The Daily Update: 22 May

The latest updates from the JSE and NYSE over the past 24 hours.

South Africa

Astral Foods Limited- Interim Results for the six months ended 31 March 2023

• Revenue increased by 6%.
• Operating profit decreased by 89%.
• Earnings per share decreased by 89%.
• No dividend was declared.
• EPS fell by 89% to R1.62 per share.

Netcare Limited- Results for the six months ended 31 March 2023

• Revenue for the period was R11.537 billion, an increase of 11.9% compared to the previous year.
• Operating profit was R1.382 billion, a 32.5% increase.
• Group EBITDA increased by 24.0% to R2.0 billion.
• Profit for the period was R666 million, a 48.7% increase.
• Adjusted HEPS (Headline Earnings Per Share) increased by 31.5% to 46.3 cents.
• Interim dividend declared at 30.0 cents per share.

Dis-Chem Pharmacies Limited- Results for year ended 28 February 2023

• Group revenue increased by 9.0% to R32.7 billion compared to the previous year.
• Earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) increased by 17.2% and 17.4% respectively.
• The final dividend declared per share decreased by 8.7% to 18.45 cents.
• Total dividend declared per share increased by 17.3% to 46.57 cents.
• Dis-Chem extended its position as South Africa's largest retail pharmacy group by increasing its dispensary market share.
• Total income increased by 15.7% to R10.2 billion, exceeding the targeted 30% total income margin.
• Expenses (excluding depreciation) grew by 16.1% over the corresponding period, influenced by new store investments and increased employee and IT costs.
• Capital expenditure amounted to R1.1 billion, with a focus on expansionary expenditure, information technology enhancements, and property purchases.

Famous Brands Limited- Summarised Results for the year ended 28 February 2023

• Revenue increased by 15% to R7.4 billion, and operating profit increased by 37% to R861 million.
• Dividends per share increased by 82% to 363 cents, and headline earnings per share increased by 37% to 488 cents.
• The lifting of COVID-19 trading restrictions supported a recovery in consumer spending on restaurants, but challenges like load shedding and weak economic growth persisted.
• The company focuses on value offerings, great deals, loyalty programs, and expanding delivery services to adapt to changing consumer expectations.
• The Group's total borrowings position remained stable at R1.1 billion, and inventory holdings were bolstered to mitigate supply challenges.
• Leading Brands' system-wide sales increased by 14%, and Signature Brands' like-for-like sales increased by 29%.
• The African and Middle Eastern market faced headwinds, but home delivery gained traction in several countries.

Spear REIT Limited- Results And Dividend Declaration For The Year Ended 28 February 2023

• DPS increased by 11.31% to 75.97 cents per share.
• Final DPS for the six months ending February 28, 2023, increased by 10.35% to 38.84 cents per share.
• Average pay-out ratio for the financial year was 92.45% of DIPS.
• Collections for the financial year were 98.61% compared to billings as of March 17, 2023.
• Net asset value per share increased by 1.59% to 1148 cents per share.
• Portfolio occupancy rate was 92.18% and entirely based in the Western Cape.
• Investment property value decreased by 5.85% to R4.22 billion.
• Loan-to-Value decreased to 36.30%.
• Revenue increased by 1.11% to R580 million.
• EPS increased by 3.24% to 78.61 cents per share.
• The Company declared a final dividend of 38.8 cents per share which will be paid on Monday, 12 June 2023.

Barloworld Limited- Interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2023

• Basic EPS increased to 711.3 cents, compared to a loss of 31.6 cents in 1H22.
• Revenue from continuing operations increased by 12.9% to R20.8 billion.
• Operating profit from core trading activities increased by 16.5% to R2.1 billion, up from R1.8 billion in 1H22.
• Operating profit margin increased to 10.1%.
• Enhanced group Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) was 14.3%, compared to 14.1% in 1H22.
• Ordinary dividend declared: 200 cents per share, compared to 165 cents per share in 1H22.

Adcorp Holdings Limited- Trading statement

• EPS is expected to be between 105.1 cents and 124.3 cents, representing a decrease of between 9% and 29%.

Afrimat Limited- Disclosure of acquisition of securities

• The PIC has acquired Afrimat shares and now owns 20.3% of the Company.

FirstRand Limited- Dealings in securities

• A director purchased FirstRand shares worth R3 802 425.00.

Santova Limited- Dealings in securities

• An associate of a director purchased 9 705 shares for a total value of 92 973.90.
• A director sold 450 000 shares for a total value of R4 275 000.

Transaction Capital Limited- Dealings in securities

• An associate of a director purchased 200 000 shares for a total value of R1 417 620.

The U.S.

Deere Earnings

• EPS of $9.65 beating expectations of $8.59.
• Revenue of $17.39B beating expectations of $14.8B.

The Nasdaq

• The NASDAQ closed at its highest level since April 2022 while the S&P 500 closed today at a nine-month high.

Apple

• OpenAI just introduced a ChatGPT app for IOS.

JPMorgan

• JPMorgan just said its net interest income will increase by $3 billion this year due to its purchase of First Republic Bank.

Meta

• Facebook has been fined a record $1.3 billion by European privacy regulators over the transfer of EU user data to the US.

Berkshire Hathaway

• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought around 3.5 Million more shares of Occidental this week.