The winner over this period is clear: PGMs. The winds of change aren't just blowing in that space, they are positively gusting! There have been other positive standout performances, like Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers, as well as Purple Group.

On the negative side, a couple of insurance names have had a tough month (like Discovery and Santam), while Sun International continues to struggle with casino demand. There's been plenty of volatility in the local market, but these moves were particularly interesting to me.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

Remember, nothing you hear on this podcast is investment advice, nor does it reflect the views of Forvis Mazars in South Africa. Always speak to your financial advisor.

Many investors choose to stick with what they know in times like these. This means homegrown favourites on the JSE. But which stocks have been the big winners thus far this year, and what do they have in common?

In this episode, I explain how the key themes of gold, platinum and telcos have proven to be the rising tide that lifts all boats in those industries. There have also been rewards for stock-pickers beyond those sectors, with the examples of Naspers/Prosus, OUTsurance and WeBuyCars all being interesting. 

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

Remember, nothing you hear on this podcast is investment advice, nor does it reflect the views of Forvis Mazars in South Africa. Always speak to your financial advisor.

This podcast is an overview of recent big share price moves among larger local companies on the JSE, revealing some interesting trends. 

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

The performance in gold is simply a case of the sector carrying on where it left off in 2024, but what about platinum? And where did that telecoms rally come from? Also, have retail stocks continued their slide since the previous episode of Ghost Wrap that focused on that issue?

This podcast gives you great context to the year-to-date performance on the JSE. 

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

In clothing, it's quite clear that Pepkor and Mr Price had stronger numbers than The Foschini Group and certainly Truworths, yet the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater in that sector.

Woolworths is a hybrid model and this is reflected in the performance, with the food business looking far stronger than the rest of the group.

In grocery, Boxer has been the most defensive stock thus far in 2025 and had a solid festive season. Shoprite put in a predictably strong performance as well vs. peers. There are signs of life at Pick n Pay, but it remains well below Shoprite. Spar hasn't delivered a trading update yet, so the focus there is on cleaning house and getting out of broken investments (like Poland).

We save the best for last: Lewis. The latest numbers are highly impressive and when you consider the discretionary nature of the business, the share price resilience in 2025 has been especially promising. 

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

Listen to the podcast to get the details on these insights from December 2024:

1. Is Italtile's share price a Christmas miracle?
2. Bloisi's first acquisition at the helm of Prosus is a fascinating one in Latin America
3. Renergen was the most interesting announcement in the dead week between Christmas and the new year, revealing yet another risk for the business
4. Metair's selling price for the Turkish business has all but evaporated
5. Bell's share price may prove to be a cautionary tale about greed, with regret surely kicking in for those who voted against the scheme at R53 per share

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

Listen to the podcast to get the details on these topics:

1. The per-share numbers are what count in the property sector
2. The market is hungry for quality IPOs
3. Poultry businesses are making money again
4. Murray & Roberts is a catastrophe
5. MultiChoice really, really needs the Canal+ deal to go ahead

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

This episode covers:

• Clicks and Dis-Chem as the dynamic duo in arguably the most appealing retail model.
• The Foschini Group's latest acquisition in the UK, proving once more that the group isn't scared of risk.
• Cashbuild's positive momentum in both the share price and sales growth.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

This episode covers:

• Nampak and a pretty heroic turnaround for the balance sheet.
• Spar's troubles, including Switzerland as what could easily be the next major headache.
• Metair's balance sheet pressures and the need for the Turkish disposal to go through quickly.
• Transaction Capital and the plan to focus on Nutun going forward, with the controlling stake in Mobalyz (SA Taxi) being sold.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

This episode covers:

• Sibanye-Stillwater has had a great day, but the share price move needs some context.
• Truworths is riding the GNU-phoria, even though the best performing part of the business is in the UK!
• Finbond has secured an excellent deal in the US.
• Barloworld scared the market with a cryptic announcement about Russia.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

This episode covers:

