Steinhoff have not had the best time, their share price that is, since the trading update. I guess there would also be a little negative sentiment as the economic conditions in Europe has reversed the course somewhat, it is all relative. Deflation is not a problem experienced by developing economies, perhaps Venezuela and Zimbabwe are two exceptions, the richer you are and if demand is weak, deflation is more likely. Forget the wonk economic policies of those two places, I had the most magnificent email from a client in Venezuela, I am awaiting a thumbs up from him on whether I can use some of the content publicly.
HEPS from continuing operations (that is ex KAP and JD) comes in at 359 cents, that is restated in the trading update. On that basis, EPS is expected to increase by 25 to 30 percent, or be in the range of 448 to 466 cents per share. That seems fabulous. There seem to be many moving parts as usual, the reason why I say as usual is because Markus Jooste and the gang are financial engineers who never sit still.
I think that people have been a little quick on the trigger finger, we will find out a little more about the reasons to sell the JD Group book to presumably BNP Paribas, guessing on a client having suggested that the French bank fulfils that role for Conforama. Plus BNP Paribas of course bought the balance of RCS that they did not own from The Foschini Group earlier this year, the French bank have developed an appetite for these assets. Steinhoff results are on the 9th of September, as we concluded yesterday.