With the Rand touching R13 to the US dollar, the focus is on currency markets and risk of contagion from other Emerging Markets like Brazil, Argentina and Turkey.
Here are some of the news stories in the small and mid-cap space that caught our eye:
Land ruling in favour of Crookes
This ruling didn’t seem to get much coverage but for investors following the agriculture sector – specifically the land debate – then this ruling in favour of Crookes is worth noting.
AME announces new directors
Africa Media Entertainment has announced new appointments to its board with Jeff Edwards (Mrs.) and Kim Thipe being appointed to the board. AME – which operates radio businesses including AlgoaFM and OFM – trades on a forward price to earnings multiple of 6.7 and offers a 7% dividend yield.
Master Drilling has buy-back shares
At the Annual General Meeting (AGM), the company voted in favour of allowing the company to buy back its shares. Shares in Master Drilling are down 30% year-to-date.
Astoria fires back
Directors at Astoria have fired back at RECM and Calibre for failing to finalise its offer to acquire the offshore asset management business. RECM has cited regulatory hurdles in finalising the offer. Astoria trades at a significant 22% discount to it’s last reported NAV. The recent weakening of the Rand against the US dollar may continue to nudge the Astoria share price higher.
Eastplats enters litigation
Dual-listed platinum miner Eastplats has indicated that it will attempt to recover funds paid to partner companies to the $13.6m “The claim alleges that the agreements between those corporations and the Eastplats Companies are not binding, that the funds were not properly received by them, are an unjust enrichment to them and should be returned.”
Brikor in the black
Brick manufacturer Brikor is continue to pedal hard in a tough environment and some might argue it might make for an interesting potential acquisition in the current market malaise. Profit before tax was up to R33m and cash on hand of R11m (in a business with a market capitalisation of R58m. The company has however flagged a failure to pay income tax when the business was considering provisional liquidation.
Stenprop tightens focus
UK-focused property group Stenprop has indicated it will tighten its focus on multi-let industrial complexes in the UK. It will divest of non-core assets that don’t focus on this sector and reduce debt. Stenprop trades on a price to earnings multiple of 11 and offers a 6.8% dividend yield.
