Flash Briefing: Bidding war for Moz gas giant; PSG at 20% discount; Rand falls sharply; Life Healthcare slumps

Energy group Anadarko Petroleum, which owns huge tracts of gas reserves in Mozambique, has become the subject of a massive bidding war. The Jannie Mouton created investment company PSG announced solid financial results for the year to end February, disclosing recurring earnings per share up 9% and a 10% increase in the year’s dividend, to R4.56 per share. Life Healthcare shares were one of the biggest losers on the JSE yesterday after the group released a trading update for the half year to end March disclosing that profit margins have fallen from 23.6% to 22% knocking headline earnings per share by around 50%. The South African Rand took a pasting yesterday, influenced by a continuing slide for emerging market currencies worldwide. It lost 18c against the US Dollar and 21c against the Pound to R14.43 and R18.65 respectively.