MC Mining (previously Coal of Africa) has released a quarterly report. The company is focused on the recently completed Bankable Feasibility Study for the Makhado Project, the key milestone in the funding process to raise the required capital (peak funding requirement of R727 million). The company hopes to complete its capital raise by the third quarter of the year. The Uitkomst Colliery, in which the company holds 70%, increased coal production by 7%. Average revenue per tonne increased by 53%, well below global coal price increases due to Uitkomst's mix of lower value middlings coal and sales under fixed price arrangements. The company's cash balance at quarter end was USD3 million.
In other mining news, Orion Minerals has released a quarterly report for the three months to March 2022. The Prieska copper-zinc project is the focus and an early production assessment has been fast-tracked, with expected completion by the third quarter of 2022. This illiquid counter is up around 3.5% this year.
Impala Platinum and
Royal Bafokeng Platinum released a joint announcement that the Competition Commission has approved the proposed transaction. There were some public interest considerations, which Impala has "largely agreed upon" with the Commission. Be sure to read
today's feature article on Impala's production report for the first three months of 2022.
MTN Nigeria has released results for the quarter ended March 2022. The market knew that subscriber numbers wouldn't look great based on regulatory restrictions on SIM sales and activations. Subscriber numbers fell by 1.3 milli on to 70.2 million. With strong growth in data and fintech subscribers, EBITDA still grew by 25.7% and EBITDA margin expanded by 150bps to a rather spectacular 54.6%. Telecommunications companies face plenty of risks in markets like Nigeria, but the margins make it worthwhile. In developed markets, EBITDA margins for these businesses are typically between 35% and 40%.
Oasis Crescent Property Fund is a REIT that adheres to principles of Islamic finance, so there is no debt in the fund. Despite missing a typical ingredient in property economics, the fund has delivered an intrinsic value return of 11.7% per annum since inception, which is impressive. In the year ended March 2022, net asset value per unit in the fund increased by 9% to R24.40 per share. With the share trading at R19.50, a share buyback programme is quite rightly underway. Although the net asset value is up, distributable income fell by 1.7% in this period. The distribution per unit for t he year was 85.7 cents, representing a yield of 4.4%.
Reinet Fund is the major element of the balance sheet of listed company Reinet Investments. Although shareholders should wait for the net asset value (NAV) per share of the listed company to be released before making any decisions, the NAV per share of the fund has increased by a substantial 15% in past quarter, measured in Euros. To be clear, that's a three-month return, not year-on-year!
Battered and bruised Nutritional Holdings shareholders should take note of the company's announcement late on Friday. The group plans to keep the food manufacturing business in Nutritional Foods and the cannabis business in Ukusekela. The cannabis factory's production is on hold pending the renewal of licences which had lapsed. There's never a dull moment with this company. The board is being restructured and the company is working with the JSE to avoid a termination of the listing , which can only achieved if the company sorts out the backlog of financial reports. To add more spice to a dish that already puts Nando's Extra Hot to shame, a shareholder and former director is suing the company to recover a shareholder loan of nearly R9.5 million.
In an update on its share buybacks, Truworths confirmed that in this financial year it has repurchased 20.7 million shares for a total consideration of R1.127 billion. The company doesn't disclose the average price per share. Using such rounded off numbers to estimate the average price is dangerous, but this guidance implies that buybacks were achieved at an average price slightly below the current traded price.
Glenrock is making a mandatory offer to Universal Partners shareholders of R18.63 per share. The closing price on Friday was R20.43 per share, so I'm not sure there will be too many acceptances, other than the possibility of large shareholders who w ould otherwise struggle to sell chunky stakes in this illiquid company.
Advanced Health has a credit facility in place with Eenhede Konsultante, a private company associated with Chairman Carl Grillenberger. The repayment date of the facility has been amended from 30 April 2022 to 30 April 2023. Grillenberger holds an indirect beneficial interest of 71.1% in the company.
Premier Fishing and Brands has announced that CEO Rushaan Isaacs has resigned with effect from 31 May 2022. A successor has already been named, with Sooren Ramdenee taking the reins. It won't be an easy gig, as the Sekunjalo-controlled entity is in dispute with its bankers who tried to cut ties with the company.
Deneb subsidiary Sargas is in the process of selling a property in Worcester for R43.5 million. The purchaser needed to obtain a mortgage by 30 April 2022 but this deadline was missed. The parties agreed to extend the deadline to 19 May 2022.
AfroCentric Investment Corporation has announced that WAD Holdings, an entity linked to director and Pharmacy Direct founder Willem Britz, has increased its stake in the company to 15.3%.
Gemfields shareholders will receive a dividend of R0.2505649 per share (yes, all those digits are important) on 6th May. This is a special dividend of around 7.6% of the market cap.
Finally, the latest episode of
Magic Markets is a wonderful learning opportunity about the world of venture capital. Together with Westbrooke, we unpacked the key elements of venture capital and how these funds are typically managed.
Listen to this excellent episode here.
Good luck with the start to another short week!
The Finance Ghost
