In a quarterly update by Growthpoint, the company notes that the UK retail property sector may have bottomed out. In South Africa, the company continues to suffer negative reversions (new leases signed at a lower rate than the previous leases). The vacancy rate in the office portfolio is 20.9% and the renewal success rate is just 56.6%. The average lease renewal term has decreased to 2.8 years from 4.4 years. Sandton is a mess for office properties and Growthpoint has substantial exposure to that hub.
In positive news, footfall at the V&A Waterfront in October was 28% higher than in September and has reached 71% of the levels seen back in October 2019. For the ten months to October 2021, footfall was 5% higher than last year but 43% below the corresponding period in 2020. Growthpoint will construct a 3.3 megalitre desalination plant in the Water front which will meet the entire property's daily water requirement. It will be completed by 2024.
Invicta has released results for the six months to September. Revenue increased by 24.7% and HEPS increased 9.3% overall and 203.4% from continuing operations. The discontinued operation in this result is the Kian Ann Group.
Brait's rights offer is now fully committed, which means that the R3 billion will definitely be raised based on the underwriting commitments and the support of existing institutional holders. Retail shareholders can still follow their rights and haven't been shut out of the process. This just means that there is no risk anymore of Brait not raising the money.
Kaap Agri released results for the year to September, in which revenue jumped 23.4% vs. last year and showed solid through-the-cycle growth here. HEPS increased by 17.1% to 454.92 cents and a final dividend of 100 c ents per share has been declared.
Hosken Consolidated Investments has released interim results and achieved a swing from a headline loss of R407 million to headline earnings of R222 million. Media and broadcasting, gaming and hotels all moved strongly in the right direction, although hotels remained loss-making. HCI is the majority shareholder in eMedia Holdings (owner of e.tv) which reported revenue growth of 54%, driven by a resurgence in advertising.
Discovery will need to engage with shareholders regarding its remuneration policy, as 40% of votes at the AGM were cast against the implementation of the policy. The level that triggers a shareholder engagement is 25% "against" votes.
Datatec is in a similar process, confirming on SENS that it has engaged with 60% of its shareholders about its remuneration policy and that any other shareholders should send their concerns. Other news relate d to that company is that the scrip dividend alternative will be at a 10% discount to the volume weighted average price on 24 November.
Premier Fishing and Brands has released a trading statement that doesn't make for fun reading. For the year ended August 2021, the company expects a headline loss per share of between 3.14 and 3.64 cents vs. headline earnings per share of 2.50 cents in the prior year.
Stefanutti Stocks has released results for the six months to August. Although there's still a substantial headline loss of 67.12 cents per share, it is much better than the loss in the comparable period of 128.42 cents per share.
Have a lovely weekend!
The Finance Ghost
