Local releases continue to dominate Next week local releases will continue to dominate the calendar with full-year results expected from: Ninety One – Management recently confirmed assets under management as at 31 December 2024 as being £130.2 billion, up 2.2% q/q and 4.8% y/y. The uptick was a better outcome relative to peers and while softer than the market performance over the period (in GBP terms), these numbers pointed to a better than industry performance in terms of investment outflows. Consensus is looking for subdued revenue growth of 0.5% and an 8.3% decline in adjusted earnings per share. Sirius Real Estate – In a trading update covering the year, management noted that the group achieved a 12.8% increase in overall rent roll (like-for-like: +6.3%), driven by a combination of strong organic growth and its ongoing asset acquisition programme, coupled with continued strong demand for space at business parks. Management said it expected to deliver full-year results in line with market expectations (being a 4.2% increase in distributions per share). Mr Price Group – Per a January trading update for the 13 weeks to the end of December, group retail sales grew 10.6% to R14.6 billion, accelerating from 1H24 (+7.1%). Market share gains of 60bps, per the Retailers’ Liaison Committee (RLC), were supported by comparable store sales growth of 6.3%. The company noted that January trade had been encouraging, with double-digit sales growth and gross margin expansion across each trading segment. Consensus is looking for FY25 sales growth of 9.8% and an increase in headline earnings per share (HEPS) of 12.4%. Foschini Group – At the 3Q25 mark, TFG reported that Retail turnover grew 8.4% y/y in the third quarter and 1.6% y/y for the first nine months of the financial year (9M25). TFG Africa grew sales 5.3% (like-for-like: +4.6%) on improved trading over the Black Friday and Christmas periods. For 9M25, turnover grew 2.2%. TFG London turnover increased 46.5% in 3Q25 (excluding White Stuff: -0.1%), and 0.6% in 9M25 following the acquisition of White Stuff on 25 October, while TFG Australia’s turnover declined 0.5% and continued to face tough trading conditions but showed an improvement in its performance in 3Q25. Management noted that trading had been strong for the first three weeks of January. Consensus estimates point to a 4.8% growth in revenue for FY25 of R58.9 billion and adjusted EPS is anticipated to come in at R10.10 (+4.7%). Interim results to lookout for include: Fairvest – In the pre-close statement for the period, the group reported that letting activity remained resilient and vacancies were robust, while weighted average built-in escalations were stable. Retail vacancies rose 5.1% and office vacancies came in at 14.8%, though industrial vacancies were lower at 0.5%. The loan-to-value ratio is expected to be below 32% compared to 33.3% as at 30 September 2024. SPAR Group – In a recent trading statement, the group guided for HEPS from continuing operations to be flat-to-down 10%. This excludes AWG and SPAR Switzerland which have been reclassified as discontinued operations. In its 18W25 trading update, the group said that total turnover declined by 1.6% y/y as pressure at BWG Group and SPAR Switzerland was only partly offset by a positive performance from the Southern Africa business. Southern Africa turnover grew 1.6% supported by strong growth in BuildIT as the category continued to regain momentum, with turnover up 7.3%. TOPS grew 1.9% and Grocery by 0.6%. SPAR Health (Pharmacies) grew turnover by 13.3% y/y. We also anticipate sales updates from Momentum, Old Mutual and British American Tobacco. On the corporate actions front, AGMs will be held by Absa Group, Sanlam, Kumba Iron Ore, Combined Motor Holdings, Mpact, SA Corporate Real Estate Fund, Thungela Resources and CA Sales Holding. Oasis Crescent Property Fund, KAL Group, Dipula Properties, Afrimat, Equites Property Fund, Collins Property Group, Newpark REIT, WBC Holdings and Assura plc will trade ex-dividend on Wednesday, 4 June 2025. First-quarter earnings season in the US is all but complete. Per Bloomberg, so far 487 S&P 500 companies have reported results, with 77% delivering actual EPS above consensus and 52% printing better-than-expected revenue growth. In aggregate, actual earnings reported by these 487 companies has exceeded estimates by 7.7% and revenue expectations were bettered by 0.8%. Earnings releases in the US are expected to slow down significantly next week, but we will keep an eye out for: Crowdstrike (1Q26 Results) – In 4Q25, diluted earnings per share grew 8.4% y/y to $1.03 and revenue surged 25.2% to $1.1 billion, driven by strength in subscription and professional services on the back of higher demand. Subscription gross profit also saw an uptick while the cash position weakened. In upcoming 1Q26 results, management expects revenue to be between $1.101 billion and $1.106 billion. EPS is set to range between $0.64 and $0.66. Broadcom (2Q25 Results) – 1Q25 adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased 45% to $1.60 and net revenue soared 25% y/y to $14.9 billion due to strength in Semiconductor solutions and a robust Infrastructure Software performance. Management’s guidance highlighted that for 2Q25, revenue is expected to be ~$14.9 billion, and the adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to come in at ~66%. Consensus is looking for adjusted EPS of $1.57, up 42.9%. In Europe, we do not expect much activity, but we will be on the lookout for FY25 results from FinTech company, Wise. The British company is expected to deliver a 16% growth in underlying income and an underlying profit before tax margin of between 13% and 16%. In a recent update, management highlighted that active customers were up 21% to ~15.6 million, resulting in a 23% increase in cross-border volumes to £145.2 billion. Another quiet week is expected in the Asia-Pacific region. DID YOU KNOW? The South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) resumed its interest rate cutting cycle at the May meeting this week, reducing interest rates by 25-basis points (bps). This brings the repo rate to 7.25%, 100bps below the peak of the most recent hiking cycle and the lowest level since early 2023. Interestingly, the statement had a dovish tone, which contrasts the previous MPC meeting when medium-term inflation risks were skewed upwards and only two members voted for a cut. This fits with abated uncertainty, given the unfolding diplomatic efforts by the Government of National Unity (GNU) and resolved contentions around the 2025 budget, which has allowed for a tilt towards a focus on the fundamentals. What was also a highlight from the statement is that the debate on lowering SA’s inflation target has formally entered the MPC statement. INFO SUPPLIED |