Plague diary — week 11. I have been missing tennis terribly — though last week’s net gain on the JSE helped soothe the withdrawal symptoms.
My daily trudge (I can’t really claim a "run" at my stumbling pace) does not provide the same satisfaction as watching an opponent lunge desperately for a drop shot. So, on a stunning and breathless autumn day a few weeks ago, the irrepressible Monday Marauders decided to court danger.
Our covert tennis match lasted exactly one set. The encounter ended with us trading polite volleys with local law enforcement, who, under the circumstances, were most reasonable and rational in the brief standoff. It could easily have turned ugly — my partner bears more than a passing resemblance to Ilie Nastase in both looks and temperament. He was somewhat reluctant to pack up when we were 6-1 up and a serve break to the good in the second set. But justice was served in the end. With the tennis club out of bounds I’m on the road again, drearily plodding the kilometres accompanied by headphone soundtracks that get worryingly weirder by the day (try pacing yourself to Sun Ra, The Monks and Popol Vuh).
The JSE changed pace rather impressively (and unexpectedly) last week — no matter that much of the world was in serious discord. I could relive last Wednesday again and again. When you’ve been hanging your a$$ in the air for so long, it’s good to finally get decent buffeting. Hell, I think it might have been the first time I actually made a profit on retail shares (take a bow, Shoprite and Spar).
I was also able to claw back my truly hairy positions in the gaming sector (Hosken Consolidated Investments and Sun International) — though I still hold my RECM and Calibre (a proxy for unlisted Gold Rush electronic bingo terminals) and a new interest in Grand Parade Investments (with its minority stake in GrandWest and Sun Slots). I’ve used some of my Wednesday profits to nibble at shares that didn’t quite catch the full upward blast — which entails looking into territory where liquidity is sometimes lacking. Argent Industrial, Combined Motor Holdings and ARB Holdings were duly added. I celebrated the opening of bottle stores by swapping a more spirited Distell into new "bank-lite" Remgro (which, of course, is the major shareholder in Distell).
Steady course
My fretting about AdvTech was for nought. This classy private education stock showed an encouraging improvement (if I resort to teacher parlance), but will need to persevere to restore lost value. The surprise of the week, I thought, was the reassuringly profitable tack by fishing group Oceana in some fairly choppy waters. I have exposure to Oceana via enduring empowerment company Brimstone, which now holds a 25% stake as well as control at another iconic fishing company, Sea Harvest. While the upcoming fishing rights allocation process has put a fog of uncertainty over the mainstream fishing sector, it seems Oceana, which owns the bestselling Lucky Star canned pilchards brand, could maintain its steady course.
CEO Imraan Soomra pointed out that, given the diverse nature of the business, only 16% of Oceana’s fish supply would be up for renewal in the rights allocation process in 2021. The group has managed to overcome the pilchard shortage in local waters with a workable imported stock model.
It seems Lucky Star not only found price traction but also gained market share in the half-year period to end-March — hence a more succulent margin. I’m very keen to see Oceana execute on an acquisition in the aquaculture space.
Speaking of takeovers, surely something has to give at packaging group Nampak and cement supplier PPC? Their bombed-out share prices might make us forget both are market leaders in their sectors. A well-timed foray by a deep-pocketed predator might not be rebuffed by all shareholders.