• CA Sales Holdings has a great business model that is still working beautifully.
• RCL Foods and Rainbow Chicken have reported numbers together for the last time, which gives us an opportunity to reflect on exactly why the unbundling made sense.
• Motus is struggling at the moment and the market doesn't seem to be punishing the share price, presumably because of the expectation of interest rate cuts.
• Bidvest reminds us of the value of diversification, with five out of seven divisions in the green and a reasonable overall result at group level.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

This episode covers:

• Italtile had a better second half as expected, but new risks have emerged.
• ADvTECH and STADIO have shown us that private education can be lucrative, provided the business model is right.
• Harmony got its gold production sorted at exactly the right time.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

This episode covers:

• Absa and Standard Bank as examples of divergence in performance within the same sector.
• MTN and the ongoing nightmare in Nigeria, necessitating an extension to the B-BBEE deal that references MTN's listed shares.
• NEPI Rockcastle as one of the best property funds on the local market.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

This episode covers:

• Italtile and Cashbuild as interesting plays for an improvement in consumer discretionary spending.
• Quilter releasing strong results that reminded the market of how good that business is.
• AngloGold and Gold Fields with such different production results, yet Gold Fields is out there making an acquisition.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

This episode covers:

• MTN's African subsidiaries and the difference in performance in Ghana and Uganda vs. the terrible situation in Nigeria.
• ArcelorMittal and the dangers of operating leverage.
• Curro clawing its way back towards pre-pandemic earnings.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

This episode covers:

• Balwin's push into rentals and what this means for the investment case.
• British American Tobacco's growth wobbly in the New Categories.
• Mr Price and the question marks around organic growth.
• Vodacom's challenges in finding growth outside of markets with risky currencies.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

This episode covers:

• Richemont's sales disappointment and broader luxury pressures in China.
• AVI's ability to turn modest revenue growth into great profit growth.
• Karooooo living up to its growth promises after a tough period in Asia.
• Prosus giving the CEO a "moonshot" remuneration package.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

In just a few minutes, you can get the latest news and my views on KAP, Sephaku Holdings, ArcelorMittal and Nampak.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

In just a few minutes, you can get the latest news and my views on Capital Appreciation, MultiChoice, Spar and The Foschini Group.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Mazars website for more information.

In just a few minutes, you can get the latest news and my views on Balwin, Quantum Foods, De Beers, Tiger Brands and Bidcorp.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Mazars website for more information.

In just a few minutes, you can get the latest news and my views on KAL Group, AB InBev, Redefine, RFG Holdings and Calgro M3.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Mazars website for more information.

In just a few minutes, you can get the latest news and my views on MTN Nigeria, Datatec, Capital & Regional, Harmony Gold as well as Astral Foods and Quantum Foods in the poultry sector.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Mazars website for more information.

In just a few minutes, you can get the latest news and my views on Sirius Real Estate, Afrimat, Oceana and PSG Financial Services.

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Mazars website for more information.

In this episode of Ghost Wrap, I focused on recent M&A news across various sectors:

• MultiChoice's R125/share mandatory offer from Canal+ and the potential strategic direction going forward.
• Grindrod Shipping's selective capital reduction and intended delisting, leaving Taylor Maritime as the sole shareholder.
• MC Mining's battle with Goldway and the surprising number of offer acceptances.
• Sanlam's clever deal in India to gain a more strategic position in Shriram. 

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Mazars website for more information.

In this episode of Ghost Wrap, I focused on recent news across various sectors:

• Transaction Capital didn't get quite as much as it hoped for the WeBuyCars shares, but still raised over R900 million at what seems like a good price. The group has also announced the sale of Nutun Australia.
• Sun International had some bright spots in 2023 and could really do with reduced load shedding as it gears up for the Peermont acquisition.
• Thungela is as cyclical as can be and has expanded into the Australian market - yet the capex split still tells a story of a predominantly South African group.
• OUTsurance reported a mixed bag of numbers and decent dividend growth overall, with significant attention on whether the push into Ireland will work. 

The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Mazars website for more information.