated on the day's closing price of R25.20. These shares have been listed by the JSE Ltd on 30 September 2008 which brings the total number of ABIL ordinary shares in issue to 804 175 200. As previously communicated, the fair value of the shares issued by ABIL under the second BEE programme will, in terms of IFRS 2-Share-based payments, be expensed as a charge through the income statement for the year ended 30 September 2008. The corresponding credit will be to shareholder equity with the result that there will be no effect on the net asset value of ABIL.
Masonge has utilised the proceeds from the initial public offer and purchased 1.9 million ABIL ordinary shares through the market at an average price of R26.12 per share. This brings the total number of ABIL ordinary shares owned by Masonge at 30 September 2008 to 13.5 million which is equal to 1.67% of the total issued ordinary shares of ABIL. The total holding by both Masonge and Eyomhlaba of 48.8 million ABIL shares equate to an effective total BEE shareholding of 6.1%. |
22 Sep 2008 14:00:05
(Media Comment) | Business Times reported that shares in ABIL declined by more than 6% on Thursday, 18 September 2008, as the market took an unfavourable view of news that it had issued two bonds for R1.25 billion. The bonds were issued by ABIL's African Bank unit. |
17 Sep 2008 14:28:09
(Official Notice) | African Bank Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABIL has issued two senior unsecured bonds totalling R1.25 billion as follows:
*A R725 million senior unsecured bond with a coupon of 13% per annum, paid semi-annually and with a redemption date of 19 September 2013 (ABL8A). This bond was issued at a credit spread of 375bps above the government benchmark R201 bond.
*A R525 million senior unsecured floating rate note with a redemption date of 19 September 2013 (ABL8B). This bond was issued at a credit spread of 300bps above the 3 months JIBAR.
The two bonds will be listed on the Bond Exchange of South Africa (BESA) on 19 September 2008. The bond issues were arranged and led by Nedbank Capital, a division of Nedbank Ltd, and is the eighth tranche of senior unsecured bonds under the R10 billion domestic medium term note programme. |
18 Aug 2008 07:21:23
(Official Notice) | The trading conditions as they relate to the ABIL group for the third quarter ended 30 June 2008 reflect the different stages their two business units find themselves in. The African Bank business unit commenced with its price differentiation, risk segmentation and price reduction strategy some years ago. As a result, this business continues to experience significant growth which, combined with cost control, has resulted in an expansion of the market it serves. On the other hand Ellerines has only just taken the first tentative steps along this journey. As a result, the growth in Ellerines is more influenced by the present market dynamics. In addition, this has been exacerbated by the risk reduction underwriting interventions made in February 2008 given the poor quality of credit that was written prior to the acquisition of Ellerines. Accordingly, sales in the heavily credit dependant brands remain subdued and are only likely to meaningfully grow as the new refined underwriting models take hold over the course of the next twelve months.
African Bank
Sales of new loans granted for the quarter increased by 39% over the equivalent quarter last year to R2.4 billion, resulting in year-to-date sales increasing by 40% to R7.1 billion.
Ellerines
The intentional tightening of credit granting criteria post the acquisition by ABIL has resulted in sales of merchandise for the six months ended June 2008 being 4.3% lower than the equivalent period last year. |
05 Aug 2008 17:21:57
(Official Notice) | Moody's Investor Services ("Moody's") has affirmed ABIL subsidiary African Bank's national scale ratings of A1.za (long-term) and P-1.za (short- term). In addition, Moody's has for the first time assigned global local currency and foreign currency deposit ratings to African Bank of Baa2 (long- term) and P-2 (short-term). All ratings carry a stable outlook. |
01 Aug 2008 16:00:10
(Official Notice) | |
01 Aug 2008 13:31:29
(Official Notice) | After the acquisition of the Ellerines group by ABIL in January 2008, management set about redefining the company's strategy. One of the steps in this process is to streamline the existing organisational and management structures to support fewer brands that are differentiated and targeted at specific customer segments. Ellerines currently consists of 13 brands supported by 4 divisional management structures, and a corporate head office. In order to deliver on the strategy the management structure of Ellerines will be reorganised. The following decisions have been approved by the ABIL board and are in the process of being implemented:
*The consolidation of the Traditional Division and the management structures of the Ellerines, FurnCity and Town Talk brands into one management team, with a view to rationalising the brands into one;
*The consolidation of the Universal Division and the management structures of the Beares and Lubners brands into one management team, with a view to rationalising the brands into one;
*The Decorating Division`s management structure together with it`s underlying brands, being Wetherlys and Osiers, have already been integrated with the Osiers stores and brand currently being absorbed into Wetherlys;
*The Value Division and the management structure and two of its brands, Mattress
*Factory and Dial-a-Bed, have been integrated, with the Mattress Factory stores and brand currently being absorbed into Dial-a-Bed; and
*Geen - Richards, Savells Fairdeal and Furniture City will be managed on a stand alone basis.
