Good morning Voornaam,
Highlights in this edition of Ghost Mail:
- Grindrod has a good news story at the Port of Maputo
- Lamborghini's annual sales surpassed 10,000 units
- Burberry's profit warning suggests that luxury is suffering a correction
- Recap JSE news in the most efficient way possible with the Ghost Wrap podcast, thanks to Mazars
- TreasuryONE on the risk-off climate and the impact on the rand and commodities
Local company news:
In Ghost Bites this morning, you'll learn that Grindrod is having a jolly old time with its Maputo Port Development company investment. Transnet keeps making a fool of itself, which means the Mozambique infrastructure continues to grow as a viable alternative. Just yesterday, there was a ridiculous story about two coal trains having a collision locally! More and more people are starting to believe that Transnet is being sabotaged, as there are many local industries that benefit from the trains not working. Whatever the truth, one thing we know is that Grindrod is sitting on a decent asset in Mozambique.
You'll also find the latest from Kibo Energy, with the company trying hard to keep investors interested. Ninety One has managed to grow its Assets Under Management over the past three months, although the year-on-year number is still down. Finally, there are some odd potential transactions at Trustco.
Get all the details you need on these stories in Ghost Bites at this link>>>
For a really useful recap on recent JSE news, you need just a few minutes of your time to listen to the Ghost Wrap podcast. Brought to you by Mazars, the first episode of 2024 covers Merafe, Pick n Pay, Frontier Transport and PGM duo Tharisa and Northam Platinum. Check it out here>>>
International company news:
Make sure you've checked out Dominique Olivier's excellent piece on the safety culture at Boeing (or lack thereof).
There's a lot of talk around the luxury sector, particularly after such an excellent performance during the pandemic that thrust the likes of LVMH firmly into the headlines. As we warned when we covered the stock in Magic Markets Premium, the May 2023 share price for LVMH simply looked too high. Today, it's trading over 25% lower than those highs.
The latest profit warning from Burberry has done nothing to allay the fears of investors in this sector. Here's a fun fact for you: if you had bought shares in Burberry back in March 2011, your capital return would be absolutely nothing. Zero. Nada. All you would have is dividends and regret that you hadn't bought one of the coats instead.
The question is whether this is a broader sector problem or an issue that is more specific to Burberry. According to various online reports, the company has been struggling to create enough social media hype around the recent ranges. However, a slowdown in the Americas is clearly evident and Burberry isn't the only luxury group experiencing challenges in that region.
LVMH is due to report earnings on 25th January and all eyes in this sector will be on that release.
And although the fashion houses may be struggling at the moment, it seems that luxury cars are doing just fine thanks. Lamborghini sold more than 10,000 units last year for the first time, with the Urus SUV as the obvious major contributor here. The SUV market is key to car manufacturers and I think that the Purosangue will prove to be an exceptional money-spinner for Ferrari. Lamborghini still sells significantly fewer cars than Ferrari, so there's room to grow for the Volkswagen-owned business.
For more international company news, the most recent Magic Markets podcast covers Pandora and Swatch as international speciality retail businesses. Brought to you by data and automation specialists B2IT, Magic Markets is a fantastic way to learn more about global stocks. You can listen to the show here>>>
