Woolworths just served up the kind of trading update that makes you check the date to see if the consumer has actually stopped spending. Group turnover and concession sales grew 0.2% — which is barely a rounding error in a R50bn business. Woolies SA Food did 1.9%, but comparable-store sales were 0.1%, which is zero in all but the most generous reading. FBH declined 0.3%, with fashion in deflation at -0.3% and only homeware (+6.4%) and beauty (+3.1%) keeping the category from looking worse. The in2food acquisition completed on 5 November, which management says will support gross margin — they are going to need it, because price movement of 3.0% in food is barely covering cost inflation and fuel is eating the difference.
The real damage is in Australia. Country Road Group sales collapsed 9.5%, with all brands under pressure, and here is the part that is going to keep Woolworths management awake: David Jones has been placed into administration and receivership. CRG runs nearly 300 concessions inside David Jones stores. The SENS says management is "in communication with the appointed receivers and assessing what this means for the continued trading relationship" — which is corporate-speak for "we do not know yet, and it could be bad". Add a financial services impairment rate that ticked up to 7.3% from 6.7%, and you have a retailer where the core SA business is treading water and the Australian leg is taking on water. At R37.78, down 8.5% on the day with 18.6 million shares traded, the market is not overreacting. It is catching up to reality.
Vodacom just served up a set of numbers that makes a mockery of the 'telcos are boring' narrative. Revenue hit R102.5 billion — up 25.6% — and headline earnings per share climbed 25.7% to 587 cents. The headline number gets a big asterisk (Safaricom consolidation), but strip that out and pro-forma service revenue still grew 13.3% and EBITDA rose 18%. That's organic growth most companies can only dream of.
The dividend hike to 355 cents (up 7.6%) signals real confidence from the board, and the new payout policy suggests management sees this as sustainable. The 250-million-customer milestone (up 11.8%) and 108 million financial services customers tell the real story: Vodacom is becoming a fintech platform that happens to also sell airtime. The debt ticked up (net debt to EBITDA at 1.6x vs 0.9x) from the Safaricom deal, but that's manageable given the cash generation. This is a well-run machine printing money in a tough economy.
Stor-Age keeps grinding out the kind of steady returns that property investors should be paying more attention to. Distributable income rose 10.4% to R318.6 million, the dividend ticked up 4% to 62.14 cents per share, and NAV per share hit R18.12 — up 4.7% year-on-year. That's not flashy, but it's reliable. In a world where SA REITs are getting hammered by high rates and weak consumer demand, Stor-Age is quietly compounding.
The Xtraspace acquisition is the standout — 10 properties for R387 million with another R38 million in planned CapEx, plus management contracts for six more. That adds meaningful scale to a portfolio that already spans 112 properties across SA and the UK. Occupancy at 89.3% (SA 91.4%) is healthy, and the development pipeline (Farnham, Aylesbury, De Waterkant) keeps the growth story alive. The only drag is the UK occupancy at 81.5% — needs work. But for a REIT yielding a decent distribution with genuine growth prospects, this is one of the better options on the JSE.
Stefanutti Stocks just dropped a trading statement that doubles the earnings of the business. EPS from continuing operations is expected between 97 and 106 cents, up 110% to 130% from 46 cents in the prior period. Headline EPS from continuing ops is even better: 98 to 107 cents, up 120% to 140%. Those are not incremental improvements. That is a business that has gone through the restructuring wringer and come out the other side earning real money again. The share price understood the assignment — up 10.5% to R6.85 on the day, and the stock is now up 65% from its 52-week low of R4.16.
The fine print matters: these are continuing operations only, while the comparative period includes discontinued operations. The restructuring has cleaned out the parts that did not work, and what remains is apparently working. The weighted average shares in issue barely changed (167.3m vs 167.2m), so there is no dilution masking the recovery. Full results land on 24 November, and that is when we will see the cash flow and order book. But a construction company that grew earnings by 110% in a tough building environment is a story worth watching. The stock at R6.85 on a 6.5x-ish forward multiple is pricing in scepticism. The numbers say the scepticism is wrong.
Premier Group is making the RFG acquisition look like a masterstroke. First-half revenue surged 38.8% to R14.3 billion, EBITDA jumped 51.4% to R2 billion, and headline earnings per share rose 27.1% to 711 cents. The RFG (now Premier Culinary) integration is tracking to plan with synergies already showing in merchandising, distribution, and procurement. The Tulbagh fruit processing site closure was the right call — global canned fruit exports collapsed post-merger approval — and management is handling it responsibly with employee support.
