ANN CROTTY: Why did Investec really apologise?
Investec is not known for its sensitivity to anything other than making money
How embarrassing: Investec issued a rapid-response apology to Tongaat Hulett’s long-serving CEO, Peter Staude, for any "embarrassment" caused by one of its analysts suggesting that he step aside. The suggestion, contained in a note to clients, does seem like one of the more useful insights made by Investec on a company it has had a "buy" recommendation on for much of the past 10 years. This is puzzling, given the weak share price performance over that time. Staude has been Tongaat’s CEO for 16 long years. In his defence, Staude has had to contend with a difficult trading environment, fluctuating global prices, varying import and export volumes, uncertain government policy and, most recently, a sugar tax. Despite the poor profit performance and weak share price, Staude has received an extremely generous remuneration package. It does seem the analyst may have suffered a moment of blinding clarity after studying the annual results. A 37% slump in headline earnings and an almost halving...
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