Conditions improve for private sector, but lockdown leaves mark

CONDITIONS

in the private sector improved in September to the best levels in almost a year as lockdown restrictions eased. The IHS Markit SA purchasing managers’ index (PMI), an economy-wide gauge of business, reached 49.4 index points. The PMI has, however, remained below the 50 mark, a sign of contraction, for 17 consecutive months.

RESTAURANT

group Spur, the owner of RocoMamas and John Dory’s, said the recovery in turnover in its South African restaurants had exceeded expectations as customers seek to socially engage after the lockdown. Its restaurants traded at 73.8% of the prior year’s turnover for September, improving from 36.5% for July and 56.7% for August, it said.

CHROME

and platinum group metals miner Tharisa said its operations had performed above expectation during the pandemic, with the group also set to benefit from elevated prices.

PICK

n Pay warned of as much as a 60% drop in half-year earnings, underlining the costs of staying open during the pandemic and the effect of trading restrictions for virtually its entire MarchAugust reporting period. It expects headline earnings per share could fall in a range of 50%60% to 34.01c-42.51c.

SA’S

biggest glass maker, Consol, predicted a 15% drop in industry revenues over the next 12 months, citing slow recovery from the alcohol ban and the possibility of a second wave of infections. The alcohol industry accounts for about 85% of sales in the R11bn-strong glasspackaging industry.

INFRASTRUCTURE

development group Raubex warned it swung into a first-half loss after construction activity in SA was largely halted in late March and throughout April. It expects a headline loss per share of between 17.6c and 29.3c, from headline earnings of 58.6c previously.