Millbake remains the engine room, delivering 23.7% EBITDA growth despite maize and wheat deflation of 20% and 5% respectively. That's operational efficiency at its best. The new Middelburg and Aeroton bakeries are ramping up, and the balance sheet is squeaky clean — leverage at 0.7x, same as pre-acquisition, with R207 million returned to shareholders via buybacks. ROIC improved 300 basis points to 20.6%. This is a consumer staple powerhouse firing on all cylinders. The Competition Commission issue is a hanging thread, but Premier is engaging constructively and the underlying business is too strong to let it derail the story.
When insiders at PSG Financial Services buy shares, it's worth paying attention. The group announced that an associate of a director of a major subsidiary has been dealing in KST shares. PSG Financial Services has built a formidable reputation as a wealth and asset management powerhouse, and the group's diversified earnings base — from financial planning to asset management to banking — provides a resilient foundation.
PSG has consistently compounded shareholder value over the years, and the current share price doesn't look stretched. Insider buying at these levels suggests those closest to the business see value. The group's track record of organic growth and bolt-on acquisitions gives it a compounder profile that's rare on the JSE. Not a home-run swing, but a steady accumulator that keeps delivering.
Dipula keeps doing the boring property stuff well, and the numbers prove it. Revenue rose to R1.67bn, distributable earnings per share hit 62.17c (up 8.6%), and the full-year dividend climbed to 55.96c — also up 8.6%. The portfolio grew 13% to R12.2bn across 152 properties, vacancy shrank from 8.4% to 6.0%, and NAV per share improved to R7.95. The balance sheet is the quiet star: gearing fell to 31.8%, LTV sits at 31.66% — well below the 50% covenant — and the unmodified audit opinion means no nasty surprises hiding in the footnotes.
The guidance is the part that makes this interesting for the year ahead: the board is forecasting distributable earnings growth of 8% to 10% for FY2027. That is a statement of confidence from a REIT that owns convenience retail in townships and rural areas — the parts of the property market that actually hold up when the economy is tight. The R2bn shopping centre acquisition during the year shows management is still building, not coasting. At R7.40 the stock trades at a discount to NAV of R7.95, with a yield around 7.6%. In a property market where most landlords are whining about vacancies, Dipula is lowering them, growing distributions and guiding higher. That is a boring, beautiful REIT doing its job.
Bidcorp's capital markets update is a masterclass in managing through the cycle. Revenue growth of 2.4% in constant currency sounds pedestrian until you realise it's all real volume growth with negligible food inflation and limited M&A contribution. The real story is margin expansion — trading profit up 8.2% in constant currency, driven by disciplined pricing, mix management, and procurement gains. HEPS up around 10% in constant currency (3.2% in rands thanks to currency headwinds).
Europe and UK led the charge, with Australasia and select Emerging Markets also improving. The 95% offshore earnings base means the rand headline number gets punished by a strong ZAR, but the underlying business is firing. Consumer spending is subdued across all markets, energy costs are up from geopolitical tensions, and food inflation is negligible — yet Bidcorp still managed to expand margins. That's execution. The only caution: the rand translation drag is real and won't reverse unless the currency weakens. For a quality global foodservice business trading at a reasonable multiple, this remains a core holding.
AVI's chairman Mike Watters delivered the classic 'good news, bad news' trading update at the AGM. The good: Snackworks is delivering revenue growth on sound demand and innovation, I&J is pushing through price increases, and SPITZ has lay-by units 7% higher year-on-year heading into December. The bad: Entyce is getting squeezed in the creamer category, forcing price cuts to defend volumes, and the Fashion Brands are still navigating a consumer environment best described as 'hostile'.
The R90.1 million wage restructuring charge across Entyce and Snackworks hit margins — operating profit dipped marginally on a reported basis, though it improved excluding that one-off. The restructuring should pay back in under 18 months, which is sensible. Cost management is tight and forex movements helped offset inflation. But 'revenue in line with last year' isn't a growth story. AVI is a well-managed defensive hold in a tough market, but there's nothing here to get excited about until the consumer environment turns and Entyce stabilises.