This rationalisation does not affect any of the managers or staff in the branches. |
30 May 2008 15:39:16
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that, at the annual general meeting all of the resolution were passed by the requisite majority of shareholders. The special resolutions will be lodged for registration with CIPRO in due course. |
26 May 2008 08:55:09
(C) | Gross advances have increased to R18.6 billion (R9 billion) for the six months to 31 March 2008. Interest income on advances rose 30% to R2 billion (R1.5 billion). Net profit for the period attributable to ordinary shareholders jumped 42% to R805 million (R567 million). In addition, headline earnings per share was up 10% to 125.1cps (114.1cps).
Dividend
An interim ordinary dividend of 105cps has been declared.
Prospects
ABIL intends to entrench its position as the market leader in a larger, more competitive and fast changing unsecured credit market, and at the same time, offering a quality retail product powered by an affordable credit proposition. Thus key to achieving success in the group's strategies are:
*Continuing to drive down the cost of credit to clients in order to make the group more competitive, increase demand for and make unsecured credit more affordable. This is achieved through continued refinement of the underwriting and risk segmentation models;
*Delivering value to the customer by providing the most competitive retail furniture proposition, being a function of price, value, quality and customer service;
*Designing a best of breed credit delivery model for the Ellerines business. A highly focused project team has been assembled to study all aspects of this challenge and their brief is to design a solution that will significantly reduce the cost of credit whilst also improving the convenience and utility of the credit offerings to Ellerines clients, and to grow the customer base through improved leverage of the group's brands and distribution footprint;
*Continuing the development and growth of the credit card product in order to take it to scale; and
*Improving levels of client service through faster turnaround, higher acceptance rates and convenient access to credit. |
15 May 2008 11:14:38
(Media Comment) | The Financial Mail reported ABIL CEO Leon Kirkinis admitting that the group had overpaid by R450 million when it bought Ellerines in 2007 for R9.1 billion. After four months in charge. ABIL released "adjusted" figures for Ellerines. These wiped R1.4 billion off income the retailer said it had already earned. |
08 May 2008 12:01:49
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that the date of ABIL's annual general meeting for the financial period ended 30th September 2007 is Friday, 30 May 2008 at 11h00 at the registered offices of ABIL, 59 16th Road, Halfway House, Midrand, 1685. The notice of annual general meeting will be posted to shareholders on or before Thursday, 8 May 2008. |
07 May 2008 07:34:06
(Official Notice) | The acquisition date of Ellerines has been set at 7 January 2008, being the nearest practical Ellerines month-end to when ABIL gained effective control of the Ellerines group. As a result, the ABIL group will consolidate the Ellerines balance sheet into its financial statements as at the above date, and will include three months of Ellerines earnings into its interim results for the six month period to 31 March 2008. |
25 Apr 2008 08:53:34
(Media Comment) | Business Report noted that ABIL has sold R250 million of inflation-linked bonds. The note would yield 270 basis points more than the yield on the benchmark government inflation-linked bond, the R189. |
07 Mar 2008 11:25:32
(Official Notice) | ABIL is pleased to announce the appointment from 7 March 2008, of Mpho Nkeli as non-executive director of ABIL and African Bank Ltd, previous a non- executive director of Ellerine Holdings Ltd. |
14 Feb 2008 17:22:52
(Official Notice) | African Bank Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of African Bank Investments Limited has issued R1 billion senior unsecured bonds, with a coupon of 11.85% per annum, paid semi-annually and with a redemption date of 18 February 2013 (ABL7). The ABL7 bond will be listed on the Bond Exchange of South Africa (BESA) on 18 February 2008. The bonds were issued at a credit spread of 305bps above the government benchmark R201 bond, or 293bps over the BEASSA 5-year risk free rate. The bond issue was arranged and led by Nedbank Capital, a division of Nedbank Ltd, and is the seventh tranche of senior unsecured bonds under the R5 billion domestic medium term note programme. |
06 Feb 2008 07:31:47
(Official Notice) | African Bank
Demand for credit remained strong during this quarter, resulting in sales of new loans granted, increasing by 46% to R2.6 billion over the equivalent period last year and 25% over the fourth quarter of the 2007 financial year. Advances grew by 13% in the quarter from R10.9 billion to R12.3 billion and 45% in the 12 months to 31 December 2007.
