There's nothing sleepy about Aspen – Moneyweb
Aspen is a stock investors love or hate. Some argue that it is an overpriced generics manufacturer that has grown through acquisition and has now reached its peak. Others argue that management is a group of shrewd operators who have proven themselves over the years. Victor Seanie comments. view article
Packaging portfolio helps grow Mondi profit – Business Day
Mondi continued its strong financial performance across all of its key metrics in the six months to June, with underlying operating profit of €529m rising 8% on the same period in 2015. Dirk van Vlaanderen comments. view article
Kumba: The Anglo shakeup – Financialmail.co.za
If Anglo American doesn’t want to keep Kumba Iron Ore, why should any other investors want it? At Kumba’s interim results last week, outgoing CEO Norman Mbazima reiterated the reasons Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani had previously given for selling Kumba, which related to the nature of the assets and the long-term fundamentals for iron […]
Governments fail to impede BAT growth – Bdlive
British American Tobacco (BAT) delivered a 4.2% rise in group revenue in the first half of its financial year, despite efforts by governments in the jurisdictions it operates in to stomp out smoking as a practice. Dirk van Vlaanderen comments. view article
Barclays Africa hit by bond arrears – Business Day
Barclays Africa, whose Absa bank is SA’s second-largest retail home loan provider, has reported a 77% surge in soured home loans – the first large bank to put a number on rising mortgage arrears as high interest rates make it increasingly difficult for households to afford their loan repayments. Meyrick Barker comments. view article
MTN revamp aims to boost client services – Bdlive
MTN SA will spend more than R300 million on a revamp of its 430 stores as part of a turnaround plan for the business, which reported weaker results for the six months to June. The aim is to digitise the stores to enable customers to do self-service, and to respond faster to queries. Aslam Dalvi comments. view […]
JSE plans to shorten settlement of equities – Business Day
The JSE plans to launch a shorter settlement cycle for equities trading on Monday, bringing it in line with other exchanges around the world. Equities orders will take three days to settle after execution on the JSE’s new T+3 system, bringing it in line with the US equities market Satish Gosai comments. view article
Brexit spells trouble for SA banks, economy – Moneyweb
Following the market-spinning Brexit vote, commentators warn that Britain could slip into recession and that London may lose its status as a global financial centre, particularly if the UK loses the easy access to European markets that it has enjoyed for 43 years. As a result, local banks and insurers, particularly those with UK exposure, face challenging times. Justin Floor comments. […]
Auditor disclaimer and profit dip tank PPC – Business Day Live
Cement maker PPC on Tuesday scrapped its dividend payment for the first time as it posted a sharp drop in profits in the interim period to March. SA’s largest cement manufacturer also made public a disclaimer stating that auditor Deloitte & Touche could not draw a conclusion on its ability to continue as a going concern. […]
Land sweetens pot for Tongaat Hulett – Business Times
In the year to end-March, Tongaat Hulett generated R1.115-billion of profit from the sale of 121 developable hectares of land, an increase from R829-million from a sale of 108ha last year. Against the backdrop of severe drought in KwaZulu-Natal, the company’s sugar operation profit fell to R124-million from R806-million the year before. However, CEO Peter […]