LIST: Sunday Times Top 100 companies – Property leads the way

Winning any award is a feather in the cap, a marketer’s dream, and topping the Sunday Times Top 100 companies is no different. The awards track the best performing business listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange over a five year horizon.The 2015 prize went to Fortress Income Fund, a property entity listed in 2009. It’s the first time a property company has won the award, with the company delivering an average annual compound return of 72.70%. The best performing Top 40 company, according to the metric, was the investment holding group Brait SE, which delivered a return of 48.28%. The full list of the top 100 companies is below. The other notable, but to be expected outcome is that Pan African Resources and Sephaku are the only two resource companies in the top 100. The awards also saw a lifetime achievement given to Mr Shoprite, Christo Wiese. – Stuart Lowman

Sunday Times Media Release

Johannesburg, 28 October 2015:  For the first time since the inception of the Awards, both the Sunday Times Business Leader of the Year and the Sunday Times Lifetime Achievement Awards were bestowed on the same recipient, Dr Christo Wiese. This was at the annual Sunday Times Top 100 Companies Awards banquet held in Sandton last night, where Fortress Income Fund Ltd was announced as the Sunday Times Top Company for 2015. Only five companies obtained status as Sunday Times Royal Companies.

The Sunday Times Top 100 Companies tracks the best-performing businesses on the JSE, acknowledging those with the highest shareholder returns over the past five years. The results are highly anticipated by the business sector each year.  With an average annual compound return of 72.70%, Fortress Income Fund Limited earned top spot in the rankings.

Mark Stevens, CEO of Fortress Income Fund Limited, celebrated the achievement saying, “We are honoured to be recognised by our peers in receiving this acknowledgement. It has been a true team effort and everyone at Fortress deserves our thanks for a job well done. Moving forward it’s business as usual as we strive to continue maximising value and providing our shareholders with great returns.”

Sunday Times editor Phylicia Oppelt explains “what makes the Top 100 Companies so successful is that the recipients of the individual awards are voted for by members of the business community. It is therefore an exceptional endorsement of Dr Wiese that he received two prestigious accolades from his peers.”

The Business Leader of the Year Award is regarded as the ultimate accolade, with the recipient being decided by CEOs of the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies from the previous year. Dr Wiese joins the ranks of previous winners Johan van Zyl, Michael Jordaan, Phuthuma Nhleko, Johann Rupert, Brian Joffe, Graham Mackay, Maria Ramos, Adrian Gore and Whitey Basson. Similarly, the Lifetime Achievement Award recognises Dr Wiese’s consistent contribution to the South African economy.

Commenting on the awards, Dr Wiese says that he “feels grateful and humbled at the same time, the reason being that there are so many unsung heroes in our society. On the other hand one has great appreciation for the contribution made by tens of thousands of one’s colleagues in achieving this highly regarded recognition.”

Previous Lifetime Achievers include Laurie Dippenaar, Bobby Godsell, Nelson Mandela, Allan Gray, Stephen Koseff, Richard Maponya, Bill Venter, Nthato Motlana, Donald Gordon, Sam Motsuenyane, Koos Bekker, Raymond Ackerman, Anton Rupert and Brian Joffe.

The Sunday Times Royal Companies are those which have placed in the top twenty positions of the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies for three consecutive years.  This year these companies are Coronation Fund Managers, EOH Holdings, Mondi, Mr Price Group and Naspers.

