Not on fire, but still smoking – Business Day
From a local perspective one might argue that the strong(er) rand environment is muting market enthusiasm for British American Tobacco. Dirk van Vlaanderen comments. view article
AECI to build on solid performance – Business Day
AECI has mainly shrugged off drought and SA’s disastrous mining impasse to deliver a “more than pleasing” result for the year ended December 2017. Aslam Davids comments. view article
Dividend fails to light up BAT – Business Day
Cigarette giant British American Tobacco (BAT) failed to ignite market sentiment despite dividends for the year to end-December increasing 15% to £1.95 a share and a blazing outlook for the group’s new products for smokers. Dirk van Vlaanderen comments. view article
Market approves of Massmart results – Business Day
Retail and wholesale group Massmart’s share price surged almost 9% after the group delivered a surprisingly satisfactory set of annual financial results despite battling weak consumer confidence. Dirk van Vlaanderen comments. view article
Adcock considers expansion to mitigate risks – Business Day
Pharmaceutical company Adcock Ingram is considering exports to the Asia-Pacific and South America as it looks to build its international business. Aslam Davids comments. view article
Miners' mixed blessing – Financial Mail
Gold miners have mixed feelings about the presidency of Cyril Ramaphosa. It could usher in a more investor-friendly mining regime, but at the same time, hopes that SA will be better managed have caused the rand to strengthen. Mandi Dungwa comments. view article
Imperial's unbundling will depend on results – Business Day
Imperial Holdings posted “solid” results for the six months ended December 2017, as talk of unbundling its Motus integrated motor vehicle group from its logistics arm came into focus. Abdul Davids comments. view article
Discovery offer aid in public health – Business Day
For the six months to December, normalised operating profit rose 19% to R4bn on strong growth from established and new businesses. Discovery’s emerging businesses, Discovery Insure, Vitality Group and Ping An Health, swung from a R130m loss in the previous comparable period to a R66m profit. It is the first time that all three posted […]
Time to 'look at' Sasol US bet – Business Day
Sasol seemed on track for a strong 2018 financial year, after the petrochemicals group said first-half earnings could rise 17%. The company said headline earnings per share for the six months to December were expected to be 12%-17% higher than the previous year’s. Abdul Davids comments. view article
A new game plan for Sasol – Business Day
Sasol’s decision to invest no more money in either new gas-to-liquids (GTL) plants or plant expansions closes the door on several mega-projects that were being studied in Mozambique, Canada and the US. Abdul Davids comments. view article
