The JSE’s latest directors’ dealings had a faintly optimistic scent about them. Insiders at Clicks, Sibanye-Stillwater, Exxaro and Mr Price were buying, big institutions were reshuffling, and a few smaller companies were moving the furniture around. None of it presents a crystal ball, but it does offer useful clues about where confidence appears to be building.
The most eye-catching vote of confidence came from Clicks, where CEO Bertina Engelbrecht bought R4.7m worth of shares, and CFO Gordon Traill bought just under R3m. For a group that is growing steadily — interim turnover rose 7.4%, diluted headline earnings 8.1% and the dividend 8.4% — the purchases seem to reflect management backing a defensive machine that still has room to grind out growth.
Mr Price director Neill Abrams bought roughly R700,000 worth of shares in two transactions shortly after the group reported 4.2% revenue growth to R42.7bn and 8% growth in normalised headline earnings. That looks like a modest but notable show of faith in a retailer that is faced with stretched consumers and the integration risk posed by its European ambitions.
In the resources sector, Sibanye-Stillwater CFO Charl Keyter bought R7.36m worth of shares, while director Rick Menell added about R539,000. Investor patience has been tested by volatile PGM markets, balance-sheet repair and operational restructuring, so these purchases could be a meaningful gesture.
Exxaro executive Richard Lilleike bought just under R1m worth of shares after a year in which Exxaro reported higher headline earnings, robust cash generation and continued diversification beyond coal.
Brimstone stood out, with directors and their associates buying about R9m worth of shares
Institutional moves were equally revealing. The PIC lifted its exposure in Boxer to 10.697%, a sizeable endorsement of a recently listed discount retailer that reported turnover of R46.7bn for the year to March. The PIC also increased voting rights in Bytes Technology to 9.195%, but trimmed Investec to 11.932%. Coronation’s activity had a similar selective quality: it crossed 5% in MTN, edged Fortress B shares to 20%, but slipped below 5% in Pan African Resources.
There was also a speculative edge. Optasia saw total buying of more than R40m by CEO Salvador Anglada and Bassim Haidar’s BHH Holdings. Given FirstRand’s earlier strategic investment in the AI-led fintech, the insider buying seems designed to reinforce confidence in a still-new JSE story.
At the smaller-cap end, Brikor’s proposed 17c-a-share scheme and planned delisting appear to say as much about the burden of being listed as about the company itself. For a small, thinly traded company, the costs and admin of life on the JSE can outweigh the benefits, especially when the market is not really rewarding the listing with much attention.
Labat’s R27m acquisition of the remaining 24.45% of software and tech distribution business Classic is really a bet on its latest reinvention. Labat, once known for its cannabis ambitions, is now trying to recast itself as a technology and ICT infrastructure group, with Classic sitting at the centre of that pitch. The deal gives Labat full ownership of Classic, which Labat says has become a major contributor to revenue and NAV growth. But the price is being paid in paper — 900-million new Labat shares at 3c each — so the market will have to decide whether the extra exposure to Classic is worth the dilution.
Brimstone stood out, with directors and their associates buying about R9m worth of shares, the sort of inside-family accumulation that appears to carry more signalling value than a routine vesting sale. Titan’s R4.3m purchase of Brait exchangeable bonds was also worth noting, given Christo Wiese’s long history with the investment holding company.
A2X
On A2X, Prosus led the week’s activity again, with R783.3m traded on the alternative exchange, giving it a 17.11% value market share. Richemont followed with R314.8m traded and a 15.44% share, while Glencore recorded R196m in value traded, representing 14.61%. Investec Plc and Investec Ltd rounded out the top five, with R80.6m and R15.2m respectively, translating into A2X value market shares of 12.36% and 8.03%.
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