Trading Day – Thungela declare colossal dividends and Saudi Aramco reports record profits.

Thungela and ABSA have declared significantly increased dividends for their half-year results amid large increases in earnings.

Saudi Aramco, the biggest oil company in the world, reports record profits. 

Here is the biggest news of the day.

• Thungela reports a colossal increase in earnings per share from R3.13 to R67.23. Revenue for the first half of the year grew 161% to R26.2 billion and the company declared a dividend of R60 per share.
• ABSA more than doubles its dividend amid a healthy increase in earnings. The company reported a 28.4% increase in earnings per share (EPS) from last year to R12.63. The half-year results also indicated a 14% increase in revenue to just under R47 billion. The company declared a dividend of R6.50 per share, more than double last year’s interim dividend of R3.10 per share.
• Anglo American Platinum completes the sale of its interest in Bokoni Platinum to African Rainbow Minerals for R3.5 billion.
• Mondi announces sale of its Russian facility, Mondi Syktyvkar.
• Saudi Aramco, the biggest oil company in the world, reports record profits. The largely state-owned oil company had the largest quarterly profit since publicly listing a portion of the company in 2019. Net profit increased by 90% to $48.39 billion compared to analyst estimates of $46.2 billion. The company’s share price has risen more than 25% this year. While it is a closely guarded secret, Saudi Aramco is rumoured to have a production cost of $10 – $15 per barrel of oil, making them the lowest-cost producer in the world.
• China’s central bank surprises with 0.1% rate cut to their one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) (to 2.75%) and seven-day reverse repos (to 2.0%), following disappointing data. Industrial output grew only 3.8% year-on-year compared to expectations of 4.6% and has not yet bounced back after China’s strict lockdowns. Retail sales grew 2.7%  compared to the expected 5.0% and were down from the previous month’s 3.1%. Youth unemployment hit a record high of 19.9% despite the overall jobless rate easing slightly from 5.5% to 5.4%.
• Distell expects an increase in earnings. Earnings per share (EPS) are expected to grow around 21% to roughly R10.67. Group revenue grew by 20.8% thanks to strong sales volume growth. The company is currently still under a buyout offer from Heineken and awaiting regulatory approvals. The company’s yearly results are due on 25 August.
• Spur Corporation expects an increase in earnings per share (EPS) of around 30% to roughly R1.44. The group’s yearly results are due on 19 August.