Ellerines
Sales of merchandise for the period ending 7 January 2008 increased by 3% over the equivalent period last year as consumers felt the effect of rising inflation and interest rates. Sales in the credit brands increased by 6% while the cash brands decreased by 5%. The group?s brands that target consumers in the lower income sector increased sales by 13%, whilst those that target consumers in the middle and higher income sector had a decrease in sales of 7% and 3% respectively, as consumers in these markets are most affected by rising interest rates. After adjusting for new stores and store closures, the like for like increase in sales for this period is 1%.
The strategic integration of Ellerines into ABIL commenced in January 2008, with the aim of optimizing the opportunities available to the enlarged group to play a leading role in the reshaping of the retail and financial services offerings to this market. |
04 Feb 2008 15:12:11
(Official Notice) | |
31 Jul 2006 08:24:09
(Official Notice) | |
29 May 2006 16:57:47
(Official Notice) | Standard Bank has served African Bank notice that it will terminate the joint venture partnership that exists between the two parties. While the relationship has been advantageous for both parties, the two organisations have been reviewing the partnership over the past twelve months. In assessing how best to proceed, the partners were attempting to achieve a balance between Standard Bank's desire to develop a competence in mass market lending and African Bank's view that the partnership would need to be expanded for it to warrant sustained focus. The joint venture will continue to operate and serve its clients for the next twelve months and will terminate with effect from 1 June 2007, where after the joint venture loan book will run down over time, with the partners sharing costs and revenues in existing ratios. Abil does not expect that the winding down of the joint venture will negatively affect the attainment of its previously published short and medium-term objectives. |
15 May 2006 09:19:48
(C) | |
05 May 2006 16:20:48
(Official Notice) | Investors' attention is drawn to a recent announcement by ABIL regarding its transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for the financial year ending 30 September 2006. As a result of the IFRS adjustments, attributable earnings and headline earnings for the 6-month period ending 31 March 2005 were restated to R412 million respectively and earnings per share and headline earnings per share to 87.5c respectively. Furthermore, Abil indicated that there would be an additional IFRS 2 charge in the 2006 financial year as a result of changes to the fair value of the converted option scheme liability based on the Abil share price. For the six months to 31 March 2006, Abil anticipates that headline earnings will be approximately 20% higher than the restated R412 million for the equivalent period in 2005. Headline earnings per share will, however, be approximately 15% higher due to the dilution from the 21,2 million shares issued to Eyomhlaba as part of Abil's black empowerment programme in August 2005. Earnings per share will be approximately 23% higher as a result of the realisation of a capital profit from the previously announced sale of the Commercial Vehicle Finance division. Abil's interim results for the six months to 31 March 2006 will be released on 15 May 2006.
