Star 2024-06-06

NINETY One, the global asset and wealth manager, has proposed a 6.4 pence (R1.50) final dividend, leaving the 12.3p payout for the year to March 31 some 7% lower than a year before. The group said business conditions were challenging. Assets under administration were down by 3% to £126 billion (about R3 trillion), while the net outflow of funds amounted to £9.4bn. The dividend policy is to pay out at least 50% of taxed profit, plus the remainder of after-tax earnings not required for investment or regulatory purposes. Basic earnings a share increased 1% to 18.4p and adjusted earnings per share decreased 8% to 15.9p. On the JSE, the share price fell 3.44% to close at R38.16 yesterday. CEO Hendrik du Toit said Ninety One and many other…

SOUTH African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor, Lesetja Kganyago, has told Soweto residents that the decisions to be made over the next two weeks would determine economic stability and impact on the rand, as political parties negotiate coalitions or a government of national unity. Kganyago’s comments come as business and investors remain uncertain about the prospects of the financial markets in South Africa after the general election did not produce a clear winner among contesting parties, forcing two of more to the negotiating table to form a government. Engaging with the community at the annual Soweto Talk to the SARB Forum on Tuesday evening, in which discussions ranged from monetary policy to the inflation outlook, Kganyago said the impact of the election results was yet to be seen in whether the…

BUSINESS in South Africa remains concerned about a lack of in- creased private sector investment and faster economic growth in spite of confidence rising to its highest in more than one year in the second quarter. The RMB/BER Business Confidence Index (BCI) rose by 5 points to 35 points in the second quarter of 2024, the highest in more than a year, from 30 points in the first quarter. However, confidence remains in depressed territory below the 50 points that separate contraction from expansion as the majority of businesses (65%) were dissatisfied with prevailing conditions, and so profitability. The five-point increase in the BCI also followed two consecutive declines and brought confidence back closer to the 36-point level seen in the first quarter of 2023. This…

ALLEGATIONS of corruption at IT firm EOH Holdings have been thrown in the spotlight once again after the company’s former executive, Jehan Mackay, was arrested and appeared in court yesterday together with Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa. This comes after a series of Business Report investigations over the years about tender fraud at EOH implicating executives and employees with State organisations such as the SANDF and the Department of Water and Sanitation, which culminated in the Zondo Commission, which investigated allegations of State capture. Mackay, who was the former head of public sector at EOH, gave a question- able R1.7 million “loan” to Kodwa, then the ANC spokesperson, in what could potentially be linked to a conflict of interest between the two parties as it raised the issue…

Peter Little SOUTH African equities experienced a third consecutive positive month in May with the FTSE/JSE Capped Swix Index up 0.9% month on month (m/m) despite a post-election wobble that shaved 2.4% off the index’s monthly performance in the last few days of May. South Africa’s national and provincial elections saw the ruling ANC comfortably lose its majority, achieving 40% of the national vote, ushering in the necessity of a coalition government. Newcomer MKP garnered 15% of the national vote and the numerous potential coalition permutations introduced a reasonable degree of uncertainty about the shape of South Africa’s future government, driving domestic asset values slightly lower into month end. Outside the wobble in local equities into month end, the rand fell 3% against the US dollar post-elections, leaving the local…

MOODY’S Investor Services analysts yesterday said the credit quality for South African real estate investment trusts (Reits) “will remain stable” in the next 12 to 18 months, despite elevated capital costs, weak demand in the office space and persistent challenges for the retail sector. The ratings agency said SA Reits will be solidified by diversified portfolios, adequate loan-to-value ratios, and good unencumbered asset levels. Moody’s reviewed Growthpoint Properties, Redefine Properties, and Fortress Real Estate Investments, and said this week that the three SA Reits were “exposed to a weak office sector to different degrees, although this is offset by their presence in the more stable industrial, logistics and retail” sectors. Nonetheless, Moody’s investment analyst Iker Ballestero Barrutia yesterday said that “with interest rates high and financial markets volatile, there is…