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Thursday, June 18, 2009.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon O'Donnell.

Making headlines today:

State-owned freight logistics group Transnet had budgeted for a 12,9-billion-rand funding shortfall in 2009/10. This was as it prepared to spend nearly 22-billion-rand on capital projects. But, more than half of its required borrowings for the year had already been secured.

Capital expenditure over the next three years was being budgeted at 57,7-billion-rand, which acting CEO Chris Wells indicated would be funded through borrowings of 28,4-billion-rand and cash from operations of 29,3-billion-rand.

Wells stressed that all funding secured so far had been raised on the strength of the group's balance sheet.

Transnet spent 19-billion-rand on capital programmes in the year ending March 31, 2009, a 22% increase on the 15,6-billion-rand it spent in the previous year.

South African Airways expects to pay a penalty of more than 1,5-billion-rand for cancelling a contract with Airbus for 15 aircraft.

Acting CEO Chris Smyth said that the national carrier ordered a fleet of A320 planes from the European aircraft maker, but then cancelled because it discovered that it didn't need them at the moment.

However, the cancellation was not properly registered and SAA therefore faced a steep cancellation fee as well as pre-delivery payments.

Smyth said that SAA and Airbus were negotiating to resolve the issue.

Also making headlines:

The search for debris and bodies from the crashed Air France Airbus takes on a grim routine.
The employment outlook in South Africa will remain weak until 2010.
FNB's Building Confidence Index shows that industry profitability is taking strain.
And, the Central Energy Fund allows more time to bid for the Port Elizabeth solar water heater project.

That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories please visit engineeringnews.co.za.