The JSE All Share ended 1.14% higher on Friday, pulled up by a huge performance by Richemont (up over 10%) and a jump in Naspers and Prosus of over 4% each.

The leadership issues at Absa continue. The latest news is that Sipho Pityana will cease to be Lead Independent Director of Absa Group and will relinquish other duties like chairman of the Remuneration Committee. Pityana has been in court battles with Absa after he wasn't appointed as chairperson Wendy Lucas-Bull's successor.

Bell Equipment released a trading statement for the current financial year which only ends in December. The board expects HEPS to be at least 300 cents per share. This won't help the controlling family and its efforts to take the company private. At the closing price of R13, the group is trading on a P/E multiple of 4 .3x.

ISA Holdings is a JSE small cap with its roots in the 1990s as a reseller of firewall and anti-virus technologies. It still operates in the information security industry. Diluted HEPS and the interim dividend per share are both 4.3 cents and the share price closed 6.25% higher at R0.85.

Irongate Group has received a revised non-binding indicative proposal from 360 Capital to buy all the stapled securities for AUD1.65471. It's an increase of just 3.1% from the last proposal, so the board has kicked it to the kerb again.

Ascendis Health has announced that the company continues to receive a "number of highly conditional, non-binding proposals and expressions of interest" to acquire shares in the company. Anything is still possible for this company, with a share price that is up 35.5% year-to-date.

Trematon Capital Investments has reported an expected incr ease in HEPS of between 161% and 170%, which takes it into a profitable position. HEPS isn't the optimal measure for an investment holding company. The intrinsic net asset value per share is more important, which is based on the board's valuations of the underlying investments. This measure has only increased by between 2.5% and 3.7% over the past year.

Zeder's long-awaited value unlock finally has some momentum. The company has agreed to sell its stake in The Logistics Group for up to R1.57 billion to a purchaser linked to African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM). R218 million of the potential purchase price is structured as an earn-out. If the deal is approved, the proceeds would be distributed to shareholders. The purchase price is higher than the R1.43 billion valuation in Zeder's most recent financial report.

And in news that probably won't surprise you, Nutritional Holdings has had yet another director re signation. This time, the Financial Director has resigned with immediate effect.

The feature article today had to be Richemont, as it's not every day that a blue chip releases a blowout result. We also have an article from Cuma Dube on South Africa's new deal with leading developed nations to support climate action goals, as well as the usual Monday article from Chris Gilmour to bring you up to speed for the week ahead.

Finally, there's a new episode of Magic Markets, in which we welcomed Natale Labia to the show. Natale is a South African expat now working in Europe and advising on investment into the African continent. He shares his views on how foreign investors think about South African valuations and opportunities.

Good luck for a new week!

The Finance Ghost

Local and Offshore Market News