York Timber has released results for the six months to December 2021. Revenue increased 4% but cash generated from operations fell by a significant 39% and there's no dividend. HEPS increased by 47% and net asset value per share increased by 4% as debt was reduced and the biological asset value increased by 3%. The considerable difference between profit and cash is being driven by swings in fair value gains and losses year-on-year. The share price has suffered a nasty drop of 26% this year.
Telkom has obtained spectrum for R2.1 billion and the related announcement is hardly a celebration. Although Telkom can pay ICASA from existing balance sheet capacity, the shocker for shareholders is that year-to-date free cash flow is negative and tracking below expectations. On the positive front, this is the first time Telkom Mobile will own sub-1GH z spectrum and the company notes that this will increase coverage and capacity. Telkom is still following a court application process as it believes that the auction process is not promoting effective competition in the mobile market. The application is set down for hearing on 11 to 14 April 2022.
Raubex released a trading statement for the year ended 28 February 2022, noting expected HEPS of at least 286.9 cents (a 250 cents increase on the prior period). The narrative looks positive in all divisions and regular readers will be aware that Raubex is in the process of making a mandatory offer to the shareholders of Bauba Resources. Raubex closed nearly 5% higher at R40.00 per share.
Brimstone Investment Corporation has issued a further trading statement with an adjustment to headline earnings from discontinued operations. For the year ended December 2021, group-level HEPS of 298.9 cents is a huge turnaround from a headli ne loss of 61.5 cents per share in 2020.
Capital Appreciation Group has guided growth in HEPS of between 25% and 35% for the year ending 31 March 2022. The narrative looks good across the group, with significant reinvestment of profits as the group operates in high-growth verticals like cloud computing and payments. Interestingly, the company is directly responsible for getting Meta (Facebook/WhatsApp) into trouble with local competition authorities after that group attempted to terminate GovChat's use of their services. GovChat is an associate of Capital Appreciation Group.
Astoria Investments reported its annual financial results for the year ended 31 December 2021. The key measure for this investment holding company is net asset value per share, which increased from USD0.47 to USD0.62 over the past 12 months (an increase of 32%).
At Steinhoff's AGM, shareholders voted strongly in favou r of director reappointments but weren't so keen on proposals for a limited release from liability for directors for their management of the company. The vote was incredibly close, with just over 50% of votes cast against those resolutions.
4Sight Holdings is a technology company with a website that uses all the buzzwords you can think of, like machine learning and big data. The company has released its results for the year ended December 2021. Although revenue has increased by 12.9%, operating profit fell by 36.7%. Group HEPS increased by 20.8% and HEPS from continuing operations fell by 40%.
The Tiger Brands Venture Capital Fund has made its first investment in Herbivore Earthfoods, a supplier of plant-based and vegan products. In a surprise to absolutely nobody, such a business is found in Cape Town. Tiger hopes to bring strategic guidance to the deal along with route-to-market and R&D expertise. These deals are inte resting but are way too small to move the dial, with investors focusing on far more important matters like pricing dynamics in the FMCG market.
Telemasters Holdings has issued a final trading statement for the six months to December 2021, indicating a headline loss of 1.68 cents per share compared to a headline loss of 0.11 cents per share in the comparable period. The company has been negatively impacted by remote working policies put in place by customers and has responded to this by investing in remote data storage offerings. With a market cap of around R67 million, this is one of the smaller companies on the JSE.
Another tiny JSE-listed company is Rex Trueform. The company expects a huge jump in earnings for the six months ended December 2021, with HEPS of 126 cents vs. a restated HEPS of 11.9 cents for the prior period. African & Overseas Enterprises (the holding company for Rex Trueform) is even smaller wit h a market cap of around R27 million. Based on the underlying Rex Trueform result, the company issued a trading statement noting an increase of HEPS of 2,692.9% - not a number you'll see every day.
All conditions have now been met for ARC Fund's buyout of CSG Holdings. The offer will remain open until 22nd April and CSG will be delisted from the JSE on 26th April.
Nutritional Holdings has announced the appointment of two independent non-executive directors to the board. I must say, it's encouraging to read a "normal" announcement from this company, as most recent announcements have been worthy of getting the popcorn out.
Have a great Tuesday!
The Finance Ghost
