Now’s a good time to pile in

City Lodge is another operator with a long and impressive record of providing a decent product at a sharp price, and it is testament to the sheer weight of gloom in the economy as a whole that the company has recorded something of an earnings blip.

Particular issues were the disruptions in Kenya caused by chaos around the election, the woeful levels of business and consumer confidence in SA, and the impact of the drought in the parched wastelands of the Western Cape.

While there remains a certain amount of controversy as to whether the darkest hour is in fact just before dawn, or whether that is platitudinous hogwash designed merely to lift the spirits, there is no doubt that the beloved country has suffered dark times at the hands of our erstwhile leader, and we must hope that rosyfingered dawn will soon be making an appearance courtesy of the new broom who has come to sweep parliament clean. Confidence is on the up, and now it’s time for delivery.

There’s little doubt that when the wheels of commerce start to grind once more, an operation such as City Lodge will burst back into form and get the earnings flowing again. Its share price is already heading back in the right direction, and there should be plenty more upside once the ship of state is firmly established on its new course.

The company has strong brands and an excellent record, and punters who believe in the new guard’s ability to revitalise the economy had better start getting the bets on pronto to take full advantage.