Things are very interestingly poised at printing and packaging group Novus Holdings. Readers will remember the bottom fell out of the group’s share price when it lost a chunk of business from newspaper and magazine giant Media24, though a new contract with Independent Media did partly replace lost business. The latest trading update from Novus — which updated a September communiqué — suggests that earnings for the year to end-March will be a tad firmer than expected. Forecast earnings are set between 60c and 65c a share — nudging ahead of the initial prediction of 50c and 60c a share. This gain may seem almost irrelevant considering that earnings in the year to end-March 2018 came in at about 102c a share. But investors who believe new leadership at Novus can find additional niches for the printing and packaging businesses will probably take heart at the development. Reading between the lines, it would seem that Novus has had some success in keeping a lid on the costs of imported ma...

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