Public companies listed on the JSE (Johannesburg Stock Exchange) provide SENS information to the market on a regular basis, SENS Announcements Explained! – the goal of this information is to enhance market transparency with information provided directly from the listed companies themselves.
SENS stands for Stock Exchange News Service.
The service provides company announcements such as:
- Trading updates & dividend declarations;
- Annual financial result announcements;
- Mergers and take-overs;
- Rights offers and capital issues;
- Cautionary Announcement; and
- Other important notifications, including changes to the board, auditors and more.
I have found the MoneyWeb SENS page as the most user friendly option to view the latest SENS announcements, which can be viewed here: https://www.moneyweb.co.za/tools-and-data/moneyweb-sens/
As an added benefit, the MoneyWeb website has a few useful tools on the SENS announcement pages including the option to download the page as a PDF, Print, details of the company and links to recent news articles – all useful information for investors while doing your own research as part of your money journey.
JSE listed companies also usually have an Investor/Investor Relations page on their main holding company websites. These web pages usually include a lot of fantastic information, including:
- Inventor presentation downloads;
- Integrated reports;
- Financial results;
- SENS & Regulatory announcements;
- Corporate Governance and more.
SENS Announcement Example
Below is an extract of a Shoprite SENS announcement and a brief explanation of the details for your information and insights as you read the latest updates. (Link to full announcement: https://www.moneyweb.co.za/mny_sens/shoprite-holdings-limited-group-results-for-the-52-weeks-to-3-july-2022/
As the above screenshot notes, the first part of a SENS announcement will always include a title of the notice, as well as the name of the company posting the announcement. The JSE share code will also be included, which is needed if you wish to search for the company on your online investing platform.
Next on the above Shoprite example is a narrative which details key highlights for the financial period. This includes references to specific Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and growth points that the company wishes to make mention of. These insights can provide useful context of the overall business performance and the company’s future outlook.
Next, Shoprite disclosed key financial information in the form of a condensed Income Statement, with useful comparative figures and the related percentage change. This is useful information to enable SENS announcement readers to gauge the overall performance and financial movements, and hopefully notice the mention of a dividend!
At the end of this Shoprite SENS announcement was a link to the detailed presentations uploaded onto the company’s website. Presentations are usually included in the Investor relations sections and include annual financial statements, integrated reports and PDF slides supporting webcasts.