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20 Apr 2006 14:46:19
(Official Notice) | ABIL will make the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for the financial year ending 30 September 2006. In order to facilitate a more meaningful understanding and comparison of the current year's results (including interim results), the group today announced the choices it has made with regard to the adoption of IFRS and the impact of the changes in the income statements for 2005 as well as previously reported balance sheet and statements of changes in equity. |
30 Mar 2006 08:50:55
(Official Notice) | The draw down of the last tranche of ABIL's ABL4 corporate bond has been finalised. The R800 million ABL4 bond has a coupon of 9% and will mature on 31 August 2010. The final tranche of R200 million was issued to Futuregrowth Asset Management who underwrote the issue on behalf of its clients. |
29 Mar 2006 12:11:11
(Official Notice) | The annual general meeting will be held on Tuesday, 25 April 2006, at 11h00 at African Bank Limited, 59 16th Road, Midrand. |
27 Mar 2006 17:03:17
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that the odd-lot offer to shareholders who held less than 100 ordinary shares in ABIL at the close of business on 24 March 2006 has been implemented. The total number of ordinary shares relating to those odd-lot holders who elected to sell their odd-lot holdings and by those who failed to make an election and were therefore deemed to have sold their odd-lot holdings is 462 066 ordinary shares. These ordinary shares were purchased by ABIL at R30.75 per share (being the offer price of R29.28 per share plus a 5% premium) for a total consideration of R14 208 529.50. These shares will be cancelled, delisted and restored to the status of authorised share capital. 5 687 ordinary shares were issued by ABIL at an issue price of R29.28, for those shareholders who elected to subscribe for additional ordinary shares to increase their shareholding to 100 ordinary shares. The total number of ordinary shares which continue to be held by those odd-lot holders who elected to retain their odd-lot holdings is 5 113 shares. As a result of the implementation of the odd-lot offer, the number of shareholders has been reduced by 25 080 to 9 134, and the total number of shares in issue has been reduced by 456 379 to 497 911 307.
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10 Mar 2006 15:16:02
(Official Notice) | Eyomhlaba - Abil's black equity ownership programme - was launched in 2005 to invite a broad base of black individuals to invest in Abil through a limited purpose vehicle. The initial Eyomhlaba capital raising, which was conducted through a public offer to subscribe for shares, has now been completed and shares have been allocated to successful applicants. Capital raised In terms of the prospectus issued in October 2005, 34.25 million Eyomhlaba ordinary shares were offered for subscription, out of a total 43.25 million Eyomhlaba shares available for allocation over the duration of the programme. Eyomhlaba received approximately 6 700 individual subscriptions for the issue of 26.9 million Eyomhlaba shares (78% of shares offered) for a consideration of R62.6 million. In terms of the prospectus, directors of Abil were limited to 25% of the shares to be issued for the initial offering, and as a result, 3.1 million of their subscription shares could not be allotted. All other applicants received their full subscription, resulting in 23.8 million Eyomhlaba shares being issued and R58.0 million being raised. The initial capital raising left an additional 10.4 million Eyomhlaba shares available for issue in the future. Eyomhlaba has received expressions of interest for additional shares, both in terms of the application for 3.1 million Eyomhlaba shares by directors and from other investors after the offer had closed. The directors of Eyomhlaba and Abil are currently exploring further capital raising alternatives in order to accommodate these and other requests. |
09 Mar 2006 08:19:05
(Official Notice) | Abil announced the appointment of Nithia Nalliah as chief financial officer designate for the Abil group of companies, with effect from 1 April 2006. Nithia has been a partner at Deloitte for the past 12 years in various roles, more recently specialising in taxation advisory services to financial institutions, and in particular has been the external tax advisor to the Abil group for the last 3 years. Nithia will report to David Woollam, the current chief financial officer, until 30 September 2006 to allow for a period of transition and handover, where after he will assume full responsibility for the role. Nithia's appointment will allow David Woollam, in addition to retaining responsibility for the investor relations and treasury functions, to focus his efforts on building Abil's long-term business development opportunities in the context of an evolving industry and regulatory environment.
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24 Feb 2006 15:26:16
(Official Notice) | ABIL intends to reduce the substantial and ongoing administration costs associated with having a large number of ordinary shareholders who hold less than 100 shares each. Currently, approximately 25 382 ordinary shareholders, being 74.1% of the total number of ordinary shareholders, hold less than 100 ordinary shares each. These odd-lot holders hold approximately 461 571 ordinary shares in aggregate, which constitutes only 0.1% of the total number of ordinary shares in issue. The directors have proposed the implementation of an odd-lot offer to facilitate a reduction in the number of odd-lot holders.
