17 June 2008

SA Manufacturing Assessed 2008 announced

Submitted by: Marc Ashton
{pp}In 2007 ManufacturingHub.co.za launched a low key industrial report assessing the South African Food, Pharmaceutical, Chemical and Cosmetic Manufacturing industries. Following on the success of this initial report ManufacturingHub.co.za will be developing an updated 2008 report.

In 2007 ManufacturingHub.co.za launched a low key industrial report assessing the South African Food, Pharmaceutical, Chemical and Cosmetic Manufacturing industries. Following on the success of this initial report ManufacturingHub.co.za will be developing an updated 2008 report. This report will be due for release in October 2008 and will be beneficial to participants in our target sector who are attempting to develop strategic direction for their business.

Key themes identified in the 2007 report that have played out as predicted include: The credit crisis is coming to South Africa: We correctly assessed the arrival of the sub-prime and credit crisis in South Africa and the impact it would have on equity markets and new business start ups.

Anticipated listing of Adcock Ingram: Shortly after the release of our report, Tiger Brands confirmed plans to separately list Adcock Ingram Continued out-performance of Sasol and continued capital expenditure in this sector The Sasol share price continued to outperform the market with the buoyant oil price. Sasol and other industry participants have continued it’s aggressive Outperformance of Awethu Breweries: Awethu Breweries was highlighted as a turnaround story.

Operations have turned around despite being one mill not yet contributing to the earnings. Share price appreciation confirmed this story with the share doubling over the reviewed period. Change of strategy for Imuniti We correctly predicted Imuniti’s move away from its “Wellness Pack” offering back to traditional food and pharmaceutical manufacturing operations.

Short term the market saw a tripling of this counter when the change of strategy was announced. Unfortunately, management’s failure to effectively push this strategy saw the counter retreat. ManufacturingHub.co.za managing editor Marc Ashton says “While we were quite successful at accurately predicting some of the equity trends for listed companies, some of the feedback we got back indicated that people were looking for more market related trends that they could apply to their business sector as well.” For this reason the report will be including further interviews with industry experts and role players to identify upcoming industry trends.

Ashton continues “While people could have made money on the equity front, we need to provide further insight into the operations side of our target sectors, if we are going to give our readers what they want”. Report details: The 2008 report is scheduled for release at the end of October and will include industry comment from a number of industry professionals.

For further information on ordering the report please contact Marc Ashton on 082-561-1585 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for information.

About ManufacturingHub.co.za ManufacturingHub.co.za (www.manufacturinghub.co.za) is an online publication aimed at the South African Food, Pharmaceutical, Chemical and Cosmetic Manufacturing industries. Launched in 2005 the site has seen a steady increase in traffic and industry participation over the last 3 years.

Contact Information:
Marc Ashton
Tel: 082-561-1585
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: www.manufacturinghub.co.za