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Key points from our engagement with City Lodge Hotels' (CLH) management (CEO: Andrew Widegger and CFO: Dhanisha Nathoo)

Diluted HEPS decreased by 5.7% y-y to 168.6cps (FY25: 178.8cps). Revenue declined by 1.8% y-y to R6 588m, driven by reduced consumer confidence, which was mainly felt in the publishing and printing operations (-6.4% y-y in revenue). Total expenses decreased by 1.2% y-y with expense-to-revenue of 89.5% (FY25: 89.0%). Operating margin down by 20bps to 7.5%. Impacted by increased utility costs and higher diesel prices, which increased distribution costs. Dividend of 80.0cps (FY25: 70.0cps). Cashflow from operations declined from R910m to R824m. Net cash increased from R3 025m to R3 073m. Capex increased to R400m (FY25: R321m). The closure of the Mpact mill in Spring is now complete, and supply has been migrated to CAT’s overseas sources without interruption. R38.3m in plant impairment costs mainly relates to the Durban commercial printing plant that has reduced tonnages and cash-generating ability, and the inoperative battery storage system at CAT’s original pilot site.

Diluted HEPS up 3.9% y-y to 34.4cps (FY25: 33.1cps). Adjusted DHEPS up 20.2% y-y to 41.6cps (FY25: 34.6cps), which excludes unrealised losses on forex of R28.7m (FY25: R7.9m) and the impairment of the deferred tax assets of R9.5m (FY25: R13.8m). Turnover increased by 10.3% y-y to R2.2bn. Expenses increased by 10.1% y-y with expense-to-sales decreasing slightly from 81.1% to 81.0%. OPM decreased from 22.3% to 20.4%. Dividend of 19.0cps (FY25: 15.0cps). Cash generated from operating activities up 25.9% y-y to R417m. Average occupancy up from 56% to 58%. 1H26 occupancy rate of 62%, 2H26 occupancies negatively impacted by global tensions and fuel price increases. Average room rate increases of 7% y-y (FY25: 7% y-y). 1H26 room rate increase of 4% y-y. Other income reduced due to lower profits on disposals of R20.8m (FY25: R42.2m).

Key points from FirstRand's (FSR) FY26 results presentation

Italtile (ITE) delivered another consecutive period of weak results, as revenue contracted 1.2% y-y. The Retail segment continues to struggle with poor demand, especially in the CTM brand. Management decided to franchise four stores, which structurally lowered revenue generated by the CTM brand. Italtile Retail may find it difficult to maintain positive like-for-like growth in FY27, as it had a strong year, especially in the special projects division. TopT’s performance was relatively flat, but this will be the focus of group expansion in FY27, with five net stores planned to open. Management would like to significantly accelerate the rollout of TopT but acknowledges the difficulty of finding suitable site locations. The Manufacturing sector reported the lowest profit before tax in the last five years, affected by a one-off gain from a provision raised in FY25 that did not recur in the current period, and the sharp rise in fuel prices. The Ezee Tile adhesives business did well, but the Ceramic Industries Tile and Australia businesses recorded weak results. Softness in Australia was compounded by irregularities in monthly reporting. While the group determined there was no asset misappropriation, we believe the decision to dispose of the non-core Australia business is prudent, given the challenging macroeconomic environment there. The disposal should also allow management to focus on its core SA manufacturing facilities. The International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) investigated alleged dumping in the South African market and concluded that several suppliers from India, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe were severely undercutting their prices to gain local market share in South Africa. While ITE is happy that interim measures have been implemented to curb dumping, we fear exporters to South Africa may misclassify products, as the measures apply only to specific SARS tariff codes.