Odd-lot holders recorded as such at the close of business on Friday, 24 March 2006 will be afforded the opportunity to participate in the odd-lot offer. The odd-lot offer will be implemented on the basis that odd-lot holders may elect to:
*sell their odd-lot holdings at R30.75 per share, being the offer price per share plus a 5% premium; or
*subscribe for a sufficient number of additional ABIL ordinary shares at R29.28 per share to increase their odd-lot holdings to holdings of 100 ABIL ordinary shares; or
*keep their odd-lot holdings.
The salient dates and times in respect of the odd-lot offer are as follows:
*Odd-lot offer opens at 09:00 on Monday, 27 February
*Last day to trade in order to take part in the odd-lot offer on Thursday, 16 March
* Shareholders who purchase shares on or after this date will not be eligible to participate in the odd-lot offer Friday, 17 March
*Odd-lot offer closes at 12:00 on Friday, 24 March
*Record date to determine those shareholders entitled to take part in the odd-lot offer at the close of business on Friday, 24 March
*Implementation of the odd-lot offer takes effect after close of business on Friday, 24 March |
22 Feb 2006 10:21:50
(Official Notice) | With regards to the National Credit Bill , Abil noted that it supported the structure of the proposals. Abil's current business would fall mainly into the category "unsecured credit transactions", which sets a current interest rate limit of 35.4%, an initiation fee of between R150 and R500 depending on the size of loan, and a service fee of R50 per month. Abils prevailing prices are below these levels for the majority of its business. The group estimates that, by number of customers, approximately 17% of its customers (being higher-risk categories) would be adversely affected by these price ceilings, of which it would be unable to service 6%, and have to restructure the loans for some 11% to lower value, shorter-term products. On the other hand, lower-risk customers, representing approximately 15%-20% of its clients, the proposed regulations would create both the opportunity to grant loans beyond the present R10 000 loan size limit, and allow a broader range of product offering. ABIL has been adapting its business over the last two years in anticipation of the introduction of The Bill, including assumptions regarding the effect of the proposed interest rate caps and accordingly, its stated financial targets remain unchanged. |
17 Feb 2006 11:20:15
(Official Notice) | The Abil board currently consists of nineteen directors, being eleven non-executive and eight executive directors. Abil is of the view that its board should ideally consist of no more than fourteen directors of which a majority must be non-executive. In addition, ABIL has a term limit policy that allows non-executive directors (other than the chairman) to serve a maximum of six years. Three directors who were appointed to the board on 14 February 2000, Bhekisisa Shongwe, Steven Levitt and Jacob Kekanen elected to retire as non-executive directors.
To facilitate the restructuring to optimal size, three executive directors would step down as directors, with no change to their executive positions and operational responsibilities. These are Angus Herselman, responsible for collections and IT, Johan de Ridder, responsible for the implementation of the proposed National Credit Bill and international benchmarking, and Dawn Marole who is responsible for human resources. These changes will take effect from 25 April 2006, being the date of the next annual general meeting. |
06 Feb 2006 08:51:57
(Official Notice) | Continued consumer confidence, a favourable economic climate, ongoing positive results from sales growth strategies and the early benefits from the new price differentiation models contributed to a 28% increase in sales of new loans during the first quarter, being traditionally the best sales quarter of the year, to R1.75 billion compared to the R1.37 billion for the comparable period in 2005. The introduction of the new risk-differentiated pricing models at the end of 2005 substantially improved affordability and lengthened the term for lower risk customers. As a result, average loan sizes rose steadily, the average term extended from 18 to 21 months for debit order loans since the introduction of the new models, and the sales profile changed towards the lower risk end of the spectrum. Gross advances grew by 7% from R6.4 billion as at 30 September 2005 to R6.9 billion as at 31 December 