Cape Times 2021-06-08

Philippa Larkin philippa.larkin@inl.co.za THUNGELA Resources dived yesterday as it listed on the JSE and the London Stock Exchange after unbundling from Anglo American. The thermal coal-mining group, which was valued at about R3.4 billion, fell 9.12 percent to R22.72 in midday trade before closing the day at R21.90. Thungela’s issued share capital on the JSE consists of 136 million shares priced at R25 a share. The shares would be held by Anglo American shareholders, who would each receive one Thungela share for every 10 Anglo American shares that they hold, Thungela said. Thungela’s management team is led by July Ndlovu, as chief executive, and Deon Smith, as chief financial officer. Ndlovu said: “We are excited to be listing Thungela today ... Our business consists of…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE CONTINUING rally in the price of gold has seen South Africa’s net foreign exchange reserves climbing to a four-month high in May as the yellow metal rose on the commodity supercycle. The SA Reserve Bank (SARB) said yesterday that the country’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $54.14 billion (R726.25bn) from $53.69bn in April – the largest jump since Janu-ary, mainly due to the increase in the US dollar gold price as gold price increased 7.6 percent month-to-month to $1 904.30 per ounce. SARB said that it has also noted a $0.5bn increase in gold reserves to $7.67bn. The central bank said matured foreign exchange swops conducted for sterilisation and liquidity management purposes, as well as valuation adjustments due to asset price and currency…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za AS THE COUNTRY’S energy crisis continued to threaten growth, President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday vowed that the government was making progress in resolving the challenges. Ramaphosa said in his weekly newsletter that the government would build on recent green shoots to resolve challenges that have long hindered economic growth. He said these included a strengthening currency, a record trade surplus, and growth in mining, financial services and manufacturing sectors, among others. “We are making progress in resolving many of our challenges, from corruption to energy shortages to the obstacles that discourage investment. The pace of reform is picking up,” he said. “We do not take the patience and resilience of the South African people for granted. We acknowledge our shortcomings as a government and are working to remedy…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE RAND rose to a two-year high yesterday before retreating 0.03 percent slightly to R13.52 against the US dollar in early trade as investors cautiously awaited domestic economic growth figures. The rand touched R13.42 early yesterday as it benefited from global growth expectations which continued to underpin positive sentiment and the risk-on environment. The domestic currency pushed below R13.50/$ last week, close to its highest level since February 5, 2019. The dollar came under pressure last week after a weaker-than-expected US jobs report tempered expectations of an earlier monetary policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve. Anchor Capital’s co-chief investment officer Nolan Wapenaar said the sharp strength in the rand had occurred in the absence of any meaningful new information for the market. Wapenaar said perhaps…

SIRIUS Real Estate, which owns branded business and industrial parks in Germany, performed well in the year to March 31, declaring a higher dividend for its 14th consecutive reporting period, chief executive Andrew Coombs said yesterday.An 1.98 euro cents (32.3c) dividend was paid for the six-month period ended March 31, bringing the total payout for the year to 3.80 euro cents. Like-for-like rent increased by 5.2 percent in this period while the growth last year was 6.1 percent.Coombs said the group had generated an accounting return of 19.5 percent, bringing to seven the number of years of double digit growth, with the average accounting return at just over 16 percent. He said they were seeing high levels of investment in the German market with the country…

LENDER FirstRand said yesterday that it expected its annual earnings to increase by 35 percent, because the economy had rebounded faster than initially expected. Its current trends indicated that customers were using their discretionary savings as the economy had opened up. “Consumer spending is now back at pre-Covid levels,” First-Rand said. FirstRand’s portfolio of leading financial services franchises includes Rand Merchant Bank, First National Bank and WesBank. FirstRand’s headline earnings per share (Heps) of 308.9 cents, earnings per share (Eps) of 303.5c and normalised Eps of 307.8c for the year to June 30, 2020 would be exceeded by more than 35 percent in the year to June 30, 2021. FirstRand’s Heps, Eps and normalised Eps would be at least 417c, 409.7c and 415.5c, respectively, it said. The financial…