It’s notable that two commodity companies top the list. Coal and iron miners in particular had a good year. This is also reflected in the top-performing market sectors:
Top-performing JSE sectors in 2017 |
|
Sector | 12-month total return |
Coal |
92.9% |
Industrial metals |
89.6% |
Media |
71.6% |
Industrial transportation |
34.5% |
Banks |
30.7% |
Life insurance |
27.9% |
Food & drug retailers |
27.8% |
General mining |
25.7% |
Personal goods |
24.8% |
Real estate development & services |
24.7% |
Source: FactSet, SBG Securities
At the other end of the market, it’s not surprising that the worst-performing company was Steinhoff International. The furniture retailer’s share price collapsed following the resignation of CEO Markus Jooste amid allegations of financial irregularities.It’s notable that banking ended the year as one of the top five sectors, as the bank index was depressed for most of 2017. It only spiked at the end of December, following Cyril Ramaphosa’s election to the ANC presidency.
It is however notable that only 31 of the largest 105 companies on the JSE recorded a negative performance in 2017. This shows that there was certainly more good than bad.
Worst performing JSE-listed large and mid-cap stocks in 2017 |
|
Counter | 12 month performance |
Steinhoff International |
-92.9% |
EOH Holdings |
-57.5% |
Brait |
-51.5% |
Famous Brands |
-34.2% |
Telkom SA |
-29.4% |
Oceana Group |
-25.4% |
Harmony Gold Mining Company |
-25.3% |
Impala Platinum Holdings |
-24.1% |
Omnia Holdings |
-18.2% |
Netcare |
-18.0% |
Source: FactSet, SBG Securities
Unlike their coal and iron ore counterparts, gold miners struggled in 2017. In addition to Harmony, which appears on the above list, Sibanye and AngloGold Ashanti were also down for the year.
The hospital groups also had a poor year. All three of the big players – Netcare, Mediclinic International and Life Healthcare – were in negative territory.
The list below shows the worst-performing sectors on the local market for 2017:
Worst-performing JSE sectors in 2017 |
|
Sector | 12 month total return |
Household goods |
-93.4% |
Software & computer |
-33.6% |
Fixed line telecoms |
-30.2% |
Industrial engineering |
-23.3% |
Travel & leisure |
-19.2% |
Health care equipment |
-14.6% |
Electronic & electrical |
-14.2% |
Gold mining |
-2.7% |
Pharmaceutical and biotech |
-2.1% |
Beverages |
-1.3% |
Source: FactSet, SBG Securities
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