2005. The lending books grew by R500 million in the three months to 31 December 2005, on the back of the strong sales. The pay down books constituted 9% of the gross advances, relative to the 20% in December 2004 and would continue to fall as a result of strong collections and write-offs on these books. The implementation of the sale of the Commercial Vehicle Finance business, announced in 2005, has not yet occurred as the transaction is awaiting final regulatory approval. If implemented, it would reduce the lending books by at least R260 million. Non-performing loans at R1.6 billion, maintained their steady downward trend and reduced by R65 million in the quarter to 31 December 2005. |
29 Dec 2005 10:57:42
(Official Notice) | As of Tuesday, 3 January 2006, ABIL's annual report is available on its website at www.africanbank.co.za ABIL began posting its audited annual financial statements for the financial year ended 30 September 2005 to shareholders on or about 28 December 2005. ABIL will not be publishing an abridged report at this date as the audited financial information published on 14 November 2005 is unchanged. Notice of ABIL's annual general meeting of shareholders will be given at a later date. |
30 Nov 2005 16:46:37
(Official Notice) | Pursuant to the ABIL black equity ownership programme, a large group of black individuals, through a limited purpose vehicle, Eyomhlaba Investment Holdings Ltd ("Eyomhlaba"), will acquire an initial shareholding of approximately 6.5% in ABIL. The salient dates relating to the capital raising by Eyomhlaba were announced on 24 October 2005. The salient dates announcement and the prospectus made available to potential investors recorded that the closing date of the offer was 17h00 on 30 November 2005. The prospectus advised that Eyomhlaba may wish to extend the closing date of the offer if the directors of Eyomhlaba believe that the additional time period would enable Eyomhlaba to bring the offer to the attention of a greater number of potential participants
To date, Eyomhlaba has received significant interest in the capital raising and, in response to expressions of interest, has distributed in excess of 10 000 copies of the prospectus. The extension of the closing date of the offer is primarily to allow prospective shareholders, who have expressed interest and initiated the process of obtaining a copy of the prospectus, enough time to complete the application process.
ABIL and Eyomhlaba have today announced that the closing date of the Eyomhlaba capital raising has been extended to 17h00 on 11 January 2006. |
14 Nov 2005 08:57:35
(C) | A buoyant consumer market, low inflation and improved real disposable income of clients in the group's market segment, coupled with the early fruits of various of Abil's strategic initiatives, created favourable conditions for the group to deliver its operating performance over the last twelve months. Headline earnings per share increased 25% to 202.7 c (161.6 c). Return on assets improved from 11.6% to 13.0% and this together with increased capital gearing from 2.7 to 3.0 times, increased the return on equity for the year from 31.3% to 39.4%. Turnover increased by 22% over the prior period to R357 million (R291 million), leading to a 22% growth in the lending books. The total yield on advances improved from 60.3% to 63.2% due to continued changes in the mix of the portfolio towards retail debit order loans as a result of higher sales, as well as significant write-offs and collections of low-yielding, non-performing loans, particularly in the pay down books. The charge for bad debts was flat at R488 million. However, due to the growth in the underlying advances portfolios and increased yields respectively, this translated into improving ratios of 9.1% of average interest-bearing advances (9.5%) and 17.7% of interest income (19.4%). Expenditure was R968 million for the year, an increase of 2% on the R946 million for 2004. The 2005 expenditure, however, includes a new R51 million charge for long-term incentive plans that resulted from the conversion of existing options in August 2005, and which was previously charged directly to equity, as well as an additional R7 million charge for the impairment of goodwill. The cost-to-advances ratio declined to 18.1% from 18.5% . Net income after taxation rose 25% to R941 million (R755 million).
Dividend
On 10 November 2005, the board of directors proposed and approved a final dividend of 70 cps and a special dividend of 30 cps.
