{"id":870415,"date":"2026-08-17T09:10:04","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T07:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=870415"},"modified":"2026-08-17T09:14:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T07:14:04","slug":"116-year-old-south-african-company-that-lost-r1-99-billion-in-a-single-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/870415\/116-year-old-south-african-company-that-lost-r1-99-billion-in-a-single-day\/","title":{"rendered":"116-year-old South African company loses R1.99 billion in a single day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South African logistics and financial services group Grindrod saw almost R2 billion wiped off its market value in a single day after investors reacted to a sharp expected decline in its statutory earnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grindrod\u2019s share price fell by R2.85, or 11.35%, on Wednesday, 12 August 2026, dropping from R25.10 to R22.25 following the release of its trading statement for the six months ended 30 June 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on the company\u2019s 698 million issued ordinary shares, the decline reduced Grindrod\u2019s market capitalisation by approximately R1.99 billion in a single trading session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its trading statement, Grindrod noted that it expects earnings for the first half of 2026 to range between R573.3 million and R623.3 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This represents a decline of between 57.5% and 60.9% from the R1.47 billion reported in the corresponding period last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earnings per share are expected to fall by the same percentage range, from 219.8 cents to between 85.9 cents and 93.4 cents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grindrod also expects headline earnings of between R567.6 million and R617.6 million, compared with R592.2 million in the previous comparable period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Headline earnings per share are expected to range between 85 cents and 92.5 cents, compared with 88.7 cents previously. This represents a possible decline of 4.2% or an increase of up to 4.3%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difference is largely due to once-off gains recorded in the previous financial year. Grindrod said the comparative period benefited from R902.8 million in net non-recurring gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These were mainly related to the release of foreign currency translation reserves following the acquisition of the remaining 35% interest in the Matola terminal joint venture and the exit from its marine fuel trading joint venture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As these gains were not repeated in the current period, statutory earnings are expected to decline substantially, even though the underlying performance of the business has remained relatively stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Share price recovery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Founded in Durban in 1910, the business initially focused on maritime services as a clearing, forwarding and marine surveying agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It expanded into ship agency work and coastal shipping in the following years, and its operations eventually became part of African Coasters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company grew significantly after restrictions on coastal shipping were abolished in 1954. Union Corporation acquired a 51% stake in African Coasters in 1964, while a subsequent merger with Smith\u2019s Coasters created Unicorn Lines in 1966.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unicorn went on to develop container infrastructure at several South African ports and at City Deep in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Grindrod family regained control in the 1980s, and Grindrod Unicorn Group, or Grincor, was listed on the JSE in 1986. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group subsequently expanded into bulk terminals, shipping, logistics, rail and financial services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It acquired Island View Shipping in 1998 and also developed an interest in the Port of Maputo in Mozambique, establishing an important regional trade corridor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the 2000s, Grindrod expanded into financial services, including banking, while continuing to build its logistics and freight infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group later simplified its structure and focused more closely on sub-Saharan African freight corridors. Its international shipping business was separated into Grindrod Shipping Holdings, which was listed on Nasdaq and the JSE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Grindrod\u2019s operations are largely centred on freight and financial services, with its freight activities including ports, terminals, logistics, and rail infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The share price has since recovered some of its losses. After falling to R22.25, it climbed to R24.03, recovering 62.5% of the R2.85 decline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, at R24.03, the share remained R1.07, or 4.26%, below its R25.10 closing price before the trading statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grindrod is due to publish its final results for the six months ended 30 June on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, which will provide a fuller picture of its financial performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/th>Expected Range (H1 Ended 30 June 2026)<\/th>Comparative Period (H1 Ended 30 June 2025)<\/th>Expected Change<\/th><\/tr>
Earnings<\/strong><\/td>R573.3 million \u2013 R623.3 million<\/td>R1,466.8 million<\/td>Decrease of 57.5% to 60.9%<\/td><\/tr>
Earnings Per Share (EPS)<\/strong><\/td>85.9 cents \u2013 93.4 cents<\/td>219.8 cents<\/td>Decrease of 57.5% to 60.9%<\/td><\/tr>
Headline Earnings<\/strong><\/td>R567.6 million \u2013 R617.6 million<\/td>R592.2 million<\/td>(Not specified)<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
Headline Earnings Per Share (HEPS)<\/strong><\/td>85.0 cents \u2013 92.5 cents<\/td>88.7 cents<\/td>Decrease of 4.2% to Increase of 4.3%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 116-year-old South African logistics and financial services group saw almost R2 billion wiped off its market value in a single day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":870437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2089248624643276970","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2178617559625310","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18339487201250661","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[26180,175,853],"class_list":["post-870415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-grindrod-limited","tag-jse","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870415"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":870447,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870415\/revisions\/870447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}