Combined Motor Holdings continues to do well (JSE: CMH)

They’ve done a terrific job of adapting to changing consumer tastes

When the Chinese car invasion really picked up speed on our roads, I was worried that the traditional distributors in this space (like CMH) would struggle to retain their market share. After all, disruption to a market can easily shake things up in a big way – just look at our local grocery sector!

CMH responded brilliantly though, with the latest trading statement showing just how well they are doing. For the year ended February 2026, HEPS is expected to increase by between 25% and 35%.

This suggests annual HEPS of between 504 and 544.3 cents. This puts the company on a Price/Earnings multiple of around 7x.

CMH’s share price is up 37% in the past year. If you include the dividend and look at the total return, it’s a 44% return! Impressive.

It gets even more interesting if you compare CMH to its two main rivals over the past 12 months. WeBuyCars (JSE: WBC) has struggled with its premium valuation, while Motus (JSE: MTH) has made the most of its vertically integrated model:

Which of these three would you choose to own over the next 3 years?

The FCA redress scheme in the UK is so bad that FirstRand is heading for the exit (JSE: FSR)

The provision is almost triple the profits made over a decade

Will South African companies ever learn when it comes to Europe?

The only thing that European regulators enjoy more than committees and electric cars is the ability to slap massive fines on commercial organisations. Bad behaviour clearly needs to be dealt with, but a combination of draconian policies and slow growth doesn’t exactly attract investment.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority’s redress scheme for the motor finance industry is just one excellent example. After a long court battle that went in the FCA’s favour, they’ve put forward a number that is so enormous that FirstRand will look to exit its UK consumer finance business entirely.

Get ready for it: the additional provision required is R11.9 billion. This takes the total provision to R17.7 billion.

In GBP terms, the total provision is £750 million. Over a decade, FirstRand’s vehicle finance activities in the UK generated profits of £275 million. Does this provision seem reasonable to you?

Thanks to the overall strength of FirstRand’s balance sheet, they can absorb this loss. But on a full-year basis, earnings net of the provision will drop by between 4% and 9%. Return on Equity will be at, or just below, the bottom-end of the target range.

Weirdly, the initial announcement reflected a decrease of between 10% and 15% in earnings, but then they provided the new range roughly 90 minutes later.

The damage by the regulator has been done. FirstRand has assessed the returns offered by the UK market and they’ve taken the regulatory risks into account as well. Based on this work, they’ve decided to facilitate an orderly sale of the Aldermore business in the UK.

Purple Group’s growth is firmly in the green (JSE: PPE)

The owner of EasyEquities is enjoying strong growth

As a Purple Group shareholder, I’m pleased to note the release of an encouraging trading statement by the company. For the six months to February 2026, HEPS is expected to increase by between 18.6% and 23.3%.

We will get full details this week, with final results due for release on Wednesday.

It would’ve been good to see an earlier trading statement from the company, although the midpoint of the guided range is only slightly above the threshold that triggers the release of a trading statement (a move of more than 20%).

Nibbles:

• Director dealings:
  • An associate of a director of Lighthouse (JSE: LTE) – not Des de Beer – sold shares in the company worth R38.6 million. Let’s face it, if it was Des we were talking about, he would be buying rather than selling!
  • A director of AVI (JSE: AVI) received shares in the company and sold the whole lot for R7.8 million.
  • In the latest edition of musical shares in the Wiese family, they’ve reshuffled R6.9 million worth of shares in Shoprite (JSE: SHP).
  • One of the founding directors of Brimstone (JSE: BRT | JSE: BRN) bought N ordinary shares to the value of nearly R125k.

• RMB Holdings (JSE: RMH) announced that AttBid acquired further shares in the company, taking its stake to 9.82%. If you the include the shares held by Atterbury Property Fund (32.77%), the parties hold a combined 42.59% of RMB Holdings shares.

• Merafe Resources (JSE: MRF) announced that the deadline for the s189 consultation process with staff at its smelters has been extended from 7 April to 9 April. This is because Eskom asked for an extension based on negotiations between the parties. This one is going down to the wire.

• Fortress Real Estate (JSE: FFB) announced that the scrip dividend alternative was elected by holders of 12.4% of shares in issue. This means that Fortress will retain R133 million in cash by issuing just over 6 million new shares.

• Trustco (JSE: TTO) has renewed the cautionary announcement related to a possible delisting of the company’s shares. At this stage, there’s still no guarantee of which route they will take.