SHP delivered strong results for FY26, although its top-line growth is moderating. While it continued to gain market share, its trading density growth was weak. Management contends that trading density is an outdated metric and not appropriate for omni-channel retailing. However, we believe combined online and in-store densities are still insightful, and rapid online growth should improve combined trading density.   Sixty60 sales rose 34.7% y-y to R25.5bn, and now account for 24.2% of Checkers’ sales. This service incurs additional costs, which are reflected in its staff complement of 19 939 (11.4% of SHP group employees). While Sixty60's efficiency has improved, its sales per staff of R1.3m still lag SHP group sales per staff of R1.6m. Nevertheless, SHP’s strong results show it has offset these costs with new business.   SHP’s cash surged to R12.9bn, and we are concerned that excess cash could lead to poor capital allocation. For example, we think the Vida e Caffe acquisition does not fit well with SHP's high-volume, low-staff-cost model. We benchmark SHP’s cash use against Walmart in the US and Tesco in the UK. SHP’s capex intensity averaged 3.0% over the past ten years, higher than its peers (Walmart at 2.6% and Tesco at 2.2%). Its capex relative to cash returned to shareholders averaged 1.5x, above Walmart's 1.2x and Tesco's 0.8x. We think SHP’s strong cash generation, established infrastructure and the absence of competitive threats could allow a reduction in dividend cover to 1.50x  (similar to Pick n Pay’s cover between 1999 and 2005, when it was the market leader in food retailing in SA).

Diluted HEPS decreased by 5.0% y-y to 710.6cps (FY25: 748.0cps). Income from continuing operations before impairments increased by 10.8% y-y to R147bn, with NII growth of 5.4% y-y and NIR growth of 17.6% y-y. Aldermore Group is classified as a discontinued operation following FSR's announced intention to exit the UK consumer market. Impairment charge from cont. ops increased by 2.4% y-y, while impairment charge-to-operating income decreased from 10.3% to 9.5%. Operating costs from cont. ops increased by 19.0% y-y, mainly on the back of higher staff expenditure and continued investment in technology and platform-related strategies. Operating cost-to-income increased from 50.7% to 54.4%. OPM from cont. ops down by 290bps to 36.1%. Dividend of 539cps (FY25: 466cps). Credit loss ratio decreased from 1.08% to 1.05%. Net interest margin increased from 4.82% to 4.96%. Return on equity of 18.4% (FY25: 20.3%). Loans and advances growth of -14.5% y-y (FY25: 8.5% y-y).

Key points from WBHO's (WBO) FY26 results presentation

Diluted HEPS from total operations decreased by 0.4% y-y to 2 308cps (FY25: 2 317cps). Diluted HEPS from continuing ops increased by 0.7% y-y to 2 275ps. Revenue from continuing operations down by 0.6% y-y to R28.3bn. Revenue from South Africa grew by 0.9% y-y to R19.3bn, while revenue from the rest of Africa decreased by 14.7% y-y from R3.7bn to R3.2bn. Expenses decreased by 0.4% y-y to R27bn, while expense to sales up by 20bps to 95.3%. OPM declined from 5.0% to 4.8%. Dividend of 620cps (FY25: 620cps). Order book of R37.6bn at June 2026 (FY25: R37.6bn). Cash from operating activities decreased by 32.4% y-y to R1.2bn. Long-term liabilities increased by 62.2% y-y to R403m. Activity in South Africa comprised growth from the roads and renewable energy sectors but lower building activity. The Group acquired an 80% interest in Zamori 172 (Pty) Ltd for R72.9m. A loan agreement was entered into with Absa for an initial amount of R110m to finance the development of a student accommodation building.

Key points from Libstar's (LBR) 1H26 results presentation

Key points from Supergroup's (SPG) FY26 results presentation

Diluted HEPS decreased by 22.8% y-y to 12.9cps (1H25: 16.7cps). The operational underperformance was concentrated predominantly in the Dickon Hall Foods division and Dry Condiments sub-category. Revenue increased by 0.7% y-y to R5 804m. GPM down by 70bps to 21.5% due to extraordinary input cost inflation and reduced operating leverage resulting from softer volume production and sales in selected categories. Operating expenses increased by 4.3% y-y, while expense-to-sales increased from 18.1% to 18.8%. OPM down by 160bps to 2.6%. Cash flow generated from operating activities decreased by 44.2% y-y to R185m. No dividend (1H25: nil). Gross debt decreased from R1 312m to R1 197m, while net cash decreased from R240m to R145m. Net debt-to-EBITDA increased from 1.31x to 1.60x. Subsequent to the reporting period, the Montagu Foods site integration was completed, the Cape Herb & Spice consolidation project progressed according to schedule, and the group disposed of its Phesantekraal property in the Western Cape.