Prospects
The group is committed to its vision of unlocking access to credit through risk innovation and at the same time driving down the cost of credit for its clients. This will be achieved by extracting cost benefits through the growth of its critical mass businesses to market dominance. |
24 Oct 2005 07:36:11
(Official Notice) | As advised, a large group of black individuals, through a limited purpose vehicle, Eyomhlaba Investment Holdings Ltd ("Eyomhlaba"), will acquire an initial shareholding of approximately 6.5% in ABIL. The Eyomhlaba capital raising in terms of the ABIL black equity ownership programme has commenced. Eyomhlaba has issued a prospectus in terms of which it wishes to raise approximately R76 million through the issue of 34 250 000 ordinary shares in Eyomhlaba. The opening date of the offer is 24 October and applications need to be submitted by 30 November 05 which is the closing date of the offer. |
18 Oct 2005 15:13:44
(Official Notice) | Abil's annual results for the twelve months to 30 September 2005 will be released on 14 November 2005. Indications are that headline earnings per share and earnings per share will be approximately 25% higher than the respective 161.6cps and 160.3cps reported for the year ended 30 September 2004.
Abil announced in July 2005 that it was changing its long-term incentive programme from a vanilla share option scheme to a synthetic cash-settled long- term incentive plan (LTIP). In addition Abil received shareholder approval on 5 August 2005 for the conversion of existing share options to facilitate the early wind-down of the option schemes. Investors are advised that the conversion process has now substantially been completed and that the number of share options outstanding has reduced from 41.3 million as at March 2005 to 3.1 million as at 30 September 2005.
As a result of the above, the fully diluted headline earnings per share and fully diluted earnings per share will be approximately 30% higher than the respective 155.7cps and 154.5cps reported for the year ended 30 September 2004. Following the conversion of existing options to LTIP's, a charge for the current year of R51 million before tax has been included under operating expenses, and this has been incorporated into the various earnings estimates reflected above.
The published annual results will contain full details of the new LTIP's including the conversion process and its impact on future results. |
30 Sep 2005 12:29:11
(Official Notice) | Abil announces that CA-Ratings has raised its long-term counterparty credit rating from zaA- to zaA and has affirmed the short-term rating at zaA1. The rating outlook is stable. Abil also has a rating from Moody"s Investors Service of A2.za/Prime-1.za for long- and short-term, respectively. |
09 Sep 2005 14:17:32
(Official Notice) | Abil announces that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Theta Investments Ltd, has entered into an agreement to acquire the remaining 50% of TEBA Credit (Pty) Ltd from TEBA Bank Limited, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions precedent. The purchase price of the transaction is an amount equal to 50% of the net asset value of TEBA Credit as at 28 February 2005 plus R20 million. The effect of the transaction will be to increase gross advances by R165 million and impairment provisions by R23 million. In addition, the agreement contains the following operational terms:
*TEBA Credit will have the right to continue to operate from those outlets, which were previously run for and on behalf of TEBA Credit by TEBA Bank;
*TEBA Credit will continue to utilise TEBA Bank`s TSDN system as its primary collection platform;
*after a pre-determined period from completion date neither party may use the brand name `TEBA Credit` for the provision of unsecured personal loans; and
*TEBA Bank will be entitled to compete freely in the provision of financial services to employees in the mining community.
It is the intention of the Abil to divisionalise the TEBA Credit business into African Bank, subject to regulatory approval, and to operate the business under the African Bank Miners Credit brand. The completion date of the transaction will be the date on which the conditions precedent are fulfilled, and this is expected to be before the end of September 2005. The acquisition will not have a significant effect on the financial position of the group and as a result the financial effects have not been disclosed. |
09 Sep 2005 14:07:37
(Official Notice) | Abil announces that its wholly-owned subsidiary, African Bank Ltd, has entered into an agreement to dispose of the business of its Commercial Vehicle Finance Division as a going concern to SA Taxi Finance (Pty) Ltd, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions precedent. The effective date of the disposal will be the first business day of the next month, following the month in which the last of the conditions precedent to the disposal is fulfilled. The purchase price for the disposal will be the aggregate of the adjusted net asset value of the business at the effective date and an amount of R45 million, and such purchase price will be paid in cash. The adjusted net asset value of the business as at 31 March 2005 was R210 million. As part of the transaction, African Bank is to lend to several shareholders of the acquirer R25 million which will in turn be used to further capitalise SA Taxi Finance. The loan will bear interest at 1% below the prime interest rate and is repayable, at the latest, on 1 January 2012. African Bank has also negotiated a pre-emptive right and an option to repurchase the business of SA Taxi Finance under certain circumstances over a 6 year period at a market related price to be determined at such time. The disposal of the Commercial Vehicle Finance division will not have a significant effect on the financial position of the Abil Group and as a result the financial effects have not been disclosed.
