Automotive group Motus Holdings has appointed Brenda Baijnath as group CFO designate from September 1. Her permanent roles as executive director and group CFO are set to take effect from November 1.
This comes just two months after Motus CEO Osman Arbee announced his retirement, with the board saying group CFO Ockert Janse van Rensburg would take over from November 1.
Baijnath, a chartered accountant, has been a finance and strategy executive at Sasol for nearly two decades.
The Motus board said she boasted diverse professional experience including in auditing, financial management, corporate governance, strategy and project development and implementation, and business development.
On Wednesday the company said it expected annual earnings to fall as much as 35% as the economic environment in SA continued to weigh on its performance.
The group expects to report headline earnings per share for the year ending June 30 of R13.30-R15.35, a drop of 25%-35%, it said.
Consumer strain
Johannesburg-based Motus said the SA trading environment remained challenging, marked by uncertainty created by the elections, high interest rates, fuel prices and energy costs. Consumers are experiencing considerable strain on their disposable income.
Higher-than-normal vehicle and parts price inflation, worsened by the effect of the weak rand, negatively affected affordability.
The oversupply of vehicles from the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) is moderating. However, additional “discounts”, which are continuing to generate vehicle sales, are negatively affecting margins.
Motus’ primary strategies of international expansion and diversification beyond vehicle sales profitability are supporting business segments that are more significantly affected by limited consumer spending.
Despite these factors, Motus expects to pay a dividend in October.
Its net debt is decreasing due to declining inventory levels since July 2023, and a fall in vehicles for hire compared with December, due to reduced seasonal demand.
JSE-listed Motus, which was unbundled from Imperial Holdings and listed on the JSE in 2018, sells one in five new vehicles in SA and owns a network of dealerships in SA, the UK and Australia. It has a market capitalisation of R15.4bn.
The diversified automotive retailer expects to release its full-year results on September 3.
Motus’ share price gained 1.83% to R86.32 on Wednesday afternoon.
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