Good morning Voornaam,
You've made it to December! I cannot believe how busy SENS has been this week, with companies clearly rushing to get announcements out before the weary finance teams dodge potholes and other broken infrastructure on their annual trips to the coast.
I'm very focused on retail at the moment, as this is a huge sector in South Africa that tells you a great deal about the state of local consumers. There are various ways to track what is going on. The obvious approach is to read the results of retailers like Lewis and Spar, both available in Ghost Bites this morning. You can also dig into the property funds, like Hyprop. That also happens to be in Ghost Bites this morning.
It's particularly interesting comparing retail to hospitality at the moment. South Africans are spending on experiences rather than things, perhaps with the benefit of lessons learnt from the pandemic? I covered this in the last Ghost Wrap podcast, with Mr Price, Southern Sun and City Lodge all featuring. I also covered three capital raises that show how different capital raises can be. Brought to you by Mazars, listen to it here before a new one is released on Monday.
Another area of consumer spending is on streaming and entertainment. In the latest Magic Markets show, we covered MultiChoice and Comcast. Those two groups are working together to deliver streaming to Africa, but what else can we learn about them? Thanks to B2IT, you can get to grips with the key strategic drivers and some of the other nuances that come with investing in these companies. Enjoy it here>>>
And as usual on a Friday, there are the latest DealMakers summaries to enjoy. Don't miss them!
Have a great weekend. |
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BRAND NEW: Magic Markets podcast |
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In Episode 153 of Magic Markets, we looked at entertainment and streaming companies MultiChoice and Comcast.
We looked at key strategic drivers, recent performance and other nuances related to investing in these companies.
This show is brought to you by international data and automation specialists B2IT. |
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BRAND NEW: Unlock the Stock with TWK Investments |
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TWK Investments returned to the Unlock the Stock platform to share insights into the recent numbers and the strategic outlook.
You can watch the recording here, thanks to our partner A2X. |
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BRAND NEW: Unlock the Stock with Karooooo |
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| | Karooooo joined the Unlock the Stock platform for the first time to share insights into the recent numbers and the strategic outlook both locally and abroad.
You can watch the recording here, thanks to our partner A2X. |
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LATEST: Ghost Stories podcast with Anoop Ninan, CEO of Mazars in South Africa |
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| | Hot on the heels of the news of a landmark network deal with Forvis in the USA, Anoop Ninan (CEO of Mazars in South Africa) joined me to explain the deal and to talk about the general business landscape in South Africa. Don't miss this one! |
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LATEST:
Why rules-based funds will continue to dominate future flows |
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The team at Satrix celebrates the ten-year anniversary of the Satrix Balanced Index Fund and explains why they believe that rules-based funds will dominate future flows. |
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LATEST: The bittersweet truth about intellectual property
(by Dominique Olivier) |
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In her latest column, Dominique Olivier tells an incredible story of a copyright nightmare in the music industry, featuring one of the most recognisable tunes of the 90s. Against the backdrop of the Checkers - Pick n Pay fight in the news, this a fascinating display of intellectual property in action. |
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LATEST: Ghost Wrap podcast
(Mr Price | Southern Sun vs. City Lodge | Sirius Real Estate |
African Rainbow Capital | Sibanye-Stillwater) |
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| | The latest Ghost Wrap podcast goes into a bit more detail than usual, but these stories were worth it. Ghost Wrap is brought to you by Mazars. |
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DAILY: TreasuryONE Market Update The dollar has bounced off its lows for the week, with better than expected US GDP numbers and disappointing Chinese Manufacturing data combining to catalyse some dollar strength. Emerging market currencies had a rough day, which of course includes the rand. This is despite Core PCE printing in line with a 3.5% market expectation, down from 3.7% in October. Jobless claims in the US were in line with expectations.
Brent Crude had a strong day as news headlines suggested that OPEC+ countries are discussing the possibility of production cuts of 2 million barrels per day from 2024. That move has subsequently calmed down, with Brent Crude at $80.60 this morning.
Gold is trading at $2,040 and the rand is at R18.83.
To cap off the year, TreasuryONE is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, 5th December at 9am. Attendance is free, but you must register here. Get it in your calendar nice and early! |
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| | Get the latest on Castleview, Copper 360, Hudaco, Huge Group, Hyprop, Lewis, Lighthouse, Mahube, Purple Group, Reinet, Resilient, Salungano and Spar. This huge day of news is all available with a single click in Ghost Bites. |
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Lewis had a close call Lewis is a local retailer that tends to buck the trend, not least of all because of share buybacks at low valuations that help boost HEPS growth. This interim period was nearly a mess though, as the first quarter sales growth was poor in comparison to the second quarter. Although they pulled the top-line right, HEPS was still down.
That still pales in comparison to Spar, with that company hopefully moving forward from this awful year. The SAP own-goal was a shocker.
Purple Group also released results, showing a vastly more resilient revenue performance than I think anyone was expecting. Costs have increased as the business continues to scale. Although it is now loss-making, I actually see this result as being more impressive than what I saw during the pandemic.
Also look out for property updates from Hyprop and Resilient, as well as Lighthouse freeing up tons of capital by selling Hammerson shares. Castleview also reported numbers, but there's no liquidity in that thing.
Huge Group doesn't seem to understand what a trading statement is, so the market takes that company about as seriously as I do. In other words: not very seriously at all. A quick look at the NAV vs. share price confirms this view.
On a busy day, we also saw an acquisition by Hudaco, an earnings update from Reinet, a positive outlook at Copper 360 and ongoing challenges at Salungano.
Finally, you can learn why I would be hesitant to assume that the Mahube Infrastructure interim dividend can be annualised.
Along with all the director dealings and other updates in Little Bites, I do the hard yards on SENS so that you don't have to. You can get everything with a single click in Ghost Bites. Read it here>>>
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Disclaimer
Our content is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. You must do your own analysis before executing any investments or strategic decisions, based on your own circumstances. We do not provide personalised recommendations or views as to whether an investment approach or corporate strategy is suited to the needs of a specific individual or entity. You should take independent financial advice from a suitably qualified individual who gives due regard to your personal circumstances.
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