RANK	COMPANY	AVERAGE ANNUAL
		COMPOUND RETURN
		(%)
1	FORTRESS INCOME FUND	72.70
2	TRUSTCO GROUP HOLDINGS	70.43
3	EOH HOLDINGS	69.38
4	TASTE HOLDINGS	53.06
5	CORONATION FUND MANAGERS	51.47
6	AFRIMAT	49.38
7	BRAIT SE	48.28
8	CAPITAL & COUNTIES PROPERTIES plc	47.76
9	PSG GROUP	47.27
10	ONELOGIX GROUP	45.53
11	MONDI plc	44.92
12	NASPERS	42.09
13	NEW EUROPE PROPERTY INVESTMENTS plc	42.07
14	CONDUIT CAPITAL	42.06
15	SUPER GROUP	41.18
16	CONSOLIDATED INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP	40.37
17	MR PRICE GROUP	40.06
18	CASHBUILD	39.34
19	RESILIENT PROPERTY INCOME FUND	38.40
20	PIONEER FOODS GROUP	38.07
21	STEINHOFF INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS	36.94
22	FAMOUS BRANDS	36.49
23	WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS	35.81
24	MEDICLINIC INTERNATIONAL	35.70
25	AVI	32.98
26	ASPEN PHARMACARE HOLDINGS	32.87
27	DISCOVERY	32.60
28	CAPITEC BANK HOLDINGS	31.96
29	METAIR INVESTMENTS	31.67
30	AFROCENTRIC INVESTMENT CORPORATION	31.47
31	ZEDER INVESTMENTS	31.39
32	OCEANA GROUP	30.90
33	FIRSTRAND	30.46
34	ITALTILE	29.86
35	SPUR CORPORATION	29.33
36	RMB HOLDINGS	29.32
37	NET 1 UEPS TECHNOLOGIES Inc	29.26
38	GRAND PARADE INVESTMENTS	28.70
39	METROFILE HOLDINGS	28.53
40	PEREGRINE HOLDINGS	28.33
41	HOWDEN AFRICA HOLDINGS	28.33
42	COMPAGNIE FIN RICHEMONT	28.23
43	LIFE HEALTHCARE GROUP	28.17
44	NETCARE	27.80
45	KAP INDUSTRIAL HOLDINGS	27.52
46	BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO plc	26.65
47	SANLAM	25.78
48	HYPROP INVESTMENTS	25.68
49	SABMILLER plc	25.44
50	OMNIA HOLDINGS	25.10
51	OLD MUTUAL plc	24.87
52	CLIENTELE LIFE ASSURANCE	24.80
53	VODACOM GROUP	24.78
54	MUSTEK	24.54
55	ELB GROUP	24.10
56	REMGRO	23.26
57	DISTELL GROUP	23.20
58	CAPITAL PROPERTY FUND	22.93
59	PINNACLE HOLDINGS	22.06
60	CLICKS GROUP	21.91
61	THE BIDVEST GROUP	21.84
62	THE SPAR GROUP	21.66
63	INVICTA HOLDINGS	21.04
64	BRIMSTONE INVESTMENT CORPORATION	20.81
65	THE FOSCHINI GROUP	20.50
66	ADVTECH	20.44
67	MIX TELEMATICS	20.23
68	SEPHAKU HOLDINGS	20.18
69	REINET INVESTMENTS S.C.A	20.02
70	SA CORPORATE REAL ESTATE FUND	19.86
71	DATATEC	19.83
72	ARB HOLDINGS	19.80
73	PHUMELELA GAMING AND LEISURE	19.68
74	SANTAM	19.53
75	J S E	19.38
76	BLUE LABEL TELECOMS	19.23
77	MMI HOLDINGS	18.95
78	INVESTEC plc	18.92
79	LIBERTY HOLDINGS	18.70
80	TRANSPACO	18.14
81	BARLOWORLD	17.39
82	REDEFINE PROPERTIES	17.20
83	TRADEHOLD	17.20
84	CITY LODGE HOTELS	17.18
85	GROWTHPOINT PROPERTIES	17.10
86	PAN AFRICAN RESOURCES plc	16.01
87	IMPERIAL HOLDINGS	16.00
88	NAMPAK	15.60
89	HOSKEN CONSOLIDATED INVESTMENTS	15.51
90	ASTRAL FOODS	15.47
91	VUKILE PROPERTY FUND	15.38
92	TELKOM SA SOC	15.16
93	OCTODEC INVESTMENTS	15.14
94	INTU PROPERTIES plc	15.13
95	EMIRA PROPERTY FUND	14.94
96	HUDACO INDUSTRIES	14.92
97	COMBINED MOTOR HOLDINGS	14.67
98	NEDBANK GROUP	14.51
99	SHOPRITE HOLDINGS	14.43
100	SYCOM PROPERTY FUND	14.35