MONEY LIVE | Metal prices push Merafe back into the black -
JSE-listed independent education provider Curro results for the year ending 31 December 2021 show headline earnings recovered to R245 million - 43.3% higher than the 2020 financial year.
The gross profit earned on PINless top-ups, prepaid electricity, ticketing, and gaming, which are recognised as revenue, saw a 12% jump from R32.4 billion to R36.2 billion. The considerable increase in headline earnings per share is primarily driven by higher ferrochrome and chrome ore prices as well as higher volumes sold.
President Vladimir Putin has denied Russia intends to invade, but lawmakers have given him the green light to deploy troops to separatist-held regions. Treasuries mostly fell and the yield curve flattened in the Wall Street session. There’s no cash trading in Asia due to a Japan holiday.Fears that the Ukraine tension could snarl commodity supplies has bolstered everything from energy to wheat and nickel.
Elsewhere, New Zealand’s central bank raised interest rates for the third straight meeting and signaled it will need to lift them higher than previously expected to contain inflation. The local dollar strengthened.Oil prices surged close to $100 per barrel Tuesday as major crude producer Russia prepared to send troops into two breakaway regions of Ukraine, sparking Western nations to ready economic sanctions against Moscow.
The Auto Pedigree owner’s headline earnings per share increased by 51% to 795 cents from 526 cents in 2020. Its operating profit grew by 23% to R2.1 billion, from R1.7 billion in 2020, while its profit before tax increased by 46% to R1.8 billion.Motus declared a R725 cents dividend per share, up by 72% from 160 cents in 2020.
Its earnings per share are likely to decline between 15% and 20%, to between 1 275 cents and 1 355 cents. The move came hours after the Kremlin appeared to pour cold water on a potential summit with US President Joe Biden and led to condemnation from world leaders and warnings Moscow would be hit with a series of sanctions.
Crude -- already up more than 25 percent this year on surging demand -- piled higher still on Tuesday, with Brent closing in on the $100 mark for the first time since 2014. Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Mumbai and Taipei dived at least one percent, while there were also losses in Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta and Wellington.Hong Kong tanked more than three percent at one point owing to a selloff in tech firms as traders again fret over the possibility China will embark on another crackdown on the sector.
The group declared a final cash dividend of R30.50 per share, bringing total dividends to R103.20 per share, for the year ended in December 2021. Production was 9% higher to reach 40.8 million wet metric tons. Kumba intends to increase the overall grade of its products, broadening its customer base beyond China. AngloGold Ashanti CFO, Christine Ramon, will step down from the company in June having elected to take early retirement after more than seven years with the company.
Although headquartered in Johannesburg and listed on the JSE, the company disposed of its final South African gold mine, Mponeng in late 2020. Free cash flow, the metric on which dividends are calculated, was $426 million for the year compared to $1 billion in the previous year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized two self-proclaimed separatist republics in eastern Ukraine and ordered the Defense Ministry to send what he called “peacekeeping forces” to the breakaway regions. Western leaders condemned the latest moves and the U.S. prepared to announce new sanctions against Russia.
“It’s very difficult to assess risk-rewards in the current environment,” said Damien McColough, head of fixed income research at Westpac Banking Corp. That’s because they “run the risk of exacerbating the challenging inflation backdrop that many investors and companies have expected to improve in the back half of 2022 and present a risk to the margin outlook,” she said.In a trading update for the six months to end-December, City Lodge expects a headline loss per share of between 5.3c to 6.5c, compared to a loss of 60.1c. Its results are expected around 25 February 2022.
Warnings from US officials that Russia could invade its neighbour imminently sent markets spiralling last week and briefly sent crude surging towards $100 per barrel as traders fret over already tight supplies.Oil prices rose on Monday, but remained well below $100 per barrel. While expectations are for a Fed rate hike next month, some bank officials at the weekend indicated they were not in favour of a 50 basis point rise, as has been suggested in light of soaring consumer prices.
Monday's session started on a negative note, with markets suffering hefty falls but the losses were reduced after the US and Russian leaders said they would hold talks on Ukraine, as long as Putin does not invade. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Manila and Bangkok were in the red, though Sydney, Mumbai, Singapore and Jakarta edged up slightly. Shanghai was flat.Gold, a safe-haven asset in times of turmoil, slipped.
While expectations are for a Fed rate hike next month, some bank officials at the weekend indicated they were not in favour of a 50 basis point rise, as has been suggested in light of consumer price hikes. This brings the total dividend for the year to R300 per share. For the year ended in December, Amplats benefitted from a record platinum group metals basket price which increased 22% to reach R44.51 per ounce and the company announced record earnings of R108 billion for the year.
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