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22 Aug 2005 14:12:42
(Official Notice) | ABIL announces that its major subsidiary, African Bank Ltd, has successfully raised R500 million in long-term debt funding through the private placement of a new bond (ABL4) out of its existing DMTN programme. The ABL4 bond has a 5-year maturity, ranks as senior unsecured long-term debt and was issued with a 9% semi annual coupon. The issue pricing was set at 150 basis points over the R153 government benchmark bond, which compares favourably to the 215 basis point spread for previous African Bank bond issued (ABL3 with a 3-year maturity) in July 2004. Futuregrowth (on behalf of its client portfolios) and Rand Merchant Bank have further underwritten an additional R300 million issue of the ABL4 bond, also priced at 150 basis points above the R153 bond on the date of drawdown. |
05 Aug 2005 16:41:50
(Official Notice) | Shareholders are advised that, at the general meeting of the shareholders of Abil held today, 5 August 2005, the resolutions to approve and implement, inter alia, the specific issue of shares for cash in terms of the black equity ownership programme, the proposed odd lot offer, changes to the employee share participation scheme and the amendments to the articles of association of the company, as disclosed in the circular to shareholders dated 12 July 2005, were approved by the requisite majority of shareholders. In addition, the special resolutions have been lodged with and registered by the Registrar of Companies. Accordingly, the conditions precedent in respect of the payment of the special dividend, being the approval of the specific issue of shares for cash in general meeting and registration of the special resolutions by the Registrar of Companies have been fulfilled. Shareholders are accordingly advised of the salient dates relating to the payment of the special dividend of 70c per ordinary share as set out below:
*Last day to trade cum the dividend -- Friday, 19 August 2005
*Shares commence trading `ex` distribution -- Monday, 22 August 2005
*Record date -- Friday, 26 August 2005
*Payment date -- Monday, 29 August 2005
Share certificates may not be dematerialised or rematerialised between Monday, 22 August 2005 and Friday, 26 August 2005 both days inclusive. |
03 Aug 2005 09:00:07
(Official Notice) | |
12 Jul 2005 10:43:02
(Official Notice) | |
12 Jul 2005 08:25:20
(Official Notice) | Further to the announcement dated 16 May 2005, Abil announced the details of a general meeting to be held in respect of its broad-based black equity ownership programme. In terms of the black equity ownership programme, a large group of historically disadvantaged people, through a limited purpose vehicle, to be named Eyomhlaba Investment Holdings Ltd (`Eyomhlaba`), and the Abil Development Trust, a trust formed to complement the corporate social responsibility programmes of Abil, will acquire an initial 7% shareholding in Abil, valued at approximately R600m. The general meeting will take place at 10h00 on Friday, 5 August 2005 at Abil`s offices at 59 16th Road, Midrand.
While the black equity ownership programme will constitute the main business of the general meeting, shareholders should note that Abil is also proposing changes to:
*its employee incentive schemes;
*its articles of association to allow for an odd-lot offer; and
*the article relating to the voting of proxies in order to allow shareholders of Eyomhlaba to vote their indirect holdings in Abil at Abil`s shareholders meetings.
Details of these changes are contained in the circular to be posted to shareholders on 12 July 05. The salient dates and times in respect of the general meeting are set out below:
*Circular posted to shareholders on Tuesday 12 July
*Last day to lodge form of proxy for general meeting by 10:00 on Wednesday 3 August
*General meeting of shareholders to be held at 10:00 on Friday 5 August
*Results of general meeting published on SENS on Friday 5 August
*Results of general meeting published in the press on Monday 8 August |
03 Apr 2008 11:29:20
(X) | ABIL is a publicly quoted bank-controlling company listed on the JSE Ltd. ABIL provides unsecured credit products to South Africa's domestic middle market. ABIL was founded on the development of this market, and has to date built a business of critical mass with a broad distribution base predicated on reliable credit scoring models and efficient collection methods. |
