Tighter consumer spending hits Massmart sales – Business Report
Massmart’s Game stores are taking a beating from the slowdown in consumer spending, as shopping patterns show a shift towards necessities such as food and clothing. Massmart chief executive Guy Hayward said the consumer environment had dramatically hardened in the past few years, changing the way consumers were shopping. Dirk van Vlaanderen comments. view article
Massmart takes knock from Game – Business Day
Massmart’s Game continued to underperform, weighing on profitability, as sales of durable goods fell due to pressure on consumers. “As middle- and lower-income customers are struggling, selling them general merchandise and durables is very, very difficult. Customers don’t have enough money so they’re spending it on food and increasingly less on durables,” Massmart CEO Guy […]
A new leaf, or pulp fiction – Business Day Investors Monthly
A burden of debt lies on Sappi, but since the group’s repositioning, faith in it seems to be increasing. Abdul Davids comments on Sappi in this feature article. view article
Rising costs, strikes hit Imperial's results – Business Day
Imperial Holdings experienced falling demand in its key European logistics market of Germany in the year to June, but poor gross domestic product growth, rising wage and transport costs, and labour disruptions in SA, its core market, all helped diluted headline earnings per share fall 7%. Abdul Davids comments on the company’s 2014 results. view article
State not building up construction sector – Business Day
Construction and engineering are not for the fainthearted, and the state’s lack of understanding of how the sector works is a big part of that. The construction industry contributes just 3.5% to gross domestic product (GDP), and gross fixed capital formation as a percentage of GDP is less than 20%. China, Canada and Australia have investment-to-GDP […]
Sun International looks offshore – Business Report
With its feet firmly in the Chilean casino market, Sun International would focus on bedding down its Latin American strategy and seek entry into a very “tough” Asian market, the casino and hotel operator’s chief executive, Graeme Stephens, said yesterday. Over the past year, Sun International had made significant progress on its business strategy to […]
Sun rides out 'subdued' year – Business Day
Gaming and leisure group Sun International made the most of the weak hand that it was dealt in the year to the end of June. Results released yesterday showed that a focus on cost efficiencies allowed Sun to record a slightly stronger second half, with a 5% gain in full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation […]
Company comment on Metair – Business Day
Metair’s start-stop battery technology is a big market opportunity as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) across the world race to meet tightening vehicle emissions legislation. Kagiso Asset Management Investment Analyst, Simon Anderssen says OEMs are looking at start-stop engine management systems as a cost-effective solution to vehicle pollution, while investing in better fuel economy and lower […]
Billiton confirms sale plans for most SA assets – Business Day
Global resources group BHP Billiton’s plans to spin off non-core businesses estimated to be worth US$16bn — including most of its assets in SA — will create a new company with flexibility to seek growth opportunities in Southern Africa and elsewhere. Billiton CEO Andrew Mackenzie yesterday confirmed weeks of detailed speculation about Billiton’s plans to […]
What makes a good investment in equities? – Business Report
Equity investments are at the heart of most balanced, multi-class investment portfolios. In this issue of the Towers Watson Quarterly Investment Manager Review, investment managers explain what they look for when choosing equities and discuss how they combine these in equity portfolios. Abdul Davids comments. view article
