Pan African Resources (PAN) is a London- and JSE-listed re-treatment gold producer. With its Elikhulu plant it will be able to produce about 700 000 ounces of gold a year at a cost of about R450 564 per kilogram against a current gold price of close to R1m. This means that over its life it will produce revenue of approximately R15bn of which R5,3bn will go back...
MAS (MSP) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) which invests in office, commercial, logistics, retail, and hospitality properties in Europe and the UK. This REIT was started by Martin Slabbert and Victor Semionov who are well known for establishing NEPI - which merged with Rockcastle. They are very highly regarded as European property experts. The company is...
Anglovaal Industries (AVI) is a generalised producer of consumer products in the food, cosmetics, and apparel sectors. It has a diverse range of very well-known South African brands such as I&J fish, Five Roses tea, Salticrax, Frisco, Provita, Yardley, Spitz and Kurt Geiger. The company announced that it had sold its Australian sea food company Simplot for R633m...
RCL is a large producer of food, sugar products and chicken in South Africa which is owned 80.4% by Remgro. The company owns a number of very well-known South African brands such as 5 Star maize meal, Farmer Brown and Yum Yum peanut butter. It competes with overseas imports of sugar, chicken, and other foods. It was impacted by the listeriosis outbreak which...
Cognition (CGN) is a group of companies which specialises in agency-based payment systems, fax to e-mail services, knowledge creation and management. Cognition describes itself as "...a multi-disciplinary data collection, communication, research and marketing company that provides a broad range of services to Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies, media and...
Brimstone (BRT) is a black-controlled investment holding company with a diverse portfolio of holdings. It owns: 1. 54,2% of Sea Harvest, which is a listed fishing company and has a market capitalisation of just over R4,5bn. 2. 100% of Lion of Africa, a loss-making insurance company, which decided in November 2018 to cease operations and close its doors. 3. 100% of...
Bidvest (BVT) is a highly diversified South African company with dozens of subsidiaries. Its most notable investments are 66% of Bidvest Namibia which also owns a large property portfolio rented out to various Bidvest companies and 50.1% of Adcock Ingram. Its subsidiaries are organised into 6 divisions - Services, Freight, Automotive, Office, Print & Commercial...
Shoprite (SHP) is the largest grocery retailer and consumer goods company in Africa. Intense price competition has prevented supermarkets from passing on price increases to consumers. The share price was hammered down from a high of R275 in March 2018 to levels around R100 in July 2020 but has since recovered strongly. We expect it to benefit directly from any...
Aspen (APN) is a pharmaceutical company which trades in 150 countries in a wide range of specialty and branded products aimed at a range of acute and chronic medical conditions. They have 25 manufacturing facilities on 15 sites. Their main product categories are thrombosis, anaesthetics, cytotoxics and nutritionals. Pharmaceuticals generally are a defensive...
Harmony (HAR) is probably South Africa's most marginal gold mine. A marginal gold mine is one which has a cost of extraction which is relatively close to the current gold price. This means that small movements in the rand price of gold can have a radical impact on the mine, pushing it from profit to loss and back to profit very quickly. The result tends to be a...
The sad fall of the Woolworths share (WHL) price was occasioned by the decision of previous CEO, Ian Moir, and his board to buy David Jones in Australia for AU$2,1bn which has now had R12bn written off its original purchase price of R20bn in 2014. The only aspect sustaining the Woolworths group was its food sales. Woollies announced on 14th January 2020 that they...
Master Drilling (MDI) is a South African company that specialises in drilling exploration and other holes for the mining industry, and which has diversified into drilling for hydro-electrical projects and construction. The company has moved away from the South African mining industry and now provides services in North and South America, Europe and elsewhere. It...
Redefine (RDF) is the second largest real estate investment trust in South Africa (after Growthpoint) with assets worth R72,9bn against a market capitalisation of R25,1bn. The company mainly holds industrial and office properties with investments in Poland, the UK and Australia. In our view, this is a massive REIT which has a large exposure to South African office...
Northam (NPH) is a fully empowered platinum mining company which operates in the Bushveld complex. In the current difficult legislative environment where the 3rd mining charter is regarded as unfriendly from an investment point of view, Northam is probably the only mining house which is buying up new properties. It has come to an arrangement with Anglo American to...
Sibanye (SSW) is a mining house which has been on a rapid acquisition trail accumulating platinum and gold mines in South Africa and America and is now broadening its scope to include base metals and minerals, especially so-called "green" metals. The company is run by Neal Froneman who is well-known in the mining industry for his toughness, expertise, and...
Master Drilling (MDI) is a South African company that specialises in drilling exploration and other holes for the mining industry, and which has diversified into drilling for hydro-electrical projects and construction. The company has moved away from the South African mining industry and now provides services in North and South America, Europe and elsewhere. It...
Super Group (SPG) is a large international logistics group offering transportation to the industrial sector. The company has a policy of not paying dividends, preferring to undertake share buy-backs and investing in organic and acquisitive growth. Its policy of diversifying outside South Africa has paid off with as much as 51% of operating profit now coming from...
Transpaco (TPC) is a small manufacturer of paper and plastic packaging. It is also involved in re-cycling. In its results for the year to 30th June 2023 the company reported revenue up 10,8% and headline earnings per share (HEPS) up 19,4%. The company's net asset value (NAV) increased by 12,6% to 2958c per share. The company said, "Notwithstanding a flat economy,...