Distribution and Warehousing Network (Dawn), a maker and distributor of building materials and hardware products for mining, industry and agriculture, posted an attributable loss of R637m in the year to March. This comes after it delayed releasing its annual results on June 30, saying there was an “unexpected and material delay” in the reporting of results by its associate firm, Grohe Dawn Watertech (GDW), in which it holds 49%. The group says the focus in financial 2017 was on downsizing, by closing and consolidating businesses to return to profitability in a “deteriorating” South African economy. Staff numbers were cut by 643 out of a total of 3,200 in the year. “We are doing many things in each of these businesses,” CEO Edwin Hewitt said on Friday. He had recently replaced Stephen Connelly, formerly CEO of JSE-listed industrial products supplier Hudaco Industries. Connelly had helped stabilise Dawn in a 12-month contract period and had become executive deputy chairman of the grou...
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