Traders peck reluctantly at Gold Brands Investments' listing

Donna Oosthuyse from the JSE; Praxia Nathanael, Gold Brands Investments CEO, and COO, Stylianos Nathanael at the group’s listing.
Photographer: Martin Rhodes

Image source: BDlive

The share finished at 112c after registering its first trade at 200c. Trading volumes topped 575,000 - but most share dealing was in small batches that would suggest the participation of mainly retail investors.

Gold Brands' listing was "via introduction", raised at listing. The company had previously placed 25-million shares at 100c with employees and franchisees. The company has an anchor investor in Circle Food Group, an empowerment company focused mainly on the food and beverage sector.

Prime movers Praxia and Stylianos Nathanael, which sold The Fish and Chip Co to Taste Holdings in 2012, each retain 25.1% of Gold Brands.

By the end of last year Gold Brands had 331 stores, including smaller formats such as 1+1 Pizza, the Black Steer, Pitaland and Wild Wings.

Nathanael has predicted the company would operate 320 Chesa Nyama stores by the end of the month.

Most market watchers canvassed said the Gold Brands listing had not created much of a stir, most arguing the company was unlikely to divert investors' attention away from fast food and restaurant mainstays such as Famous Brands and Spur Corporation. One market watcher argued that Friday's closing price seemed to value the business fairly based on prelisting forecasts. Gold Brands has pencilled in earnings of 8c per share for the financial year ahead, which places the share on a forward multiple of 14 times. The perennially profitable Famous Brands and Spur trade on trailing earnings multiples of 21 times and 19 times respectively.

Vunani Securities small to medium-cap analyst Anthony Clark noted the fast food segment was highly competitive.

"Recent commentary from the big three listed players have all attested that the low-end segment of fast-food is struggling and, in many cases, worsening," Clark said.

It was not the optimum time to list Gold brands, he said, as all the main listed fast food stocks had derated and had traded at 12 month lows.

He said investors anticipated tougher earnings times ahead for fast food and restaurant stocks, driven by weaker sales, increasing food cost inflation and rising sector competition.