Latest news with #QBEInsuranceGroup
The Citizen
12-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Conditional compensation offered to victims in Tiger Brands listeriosis case
A major development has emerged in the long-running listeriosis class action against Tiger Brands, as attorneys representing the company's lead reinsurer, QBE Insurance Group, presented a conditional settlement offer to the plaintiffs' legal team. According to Polokwane Review, the offer, confirmed by Tiger Brands on April 25, applies to certain victims of the deadly 2017–2018 listeriosis outbreak, specifically those affected by the ST6 strain of listeria monocytogenes, which was ultimately traced back to the Enterprise Foods factory in Polokwane. According to the statement issued today, the insurer, with Tiger Brands' support, has authorised attorneys to offer compensation to three specific categories of victims: Individuals who contracted listeriosis (or whose mothers did) due to the ST6 strain. Those who lost a legal breadwinner to ST6 listeriosis. Legal guardians of dependants who contracted ST6 listeriosis. The offer includes payment for proven or agreed compensatory damages under Section 61 of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008. However, it is made without any admission of liability and is subject to certain conditions being met. Tiger Brands has reiterated that it has adequate product liability insurance in place to cover such claims and maintains that this move is part of a broader strategy to resolve the class action. The company also noted that no personal or financial details of the offer will be made public to protect claimants' privacy. 'Today's announcement represents an important milestone and follows shortly on measures already taken in February to offer interim relief in the form of advance payments to identified claimants with urgent medical needs. It also demonstrates our commitment to continue to work closely with our insurers and their appointed attorneys to explore a resolution of the entire class action,' said Tiger Brands Tjaart Kruger. Attorneys for the plaintiffs will now begin the process of presenting the settlement offer to qualifying claimants. Those who accept will have their damages assessed individually, with the process expected to take several weeks. The class action is still in stage one, and a court will determine whether Tiger Brands can be held liable or not during this time. Only after this stage will the court assess causation and potential damages on a broader scale. The listeriosis outbreak, declared the world's largest ever, claimed over 200 lives and left lasting trauma for many South African families. The fallout was also significant for Polokwane's economy, as the Enterprise factory, once a major local employer, was forced to shut down during the investigation. Department of Health responds Meanwhile, the Department of Health welcomed the decision to finally settle, adding that it is an important milestone in bringing the lengthy legal matter to an end. Health spokesperson Foster Mohale said the National Institute For Communicable Diseases is providing the required medical records to enable decision-making in the process during the investigation of the listeriosis outbreak. 'The department is also appealing to those with enough evidence suggesting a causal link between the outbreak of listeriosis and the loss of their loved ones, to come forward so that their clinical records can be accessed for assessment to establish if indeed they have valid claims eligible for settlement, and also to find lasting closure after grief,' his statement read. Mohale said the outbreak highlighted the importance of consistent and strict adherence to food safety practices in the processing and handling of ready-to-eat foods, especially for mass supply. 'Food safety and hygiene practices remain crucial for public health, preventing food-borne illnesses, reducing food waste and avoiding costly food recalls,' he said. As legal proceedings continue, Tiger Brands said it remains committed to working with its insurers to find a resolution and ensure timely relief for affected individuals. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Eyewitness News
12-05-2025
- Health
- Eyewitness News
Tiger Brands tables settlement offer in listeriosis class action to victims
JOHANNESBURG - Tiger Brands has tabled a settlement offer in the listeriosis class action to victims in what could be a breakthrough in the long-stalled case. The food manufacturer remains under public and legal scrutiny, nearly seven years after a deadly outbreak linked to its polony products claimed over 200 lives and infected more than 1,000 people. The settlement offer comes while the class action remains in its first phase, focused on establishing whether Tiger Brands can be held legally liable for the outbreak — only if that's proven will the court decide how much is owed to victims. The offer was made on 25 April by QBE Insurance Group, Tiger Brands' lead insurer, and covers specific claimants who suffered harm from a deadly strain of listeria monocytogenes traced to the company's food production line in 2017. It applies to three groups, namely, those who contracted listeriosis, dependents who lost caregivers, and legal guardians of children who were infected. The offer includes compensation for proven or agreed damages, but without admitting liability. The company said the settlement offer follows advance payments made earlier in 2025 to claimants with urgent medical needs and shows its commitment to reaching a fair outcome. The next step is for plaintiffs' attorneys to present the offer to qualifying claimants, a process expected to take several weeks before damage quantification begins. VICTIMS' LAWYERS WELCOME MOVE Meanwhile, lawyers representing victims of the deadly 2017 Listeriosis outbreak have welcomed the company's first real move towards compensation. Lawyer for the victims, Richard Spoor, said this was the beginning of a long road to justice. 'It is a qualified offer that they made. It is limited to people whose genetic samples can be traced back to the outbreak - people whose infection is genetically linked to the bacteria found in the factory and its products. This is something we've been arguing for a long time. So this acknowledgement by Tiger Brands - that they produced and distributed contaminated food, is a really important one.'
