EPP's delisting process (due to the offer by Redefine) has been delayed by a few weeks. The company hoped that all conditions would be fulfilled by yesterday, but then announced that some conditions are outstanding (no further details were given). The companies hope that the deal will be unconditional within the next three weeks. The delisting timetable will then kick off.
RCL Foods (the chicken business that became a diversified food player) expects headline earnings for the six months to December 2021 to be between 15.6% and 27.3% higher. Some of this is the Covid base effect but it's still a big result, confirmed by a rally in the share price of over 13% soon after the announcement was released.
Sirius Real Estate announced that it was taking analysts on a tour of the BizSpace facility in Manchester. Sirius acquired the business in November 2021 and has made available the presentation that was given to the analysts. It reflects solid growth in occupancy and the rental rate between August and December 2021. With a property value in BizSpace of nearly EUR2 billion, Sirius is obviously excited about the prospects for this asset.
Spear REIT has announced that the sale of 6 Talana Close in Bellville has become unconditional. The price for the deal is R71.4 million, a 6% premium to the latest reported book value. The proceeds will be used to reduce debt by 82bps. The goal is a loan-to-value range of 38% to 43% and Spear will be at the lower end of this range after the disposal. This is what property funds typically refer to as "recycling capital" into by selling some assets and acquiring others or reducing debt, which is really just the precursor to further acquisitions.
Wesizwe Platinum released a concerning announcement regarding protests and demands made by the local community, which have forced the cl osure of the Bakubung Platinum Mine. It is at a critical stage of project construction and the company cannot afford to suffer major economic losses. Quite frankly, the entire country can't afford a resurgence in labour issues in the platinum sector. I sincerely hope this isn't a sign of trouble to come in the region. It's also concerning to note that intimidation of workers and damage to property has been experienced with little assistance from SAPS. These are the kinds of stories that have a quick and dire impact on foreign investment. The share price fell 6.5%.
Luxe Holdings has appointed three new directors to the board, all of whom have experience in the diamond and jewellery industries. The share price dropped nearly 20% on the day but the bid-offer spread is huge and volumes are thin, so I wouldn't read anything into that move.
Deutsche Konsum REIT is a rather obscure and illiquid property fund focused on German retail properties in "micro-locations" for everyday shopping. It has acquired three retail properties and sold two. The acquisitions are for a total price of EUR6.1 million and represent an average purchase yield of 8.6%. This takes the acquisitions this year to ten retail properties that are mainly anchored by food retailers. The yield across the acquisitions is 8.4%.
Prosus has completed the share repurchase programme of its ordinary shares that was commenced in August 2021. Since then, 2.795% of shares in issue have been repurchased at an average price of EUR72.4791. The total investment in this project was EUR119.9 million.
Small cap Bowler Metcalf has released its interim results for the six months ended December 2021. Revenue fell by 4%, leading to a 13% decrease in net profit before tax and a 12% decrease in HEPS. A dividend of 19.40 cents per share has been declared.
With a new
Magic Markets episode due shortly this week, don't fall behind on this learning experience! In Episode 61, we discussed key concepts related to the Fed, inflation and yields.
Listen to it here.
Have a lovely day!
The Finance Ghost
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