Johannesburg - South Africa's Hosken Consolidated Investments reported a two-percent rise in earnings on Friday, saying red tape had hampered the development of some of its businesses in gambling and media.
The investment holding company said headline earnings per share (EPS) inched up to 951 cents in the year to the end of March as consumers in Africa's most advanced economy saw income squeezed by steep electricity price rises and high unemployment.
Headline EPS is the main profit gauge in South Africa that strips out certain one-off items.
HCI said it was taking legal action in several parts of the country to cut through regulatory obstacles.
The company has gambling interests through its controlling stake in Tsogo Sun Holdings, whose plans to buy part of Cape Town's Grand West casino are stalled by gambling and anti-trust authorities, the company said.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the company is aiming to overturn a government decision to ban the installation of electronic bingo terminals, the fastest growing form of gambling in the country.
HCI is also challenging a decision by the government to abandon encryption in set-top boxes in the country's multi-billion rand conversion to digital terrestrial television.
Reuters