The share price of printing and manufacturing group Novus fell to its lowest level on Friday, closing at R3.70, less than a quarter of the R16 at which it traded after listing in 2015. The slump in the share price follows the unexpected and unexplained departure of the group’s chief financial officer and comes ahead of the release of details about the new printing arrangement with Naspers’ subsidiary Media24. Expectations are that Novus will only manage to retain only a portion of the valuable Media24 contract and will be forced to do whatever work it holds on to at a more competitive price. Ahead of a formal announcement, indications are that Caxton and smaller independent printers have managed to secure large portions of the Media24 business. Chris Wood, head of equity at Prudential Investment Managers, which has a 15% holding in Novus, said the likely loss and repricing of the Media24 business was more than discounted in the current share price. The low share price puts this cash...
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