Ghost Bites (Copper 360 | Murray & Roberts | RCL Foods)

Copper 360 releases encouraging metallurgical results (JSE: CPR)

Results have exceeded company expectations

Drill core samples from the Rietberg Copper Mine have been subjected to metallurgical tests and the results are promising. When measured against Copper 360’s expectations, the good news is that more copper with less energy can be recovered, which is great for the bottom line.

I always find the actual results interesting, even though I barely understand anything that I’m reading. At least they use a “DOW200 frother” so the cappuccinos at head office must be good. Or perhaps, the copper just gets cleaned well. I can’t be sure.

Murray & Roberts can’t catch a break in Australia (JSE: MUR)

The attempt to regain control of RUC Cementation has fallen through

Murray & Roberts has been trying to navigate a legal minefield in Australia where Clough is in administration. RUC Cementation also got caught up in this, with Murray & Roberts attempting to pluck it out of the process and regain control of the business.

Certain conditions precedent in the term sheet were not satisfied in time, so the attempt to do this has fallen through.

The group now hopes to provide engineering and contracting services to mining clients in the Asia Pacific division through the recently established Cementation APAC business. Talk about calling all pockets and hoping that something works.

No rainbows at RCL Foods (JSE: RCL)

There is an unexpected contagion impact from Tongaat-Hulett

This trading statement came out early in the morning and hardly tells a great story, yet the share price closed 2.5% higher on the day. Clearly, major holders had a good idea that this was coming.

HEPS for the year ended June 2023 at RCL Foods will be at least 30% lower than in the comparable period. This has mainly been driven by a special levy raised by the South African Sugar Association (SASA), the impact of load shedding and unrecovered feed costs in Rainbow.

Before you feel too bad about special levies in your complex, be thankful that you aren’t in the sugar industry. The business rescue practitioners at Tongaat Hulett have decided not to pay the company’s statutory obligations to SASA, necessitating a special levy that the rest of the industry has had to bear. The pre-tax impact on RCL Foods is R234 million.

Litigation is underway regarding the lawfulness of the decision by the appointed business rescue practitioners to suspend compliance with statutory obligations at Tongaat Hulett.

Shareholders should also note that Vector Logistics will be reported as an asset held for sale in these financials, as the transaction is still being implemented.

Little Bites:

• Director dealings:
  • A director of a major subsidiary of Marshall Monteagle (JSE: MMP) has bought shares in the company worth R11.2 million.
  • An associate of a director of Afrimat (JSE: AFT) has sold shares worth over R8 million.
  • Associates of two directors of Ascendis Health (JSE: ASC) have each acquired shares worth R218k.
  • A director of a subsidiary of Nu-World (JSE: NWL) has sold shares worth R23.6k.

• British American Tobacco (JSE: BTI) pays quarterly dividends, which is pretty much the only reason why anyone buys the stock. The dividend to be paid in August is R13.8000439 per share. That’s an annualised yield of around 8.8% on the current share price.

• The acquisition of Dariel Solutions by Capital Appreciation Limited (JSE: CTA) has been completed, with an effective date of 3 July 2023.

• The Datatec (JSE: DTC) scrip dividend alternative has been calculated with reference to the 30-day VWAP of around R36.42 per share. The current price is R39 per share, so accepting scrip instead of cash may be appealing to shareholders.

INVEST IN SHARES