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Tuesday, September 29, 2009.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon de Ryhove.

Making headlines today:

National carrier South African Airways acting CEO Chris Smyth is confident that the airline won't need to ask government for further financial assistance in the 2010 financial year, after posting a 398-million-rand net profit in the year ended March 31, 2009.

Smyth expects the national carrier to break even in the 2010 financial year, saying however, that this was dependent on economic conditions not deteriorating any further, passenger and freight demand not falling further, fuel prices not rising significantly and that the rand doesn't weaken.

The airline would have reported a net loss of 10-million-rand, but a reversal of 408-million-rand in impairment costs, relating to a 2004 deal with Airbus, had resulted in the 398-million-rand profit.

South African Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said on Tuesday that South Africa's electricity tariffs shouldn't rise rapidly and that industrial consumers should bear the burden of future tariff increases.

Eskom has embarked on a 385-billion-rand power expansion programme, but has signalled it'll need large increases in tariffs to pay for the build programme.

Peters said the biggest economy in Africa should introduce a tariff structure, which would protect the poor and have the industry supply the revenue needed to pay for the new power stations.

She was referring to a tariff structure that provided cross-subsidies between industrial consumers and domestic consumers, in terms of which the revenue requirement emanating from the Eskom increase is drawn more from non-domestic rather than from domestic consumers.

Also making headlines:

ArcelorMittal South Africa cuts tin-plate prices as part of a new deal with the packaging sector.
Goodyear develops a new-generation tyre for NASA.
Isuzu Trucks will test its first hybrid vehicle in Durban.
And, India's Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN Group aren't looking at a dual-listed structure immediately if their merger goes ahead.

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