Sasol needs a CFO

Good morning Voornaam,

Articles:

Ghost Bites: Sasol could do with a break and so could its shareholders, but now the CFO is departing after just two years. Datatec is achieving strong growth in earnings and Quantum Foods bounced back. Life Healthcare's margin is under pressure. MTN Ghana looks a lot better than MTN Nigeria. Read Ghost Bites, with thanks to Fedgroup.

​DealMakers: Get the latest on local M&A, local corporate finance and African M&A transactions in the DealMakers summaries of the week.

Investec: The demographic shift in the world has major impacts on retirement planning. How can structured products help? Read it here>>>

​Dominique Olivier: The case for secondhand luxury business models - especially for younger consumers. Read it here>>>

Satrix: The MSCI ACWI helps investors capture global equity opportunities, with around 60% of exposure in the US. Read it here>>>

​Fedgroup: A tax-free savings account strategy is critical in any wealth creation journey. Fedgroup reinforces this concept strongly in this article>>>

Podcasts:

Ghost Wrap: the news and my views on Sirius Real Estate, Afrimat, Oceana and PSG Financial Services, delivered in five minutes and with thanks to Mazars. Listen to it here>>>

​Magic Markets: If you import or export, or move money offshore in your personal capacity, then pay attention. Future Forex joined us on Magic Markets to explain their FinTech-flavoured offering and how it makes international money transfers simpler and cheaper. Listen to it here>>>

Investec Structured Products: The Global Accelerator offers 100% capital protection in dollars at maturity after five years, while giving exposure to global equity indices. Japie Lubbe joined me in this podcast>>>

Investec podcast The Current: ​Interested in investment opportunities stemming from South Africa's energy transition? Listen to Iman Rappetti in conversation with Barry Shamley, Zane Bezuidenhout, Boipelo Rabothata and Campbell Perry in Episode 4 of The Current at this link>>>

Local company news:

Ghost Bites is brought to you by Fedgroup.
Sasol bids farewell to the group CFO after just two years in the role. That's an extremely short tenure. Shareholders are already suffering there, so this only adds to the concerning news.
At least Datatec can lift the mood, with a lovely jump in earnings for the year ended February 2024 - and in hard currency, for that matter! Quantum Foods is another positive story, enjoying much-improved conditions in the poultry sector. The other good news on the day came from MTN Ghana, which looks to be in vastly better health than MTN Nigeria despite such a high inflation rate in that country.
As for Life Healthcare, I continue to scratch my head about the investment appeal of hospital groups. EBITDA margins are under considerable pressure and they can't pinpoint a specific reason, simply noting that this is because of lower than expected occupancies (even though revenue looked decent) and the costs of running the business. Well, yes, those costs can be quite irritating. It would be good to know which ones and exactly what they plan to do. Hopefully detailed results will have far more information about those plans and the initiatives outside of the basic hospital business.
Get the details in Ghost Bites at this link>>>
In case you missed it, don't forget to watch Bell Equipment on Unlock the Stock. With the dividend gone for now, the focus was on how the company will allocate capital and grow going forward. You can watch it here>>>
The next Unlock the Stock event is CA Sales Holdings, scheduled for 9 May (that's next week Thursday) at midday. This company has been a superstar on the local market and I highly recommend putting this in your diaries so you can engage with the management team. Attendance is free, but you must register here>>>

READ AND LISTEN: The Global Accelerator

READ: Satrix MSCI ACWI - Capturing Opportunities

LISTEN: Cashing in on clean

LISTEN: Ghost Wrap
(Sirius Real Estate | Afrimat | Oceana | PSG Financial Services)

International business news:

Apple is an interesting one this quarter, with iPhone sales down 10% year-on-year vs. a tough base (a catch-up on supply chain problems in the previous year) and overall revenue down 4%. Base issues aside, I am concerned about how Apple will ever follow up the smartphone explosion we saw over the past 15 years. I'm not sure those silly goggles will do it.
The share price was up anyway, driven by a massive increase in share buybacks and the fact that earnings per share only dipped slightly despite the revenue pressure. Sales growth of 14.2% in the all-important Services business certainly helped matters.
Ready to understand more about risks and opportunities in global stocks? Subscribe to Magic Markets Premium for just R99/month. You'll get a subscribers-only weekly report and podcast on global stocks, covering strategy, financials and technical trading indicators.

READ: Luxe for less - the case for secondhand luxury
(by Dominique Olivier)

Macroeconomic Update

The dollar was softer against most currencies yesterday ahead of the non-farm payrolls data today. Markets will also be watching the US services PMI and ISM non-manufacturing PMI.
The rand failed to sustain a break of the R18.50 level at the first attempt yesterday and eventually closed at R18.58 last night. It could well test the R18.50 mark again today.
Gold is holding just above $2,300 as Israeli-Hamas peace talks continue. Brent Crude is down below $84 in response to easing Middle East tensions.
Key indicators: USD/ZAR R18.55; US 10-year 4.59%; Gold $2,307; Platinum ZAR R17,717; Brent Crude $83.85
This macroeconomic update is based on TreasuryONE's morning update.