Clicks has released a trading statement for the six months ended February 2022. Despite offering dispensary queues that make Home Affairs experiences feel like a five-star experience, Clicks managed to grow HEPS from continuing operations by between 17% and 22%. If you dig deeper, you find that an insurance payout from SASRIA contributed more than 10% growth in HEPS, so there are pressures here. The share price closed 3% lower yesterday.
Argent Industrial released a great trading statement yesterday, indicating HEPS growth of between 36.7% and 56.7% for the year ending March 2022. The guided range is 298 - 341 cents per share and the share price closed 3.7% higher at R13.25, so the Price/Earnings multiple is around 4x.
Another small cap with a solid trading statement yesterday was Calgro M3. HEPS for the ye ar ended February 2022 will be more than 100 cents, a huge turnaround from a headline loss of 15.17 cents in the prior period. Gross profit margin is within the target range (20% - 25%) and cash generated from operations should be more than double the prior year. Net debt to equity is already below the February 2023 target, so the balance sheet is reaping the rewards of a solid operational performance. The share price closed slightly down for the day.
Redefine hosted a tour of certain properties for analysts and investors and released a presentation giving further details on the properties. There are some interesting nuggets in there, like a positive renewal reversion of 3.7% at Mall of the South i.e. renewed leases are at higher rates than before, at a time when much of the market is dealing with negative reversions. Footfall is 95% of pre-Covid levels but turnover is 10% higher. Inflation is playing a role here and basket sizes are larger. Another i mportant insight is that restaurants in the featured malls have led a recovery to pre-Covid levels. Finally, it's great to see how solar PV has become core to these properties, delivering annual savings and less reliance on our beloved Eskom.
Reinet Investments has announced a fifth share buyback programme. The company will repurchase a maximum of 2.5 million shares for an aggregate maximum amount of EUR50 million. The Rupert family will not be selling any shares during this period, so their effective stake in Reinet will increase.
The COO of Sibanye has sold over R10 million worth of shares at R67 per share. That's a large enough number to earn itself a mention here.
End off your week with a podcast packed wit h insights that you won't hear anywhere else. In the latest episode of
Magic Markets, we welcomed Omid Gholamifar to the show to discuss the intricacies of investing in tough places - like Iran, his country of birth! With a fascinating history on the sports field and in the investment arena, Omid is a wealth of knowledge.
Be sure to listen to the show.
I hope you have a great weekend!
The Finance Ghost
