Thursday was a busy day in the small and mid-cap space on the JSE.

These were some of the moves and announcements which caught our eye during the day:

Liquidity issues abound

Limited liquidity continues to plague small and mid-cap shares on the JSE. Capital Appreciation had the distinction of trading at both a 52-week low (36c/share) and a 52-week high of 86c/share in the same day. 

Datatec tumbles:

The technology group slid 9% after a profit warning. The company warned that its underlying loss per share was expected to be US$0,19c while earnings per share is expected to be US$0,25c/share The share is down 64% in the last 12 months. Full year results are expected to be released on 17 May 2018.

Reunert and Altron move higher

Technology groups Reunert and Altron both hit 52-week highs with Reunert touching R84.39 and Altron trading at R14.20. Reunert presently trades on a forward PE multiple of 10 times earnings and offers a 5.9% dividend yield. Altron reported full-year financial results for the year ended 28 February 2018 with headline earnings per share up 19%. Altron indicated it will resume paying a dividend with its interim results in August 2018.

Value showing value?

Small-caps logistics player Value Group delivered a pleasing set of interim results with a 15% increase in normalised headline earnings per share, an 8% increase in net asset value and a 22% improvement in the final year dividend. The share trades on a PE of 8 and a dividend yield of 5.7% as well as a discount to Net Asset Value.

Vivo commences trading

Dual-listed African energy group Vivo Energy Plc commenced trading on the JSE. 1.75m shares traded hands with the share closing at R30/share. The Group is a leading retailer and marketer of Shell-branded fuels and lubricants in Africa. The Group has a network of more than 1 800 service stations in 15 countries across North, West, East and Southern Africa.

GRIT issues more shares

African-focused property group GRIT has finalised the issuing of a further 5.56m new shares to fund the acquisition of Capital Place in Ghana. Capital Place is a 3 building complex with 45% of the gross lettable area being held by Metropolitan Insurance – one of the largest insurers in the region. You can find a short video of the development here – http://www.mobusproperty.com/capital-place-office-park/

Transaction Capital delivers positive trading update

The listed financial services group indicated that core headline earnings per share were to be 15-19% higher while both basic and headline earnings per share were expected to be 26-30% higher. This is for the 6-month period ended 31 March 2018. The interim results are expected to be released on 16 May 2018.