The market burned brightly red on Friday as investors ran for the hills. The only green sector was gold, which behaved the way it should as a safe haven asset.
Bidvest Group provided a voluntary trading update for the four months to October 2021. Although no specific financial guidance was provided, the overall narrative is positive and return on capital metrics have improved since the financial year-end. As is always the case with Bidvest, the recent bolt-on acquisitions vary wildly from a car dealership in Melrose through to an inland LPG terminal in Isando. Naturally, global supply chain challenges and Covid remain the key headwinds.
Quantum Foods released its financial results for the year ended September 2021. Revenue increased 6% but HEPS fell 35% in the wake of major operational challenges (including avian influenza) and there is no final dividend.
Lewis has bought back 3.3% of its shares since the end of October at an average price of R47.63 per share. The company may repurchase a further 6.7% of its shares, so you can expect to see Lewis buying its own dip.
The financial director of Mustek bought CFDs on Mustek shares, which gives him leveraged exposure to their upside. He's been the financial director since 2008. As the old adage goes, directors may sell shares for many reasons, but they only buy because they believe that the shares are undervalued.
Vukile Property released a trading statement for the six months to September 2021. Distributable earnings will be between 60.84% and 71.56% higher, coming in at between 75 cents and 80 cents per share. The interim dividend is expected to be 40 cents per share.
RH Bophelo is a healthcare business listed in Rwand a and Johannesburg. It listed as a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) on the JSE in 2017 and subsequently acquired several hospitals as well as Genric, a short-term underwriter. In the six months to August 2021, HEPS decreased by 12.2% to R1.12 and a maiden dividend of 15 cents per share was declared. The share price of R5.00 indicates the low multiple that this company trades on.
Premier Fishing and Brands has released its results for the year ended August. Revenue increased 27% to R575 million but EBITDA fell 22% to R43 million. It gets worse the lower down you look, as diluted HEPS swung from positive 2.50 cents to a loss of 3.39 cents. Costs related to the fishing rights application process and bad debts ruined the income statement. No dividend has been declared.
Continuing with a seafood diet, Oceana provided a voluntary update for the twelve months to September. Performance was generally good, although sup ply to the global fishmeal and fish oil customer base was negatively impacted by weather conditions. A detailed financial update is expected before 10 December.
For the year ended August 2021, Ayo Technology expects to report a headline loss per share of between 63.90 and 65.50 cents, a huge negative swing vs. the positive HEPS of 8.02 cents in the comparable year.
Last week was busy on the JSE and one of the results we didn't have space to mention was Deneb, a listed group linked to HCI (which also reported last week). Deneb has businesses ranging from toy distribution through to property. It grew revenue by 33% in the six months to September 2021 and increased HEPS dramatically from 0.26 cents to 10.09 cents. There is unfortunately no dividend for shareholders.
Stay strong out th ere!
The Finance Ghost
