Firstly, an apology to
Kaap Agri for my misunderstanding of their fuel retail transaction. It's just a deal to exit the properties rather than the fuel retail business as a whole. Kaap Agri will enter into 12-year leases to operate the sites, with the capital value of the properties released for other investment opportunities. That's a long lease period for this type of deal, with sale-and-leaseback deals often based on much shorter lease periods. The updated article is
here.
Equites has released its interim results, with the logistics property market having a great time at the moment. Growth in e-commerce and a focus on supply chains have driven strong valuatio ns for these types of properties. Equites tapped the market for R1.3bn in equity capital in this period, reducing its loan-to-value ratio down to 28.6% at the end of August.
The NAV per share is now R17.63, so the share price is still at a sizable 17% premium to NAV. The interim dividend is 78.38 cents per share, an annualised yield of 7.6%. The company will offer a dividend reinvestment alternative (shares instead of cash) to shareholders to help preserve cash in the fund.
Tharisa, the platinum and chrome business, announced the cold commissioning of its Vulcan chrome recovery and beneficiation plant. In simple terms, the company is spending R1bn on a new plant that is expected to achieve initial saleable production before year-end. 90% of the capex was procured locally in South Africa, with over 1,000 local contractors and 100 permanent jobs.
Sibanye-Stillwater announced that its share buyback programme has been concluded. 5% of its ordinary shares have been repurchased since June at a total purchase price of R8.08bn and an average share price of R54.72, which is significantly higher than the current price of R46.10. Sibanye is down over 28% in six months, with the buyback programme as a strong show of faith by the management team that the current price is undervalued.
Steinhoff has announced that the Dutch suspension of payments proceedings have been terminated, as no party has lodged an appeal against the confirmation order. Happily, this means that the confusing and frequent SENS announcements on this highly technical process will come to an end. All eyes are on the liquidation hearings in the Western Cape High Court.
Grand Parade has announced an extension to the fulfilment date in the Burger King SA disposal. This means that (shock, horror!) the private equity buyer hasn't jumped at the opportuni ty to agree to the crazy conditions for the deal. My guess is that the deal price is being renegotiated, which means that the previously disadvantaged shareholders in Grand Parade could realise a lower price for their asset, thanks to the Commission's attempt to drive empowerment.
In happier news (especially for me as a shareholder), Transaction Capital's deal to increase to a 74.9% stake in WeBuyCars is now unconditional.
Make sure you are up to date with the
Magic Markets podcast, with the
last episode of #HerenyaSeptember featuring a discussion with a p rofessional day trader. We asked all the fun and important questions, like whether he ever gets a chance to go to the bathroom!
Good luck in the markets today,
The Finance Ghost
