Cape Times CT-2021-04-19

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za MASSMART chief executive Mitchell Slape received a R24 million remuneration package during the year ended December 2020, the group said in its 2020 integrated annual report released on Friday. Slape’s salary included a R7.11m in guaranteed package, R6.8m in other benefits, R4.2m in other bonuses and R6.05m in short-term incentives. Slape, who succeeded Guy Hayward as chief executive in September 2019, had received a total pay package of R6.5m in 2019. Slape earned his salary in US dol- lars, although the amounts were stated in rands, given that he was a US citizen on expatriate assignment in South Africa, Massmart, owner of retail brands Makro, Game and Builders Warehouse said on Friday. Massmart told Business Report that it was standard practice for expatriates to…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za SHARES in ArcelorMittal South Africa (Amsa), the ailing steel producer, surged 16 percent on the JSE on Friday as the market digested the overview of progress made in its new business model published in its 2020 integrated annual report a day earlier. The group’s share price peaked by 16 percent in early trade on Friday to close the session 5.29 percent higher at R4.18 a share. Although the stock is trading lower than it was five years ago, it has reached more than 298 percent higher in the year to date, lifted by optimism of steel in key markets up to the third quarter of 2021. Chief executive Kobus Verster said in the annual report that OneOrganisation, the new model…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za ARCELORMITTAL South Africa (Amsa) said in its 2020 integrated annual report that it was committed to addressing the country’s steel shortages. Chief executive Kobus Verster said on Friday the group had experienced considerable delays with starting the N5 blast furnace in Newcastle. Verster said the N5 setbacks were frustrating, particularly because of the group’s intense focus on addressing customers’ steel shortages that had been building up since before Covid-19. “In the new year we have bud-geted and planned to fix the problems caused by the unusual post-pandemic start-up of N5 and to improve its reliability. Conversely, production of flat steel at Vanderbijlpark was very successfully resumed, from June blast furnace D and December (blast furnace) C,” said Verster. Amsa, South Africa’s biggest steel producer, has been under…

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za MEDICLINIC expects to deliver revenue and earnings growth across all of its three divisions during the financial year 2022 as the diversified international private healthcare services group continues to battle the Covid-19 impact on its operations. In the trading update for the year to end March, Mediclinic reported a 3 percent decline in revenue, hurt by the first half, which was significantly impacted by the sudden onset of Covid-19-related lockdown measures. However, the group improved in the second half and delivered a 1 percent rise in revenue as lockdown measures were eased by the different governments in the regions where the group operates. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) margin was 14 percent during the period com- pared to 17.5 percent reported…

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za ITALTILE expects its full-year earnings to surge by 70 percent, boosted by a high demand for its products and an 18.5 percent increase in total retail store sales. The manufacturer, franchisor and retailer of tiles, bathroomware and other related home-finishing products said its expected its headline earnings per share (Heps) and earnings per share for the year to end June to increase by at least 70 percent compared to the Heps of 79.2 cents a share and earnings per share (Eps) of 78.3c. The group expected both Heps and Eps to be in excess of 134.6c and 133.1c respectively. However, the group said on Friday it would issue a further update once there was greater clarity regarding the anticipated range of improvement in Eps…

Two WEEKS ago I referred to the commodity super cycle that is under way. The stock prices of most resources companies have followed commodity prices on the way up. The big question I asked myself is where I can find value in the resources sector. My starting point was to look for stocks such as junior or emerging mining companies that are often ignored or not followed by analysts. I used the JSE-listed junior mining companies in South Africa to calculate a Junior Mining Company Index for South Africa. The index is based on market capitalisation and the weightings are recalculated at the end of each quarter. Coal-related mining companies were excluded, though. The final list of companies used to calculate the index were therefore Bauba Resources, Eastern Plats, Jubilee…