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
While institutions invested in QBE Insurance Group Limited (ASX:QBE) benefited from last week's 3.8% gain, individual investors stood to gain the most
The considerable ownership by individual investors in QBE Insurance Group indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 41% ownership Insiders have been buying lately A look at the shareholders of QBE Insurance Group Limited (ASX:QBE) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 55% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company. Following a 3.8% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but institutions who own 45% stock also stood to gain from the increase. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of QBE Insurance Group, beginning with the chart below. See our latest analysis for QBE Insurance Group Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing. QBE Insurance Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at QBE Insurance Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters. QBE Insurance Group is not owned by hedge funds. Australian Super Pty Ltd is currently the company's largest shareholder with 9.4% of shares outstanding. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 7.4% of common stock, and State Street Global Advisors, Inc. holds about 7.1% of the company stock. Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder. While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future. The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves. I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions. Our information suggests that QBE Insurance Group Limited insiders own under 1% of the company. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own AU$26m of stock. Arguably recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling. The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 55% of QBE Insurance Group shares. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio. While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for QBE Insurance Group that you should be aware of. But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
QBE Insurance Group (ASX:QBE) Is Increasing Its Dividend To $0.63
QBE Insurance Group Limited's (ASX:QBE) dividend will be increasing from last year's payment of the same period to $0.63 on 11th of April. This will take the dividend yield to an attractive 4.1%, providing a nice boost to shareholder returns. View our latest analysis for QBE Insurance Group Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. The last dividend was quite easily covered by QBE Insurance Group's earnings. This means that a large portion of its earnings are being retained to grow the business. Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 10.6% over the next year. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 69% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward. The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. Since 2015, the annual payment back then was $0.254, compared to the most recent full-year payment of $0.553. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 8.1% per annum over that time. We like to see dividends have grown at a reasonable rate, but with at least one substantial cut in the payments, we're not certain this dividend stock would be ideal for someone intending to live on the income. Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. QBE Insurance Group has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 22% per annum. The company doesn't have any problems growing, despite returning a lot of capital to shareholders, which is a very nice combination for a dividend stock to have. Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. The company is easily earning enough to cover its dividend payments and it is great to see that these earnings are being translated into cash flow. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity. Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For instance, we've picked out 1 warning sign for QBE Insurance Group that investors should take into consideration. Is QBE Insurance Group not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
With EPS Growth And More, QBE Insurance Group (ASX:QBE) Makes An Interesting Case
The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up. In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like QBE Insurance Group (ASX:QBE), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it. See our latest analysis for QBE Insurance Group In the last three years QBE Insurance Group's earnings per share took off; so much so that it's a bit disingenuous to use these figures to try and deduce long term estimates. Thus, it makes sense to focus on more recent growth rates, instead. Impressively, QBE Insurance Group's EPS catapulted from US$0.60 to US$1.13, over the last year. It's not often a company can achieve year-on-year growth of 90%. It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. The music to the ears of QBE Insurance Group shareholders is that EBIT margins have grown from 4.9% to 12% in the last 12 months and revenues are on an upwards trend as well. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in our book. The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers. Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want to check this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for QBE Insurance Group. Owing to the size of QBE Insurance Group, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a significant proportion of the company. But we are reassured by the fact they have invested in the company. Indeed, they hold US$25m worth of its stock. This considerable investment should help drive long-term value in the business. Even though that's only about 0.08% of the company, it's enough money to indicate alignment between the leaders of the business and ordinary shareholders. QBE Insurance Group's earnings per share have been soaring, with growth rates sky high. That EPS growth certainly is attention grabbing, and the large insider ownership only serves to further stoke our interest. At times fast EPS growth is a sign the business has reached an inflection point, so there's a potential opportunity to be had here. Based on the sum of its parts, we definitely think its worth watching QBE Insurance Group very closely. We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 1 warning sign for QBE Insurance Group that you need to be mindful of. Although QBE Insurance Group certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see companies with more skin in the game, then check out this handpicked selection of Australian companies that not only boast of strong growth but have strong insider backing. Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
