PSG Group to pay R377m interim dividend as it eyes recovery

Investment holding company PSG has opted to proceed with a R377m interim dividend payment, saying it is confident its investees will recover as conditions improve.

PSG declared a 164c interim dividend for its six months to end-August, unchanged from the prior comparative period, with the value of its underlying portfolio falling by a fifth since the end of February as Covid-19 hit both markets and the business environment.

The group had a total sum-of-the-parts value of R16.38bn as of the end of August, with its stake in PSG Konsult accounting for R5.76bn of this, and its remaining stake in Capitec R2.7bn.

The group also had a R1.87bn stake in education group Curro, and a R1.79bn stake in agribusiness Zeder.

Due to share value declines during the period, Capitec saw a fair-value loss of R2.3bn over the six months, Zeder of R1.4bn, and Curro of R731m.

PSG’s sum-of-the-parts value per share was R75.86 at the end of August, from R94.44 per share as of the end of February. This excludes the effects of the unbundling of its Capitec stake to shareholders.

The group’s share was trading at about a 40% discount to its portfolio at the end of August.

“Despite obvious challenges, PSG believes its investment portfolio is suitably positioned to capitalise on an improvement in trading conditions,” the group said.

Due to its recent corporate activity, including the unbundling of Capitec shares to its shareholders, PSG is now considered an investment entity, and measures its performance more on the underlying value of its investees, rather than their profitability.

This means some measures, such as headline earnings, are not directly comparable due to accounting changes.

gernetzkyk@businesslive.co.za