SA Company News:
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange All-Share Index closed 0.6% lower at the 88 986 level.
Astral Foods Limited provided a trading update for the six months ending 31 March 2025, highlighting challenges in the poultry industry. Selling price deflation on chicken, coupled with increased poultry feed costs due to the 2024 drought and higher maize prices, placed pressure on broiler margins. A constrained consumer environment and aggressive retail promotions further weighed on selling prices, contributing to an expected decline in earnings. Given these factors, Astral said that they expect earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) to decline by up to 55% and 60%, respectively, compared to 1H24. A further trading statement will be provided in April 2025 when the company has greater certainty on the final earnings figures.
In a trading update from the Premier Group Limited, the company said that they expect earnings per share (EPS) to increase by between 23% and 33%, ranging from 879 to 951 cents, compared to 715 cents in FY2024. Headline earnings per share (HEPS) are expected to increase by 20% to 30%, reaching between 893 and 967 cents, up from 744 cents in the previous year. The Group is expected to achieve mid-single-digit revenue growth during the period under review, despite the high-interest
rate environment, constrained consumer spending and volatile soft commodity prices. Premier will release its full-year financial results on June 10, 2025.
Remgro Limited delivered strong financial results for the six months ended December 31, 2024. Headline earnings increased by 38.7% to R3.73 billion, while headline earnings per share (HEPS) rose by 38.6% to 672 cents. Earnings per share (EPS) surged by 323.4% to 659 cents, rebounding from a prior loss of 295 cents. Growth was primarily driven by improved operational performance across key investee companies, Rainbow Chicken (+R237 million), RCL Foods (+R224 million), OUTsurance (+R195 million), and Mediclinic (+R152 million). Heineken Beverages returned to profitability, contributing R274 million due to volume growth and margin recovery. However, these gains were partially offset by lower contributions from TotalEnergies (-R331 million) and Community Investment Ventures Holdings (-R147 million), mainly due to increased borrowing costs and a negative fair value adjustment.. The company declared an interim cash dividend of 96 cents per share, up 20% from the previous year.
In a trading update from Barloworld Limited, the company reported a mixed performance for the five months ended February 28, 2025. Group revenue declined by 4.9% to R14.8 billion compared to R15.6 billion in the prior period, while EBITDA decreased by 12% to R1.6 billion. Operating profit from core trading activities fell by 20.5% to R1.1 billion. Excluding its struggling Vostochnaya Technica (VT) division, group revenue declined only 2% to R13.8 billion, with EBITDA growing by 3% to R1.6 billion and operating profit remaining flat at R1 billion. The Industrial Equipment segment generated R10.9 billion in revenue, down 2.3% due to a 9.2% decline in Equipment Southern Africa, offset by a 44% increase in Barloworld Mongolia. Despite revenue pressure, EBITDA for the segment was flat at R1.4 billion. Equipment Southern Africa faced weak mining activity and disruptions in Mozambique, while Barloworld Mongolia achieved a 49.5% revenue increase, though margins declined due to higher costs.
SA Economy:
Retail confidence dipped slightly in the first quarter of 2025, falling from 54% to 50%, according to the Bureau for Economic Research (BER). Despite the decline, confidence levels remain above the long-term average. This aligns with strong retail sales growth reported by Statistics South Africa for the fourth quarter of 2024, where sales increased by 5.4% year-on-year. The growth was driven by semi-durable goods (up 7.7%) and non-durable goods (up 6.5%), supported by lower inflation, improved consumer confidence, and access to funds through the “two-pot” retirement savings system. Looking ahead, the BER warned that retail confidence could face further pressure in the second quarter of 2025. Temporary support from “two-pot” withdrawals is expected to fade, and a planned two-stage VAT increase totaling one percentage point could constrain household spending.
The composite leading business cycle indicator increased by 0.9% month-over-month in January 2025, rebounding from a revised 1.5% decline in December. The rise was driven by gains in four of the ten available component time series, which outweighed declines in five components, while one remained unchanged. The most significant positive contributors were the acceleration in the six-month smooth growth rate of new passenger vehicle sales and an increase in the number of residential building plans approved. Conversely, the largest negative contributors were a decline in the average hours worked per factory worker in the manufacturing sector and a slowdown in the six-month smoothed growth rate of job advertisement space.
Global Economy:
The HCOB Eurozone Composite PMI inched up to 50.4 in March 2025 from 50.2 in February, missing market expectations of 50.8.
The HCOB Eurozone Services PMI fell to 50.4 in March 2025 from 50.6 in February, missing the expected 51.
The HCOB Eurozone Manufacturing PMI climbed to 48.7 in March 2025, up from 47.6 in February and exceeding forecasts of 48.2.
The HCOB Germany Manufacturing PMI rose to 48.3 in March 2025 from 46.5 in February, exceeding market forecasts of 47.
The S&P Global Flash UK Manufacturing PMI fell to 44.6 in March 2025 from 46.9 in February, below forecasts of 46.4.
The S&P Global UK Services PMI rose to 53.2 in March 2025, from February’s 51 and surpassing market forecasts of 50.9.
The S&P Global UK Composite PMI rose to 52.0 in March 2025 from 50.5 in February, surpassing market expectations of 50.3.
The S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.8 in March 2025 from 52.7 in February, below the expected 51.8, but the Services PMI came in much better at 54.3 exceeding market forecasts of 50.8.
Global Company:
The FTSE 100 closed 0.1% lower at 8 638, as investors continued to monitor developments on US tariffs.
The Hang Seng Index is trading 1.96% lower at 23 428.
BYD’s sales exceeded US$100 billion last year, surpassing Tesla’s revenue, as the automaker impressed consumers with its electric and hybrid cars featuring advanced technology. BYD reported a 29% revenue increase to 777 billion yuan, surpassing estimates. Net income rose 34% to 40.3 billion yuan, beating analyst’s expectations.
In China, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.12% at 3 374.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.4% higher at 42 583, while the S&P 500 closed 1.73% higher at 5 767.
US markets closed higher amid optimism that the Trump administration might adopt a more targeted tariff approach, easing trade war fears. Reports suggested sector-specific tariffs might be excluded from the April 2 rollout. Tech stocks led the rally, with Nvidia up 3.1%, AMD rising 7%, and Tesla jumping 11.9%. Amazon climbed 3.6%, and Alphabet advanced 2.1%.
Commodities:
Gold is trading lower by 0.06% at $3 020/oz, while Platinum is lower by 0.29% to $979/oz.
Brent crude was 1.2% higher at $73.03 a barrel.
Currency:
The rand traded at R18.23 against the US Dollar, R23.57 against British Pound and R19.70 against the Euro.
The Euro is slightly weaker against the US Dollar to trade at $1.0806.
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| Market Indicators | |||||||
| Commodities $ | Cross Currencies ($) | Major Indices | |||||
| Gold | 3020.50 | -0.06% | USD/ZAR | 18.23 | Top40 | 81617.41 | -0.58% |
| Platinum | 979.21 | -0.29% | GBP/ZAR | 23.57 | Dow 30 | 42583.32 | 1.40% |
| Brent | 73.03 | 1.20% | EUR/ZAR | 19.70 | S&P 500 | 5767.57 | 1.73% |
| Copper | 5.11 | -0.39% | EUR/USD | 1.0806 | FTSE | 8638.00 | -0.10% |
| Palladium | 957.08 | -0.85% | USD/JPY | 150.43 | DAX | 22852.66 | -0.17% |
| Iron Ore | 101.80 | 0.10% | BITCOIN | 86620.69 | Shanghai | 3374.02 | 0.12% |
| Source: FACTSET | |||||||