Vunani just had a half-year that makes the last one look like a typo. Revenue and premiums jumped 29% to R459.7 million, profit after tax more than doubled to R52.2 million, and headline earnings per share rose 62% to 15.4 cents. The group's spread across fund management, asset administration, insurance and investment banking finally looks like a portfolio that works together instead of four small businesses sharing a holding company.
They even declared a dividend — 10 cents a share — the kind of confidence signal a small-cap shouldn't skip. At R1.92 the stock isn't cheap on trailing earnings (north of 30 times), so the market has already noticed. The question is whether the flow of good news continues. For now, this is a small-cap doing big things. BULLISH.
Sasol's first quarter reads like a company that has finally stopped stepping on its own feet. Mining delivered its best quarterly production in six years, ORYX GTL is back online after the Middle East conflict forced it to close in March, and liquid fuels volumes grew as customers returned and inventories were drawn down. Management says it remains on track within market guidance, with conflict-driven pricing staying supportive across the portfolio. There's still a bump in the road — Natref's desulphuriser had a process safety incident and only restarts at end-October, and Chemicals Africa revenue slipped on lower volumes — but the direction of travel is finally forward.
The quiet wins matter as much as the big ones: NERSA approved Sasol's maximum gas price for FY27 and part of FY28, giving pricing certainty; the nitrates business is being sold to Enaex; and sustainable aviation fuel production starts at Natref next quarter. At R266.69 with a forward PE under 8, the market is still pricing in the old Sasol. This is the new-ish Sasol, and it's working. BULLISH.
Quilter's third quarter was so good it nearly matched its entire record 2025 in nine months. Core net inflows hit £8.9 billion year-to-date, up 31%, against the £9.1 billion the group managed for the whole of last year — and CEO Steven Levin says the milestone fell in early Q4. Assets under management jumped 19% to £160.5 billion, with the UK platform pulling in £8.0 billion YTD and High Net Worth inflows up 20%. Adviser productivity rose 9%.
This is a wealth manager compounding flows in a market that has spent years doubting UK financials. At R40.06 the stock trades on roughly 20 times trailing earnings — not cheap, but you're paying for the flow machine, and the flow machine is accelerating. Persistency at 91% means clients aren't leaving. This is a boring, beautiful compounder. BULLISH.
Orion's CFO, Peet van Coller, is out — effective immediately — with Stephen Rowse parachuted in as interim CFO while a permanent replacement is hunted. Van Coller joined in April 2023 and helped steer the finance function through the Prieska and Okiep development push, so his exit lands at an awkward moment: the company just secured US$40 million of Glencore funding and is heading into the build phase.
CFO churn at a developer is never great optics, but Rowse brings 20-plus years of mining finance experience, including stints at MC Mining and Sail Mining, so the bench isn't empty. The board says interest in the permanent role is strong. At 26 cents, Orion remains a bet on copper, Glencore's patience, and the Prieska story — this appointment drama doesn't change the thesis, but it's a flag worth watching. NEUTRAL.
Mahube's takeover saga rolls on with another 'we're still talking' update. The Independent Board has been formally constituted to engage with the Consortium over a proposed offer — six weeks after the initial cautionary on 8 September — and shareholders are told to keep exercising caution. No terms, no price, no timetable: this is process, not news.
The encouraging bit is that the board went to the trouble of setting up an independent committee, which usually means there's something real to negotiate. At R6.00, Mahube trades at 0.59 times book with no earnings visibility, so the offer price is everything. Until there's a number on the table, this is a hold-your-nose-and-wait situation. NEUTRAL.
Coronation has trimmed its Lewis stake below the 20% line, dropping to 19.33% of the furniture retailer's shares. It's a TRP121 filing — the mechanical disclosure of an institutional seller — so there are no company numbers to chew on. But when SA's biggest active manager trims a holding that big, it's worth a glance at what's behind the sale: profit-taking after a strong run, or something less comfortable.
Lewis has been a quiet market performer, trading at R91.50 and barely 6 times earnings with a fat yield, and Coronation's move looks more like portfolio rebalancing than a verdict on the business. Still, big holders selling below a round threshold is never a headline you love to see. No company news, no change to the story — just a fund manager taking some chips off the table. NEUTRAL.
Famous Brands just proved that earnings per share is not the only story in town. Headline EPS slipped 3.2% to 228 cents and operating profit fell 4.7% to R375m, but free cash flow more than doubled to R459 million and the dividend still went UP 4.9% to 170 cents. That's a business paying you more while the income statement looks flat — the cash is real, net debt fell 20% to R881 million, and gearing dropped from 0.84x to 0.65x. This is the 'investment decade' finally paying off, with ROCE steady at a punchy 34%.
The grumbles are honest ones: Signature Brands is struggling and Botswana is soft, which is why revenue only grew 2.3% to R4.3 billion. But here's the tell — Steyn Capital, a value fund that doesn't throw money around, quietly bought its way to a 5.03% stake on the same day results landed. Smart money reading the same cash-flow story. At R51.50 and 8.6 times trailing earnings, you're getting a franchise machine that spits out cash and raises its dividend for a market that still isn't convinced. BULLISH.
Twenty-four hours after promising 20-25% earnings growth, CMH delivered. Headline EPS rose 18.6% to 261 cents (basic EPS up 21.5%), revenue grew 6.6% to R8.1 billion, and the operating margin ticked up to 4.7%. The trading statement said the showroom was resilient; the actual numbers confirm it, with cash resources up 16% to R899 million and net asset value per share up 12.5% to R21.53.
And the December dividend is back: 148 cents a share declared, after last year's share-repurchase switcheroo. In a consumer economy that's supposedly on its knees, CMH keeps compounding — the stock still trades at barely 7 times earnings. Yesterday's BULLISH call aged well in a day. BULLISH.