Ghost Wrap - Five insights from November 2024

With the August / September earnings season behind us, it's helpful to look at share price moves over the past 30 days on the JSE to see how sentiment has shifted.  The winner over this period is clear: PGMs. The winds of change aren't just blowing in that space, they are positively gusting! There have been other positive standout performances, like Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers, as well as Purple Group. On the negative side, a couple of insurance names have had a tough month (like Discovery and Santam), while Sun International continues to struggle with casino demand. There's been plenty of volatility in the local market, but these moves were particularly interesting to me. The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information. Remember, nothing you hear on this podcast is investment advice, nor does it reflect the views of Forvis Mazars in South Africa. Always speak to your financial advisor.

At the halfway mark in 2025, we've lived through some huge geopolitical shifts. The world's gaze has shifted beyond just the US market. This opens up new opportunities of course, but finding those gems isn't easy. Many investors choose to stick with what they know in times like these. This means homegrown favourites on the JSE. But which stocks have been the big winners thus far this year, and what do they have in common? In this episode, I explain how the key themes of gold, platinum and telcos have proven to be the rising tide that lifts all boats in those industries. There have also been rewards for stock-pickers beyond those sectors, with the examples of Naspers/Prosus, OUTsurance and WeBuyCars all being interesting.  The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information. Remember, nothing you hear on this podcast is investment advice, nor does it reflect the views of Forvis Mazars in South Africa. Always speak to your financial advisor.

There may have been many public holidays in April, but that didn't stop the market from reacting to the broader geopolitical turmoil. With recession concerns as a key theme, which stocks did well and which ones delivered a nasty drop? This podcast is an overview of recent big share price moves among larger local companies on the JSE, revealing some interesting trends.  The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

Earnings season is drawing to a close and it feels like we've all earned a holiday. In considering how the first few months of the year have played out, some surprising winners have emerged. The performance in gold is simply a case of the sector carrying on where it left off in 2024, but what about platinum? And where did that telecoms rally come from? Also, have retail stocks continued their slide since the previous episode of Ghost Wrap that focused on that issue? This podcast gives you great context to the year-to-date performance on the JSE.  The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

Listen to the podcast to get insights into the retail sector from the first few weeks of trading in 2025. In clothing, it's quite clear that Pepkor and Mr Price had stronger numbers than The Foschini Group and certainly Truworths, yet the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater in that sector. Woolworths is a hybrid model and this is reflected in the performance, with the food business looking far stronger than the rest of the group. In grocery, Boxer has been the most defensive stock thus far in 2025 and had a solid festive season. Shoprite put in a predictably strong performance as well vs. peers. There are signs of life at Pick n Pay, but it remains well below Shoprite. Spar hasn't delivered a trading update yet, so the focus there is on cleaning house and getting out of broken investments (like Poland). We save the best for last: Lewis. The latest numbers are highly impressive and when you consider the discretionary nature of the business, the share price resilience in 2025 has been especially promising.  The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

Listen to the podcast to get the details on these insights from December 2024: Is Italtile's share price a Christmas miracle? Bloisi's first acquisition at the helm of Prosus is a fascinating one in Latin America Renergen was the most interesting announcement in the dead week between Christmas and the new year, revealing yet another risk for the business Metair's selling price for the Turkish business has all but evaporated Bell's share price may prove to be a cautionary tale about greed, with regret surely kicking in for those who voted against the scheme at R53 per share The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

In a new format for the Ghost Wrap podcast, I look back on five important insights in the South African market from November 2024. Listen to the podcast to get the details on these topics: The per-share numbers are what count in the property sector The market is hungry for quality IPOs Poultry businesses are making money again Murray & Roberts is a catastrophe MultiChoice really, really needs the Canal+ deal to go ahead The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.  

Ghost Wrap is your regular update on the most interesting company news in the South African market. This episode covers: Clicks and Dis-Chem as the dynamic duo in arguably the most appealing retail model. The Foschini Group's latest acquisition in the UK, proving once more that the group isn't scared of risk. Cashbuild's positive momentum in both the share price and sales growth. The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

Ghost Wrap is your regular update on the most interesting company news in the South African market. This episode covers: Nampak and a pretty heroic turnaround for the balance sheet. Spar's troubles, including Switzerland as what could easily be the next major headache. Metair's balance sheet pressures and the need for the Turkish disposal to go through quickly. Transaction Capital and the plan to focus on Nutun going forward, with the controlling stake in Mobalyz (SA Taxi) being sold. The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

Ghost Wrap is your regular update on the most interesting company news in the South African market. This episode covers: Sibanye-Stillwater has had a great day, but the share price move needs some context. Truworths is riding the GNU-phoria, even though the best performing part of the business is in the UK! Finbond has secured an excellent deal in the US. Barloworld scared the market with a cryptic announcement about Russia. The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.