Shoprite is killing it

Good Morning Voornaam,

Last chance saloon: if you want to attend today's bizval webinar on how to improve sales and build a more valuable business in the process, then you still have time to register. Scheduled for midday today, we have solid experts on the panel and I'm really looking forward to it. Register here>>>

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Shoprite leaves Pick n Pay for dead

There's no debate anymore about how significant the gap is between these businesses. If the share price chart doesn't give you the evidence, then latest sales results certainly will. You need to be careful when comparing different reporting periods, particularly when load shedding was so severe, but the reality is that Shoprite managed very strong growth throughout the year and Pi ck n Pay's core business is going sideways at best.

Perhaps most impressively, the growth was strong across the different formats. From Usave to Checkers, it's all about double digit growth.

Sales growth is only part of the story, of course. What about profits? Well, based on pressure on gross margin and the extent of diesel costs, even mighty Shoprite might not release HEPS numbers that the market enjoys seeing.

In Ghost Bites this morning, I also covered another painful sales update from Cashbuild. That sector just cannot catch a break. Major news also came in from Mpact (with great HEPS growth) and Sasol (a mixed bag of production numbers). Ellies, Kumba, MC Mining, Orion and Reinet rounded out a day of interesting news.

You can get all of it with a single click in Ghost Bites>>>

A resilient rand

Having moved from above R19.00 to the current level of just R17.60 in a matter of weeks, the rand has shown remarkable resilience. A drop in inflation in the US and South Africa has been a major driver, raising doubt about further interest rate hikes. With the FOMC meeting scheduled for tonight, all eyes will be on the outcome and whether rates will be raised by 25 basis points in line with consensus.

If there's no hike, TreasuryONE notes that this would likely provide more momentum for the ra nd.

With that, I wish you a productive day!

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