Current time : Monday, September 06, 2010 11:48 PM Search
BJM Chairman's Statement



I am proud that in a tough year for global and local financial markets BJM has delivered its 25th consecutive year of profits and remains the leading research and dealing house in the country. Nonetheless, the decline in sharetrading values continued in the year under review and as a result the Group experienced a decline in business in all its subsidiaries, with the exception of BJM Private Clients which achieved organic growth. Careful management by Andile Mazwai and his team has helped to mitigate some of the potential negative impact of the weak economy. As a broker serving a number of clients and acting as the steward of their wealth we remain cognisant of the fact that our people are our greatest asset.

Professional standards

We welcome the intention of regulators to better clarify the obligations of directors and their duty to practise rigorous corporate governance. The diligent director has no reason to fear the trend toward more precise regulation and the Board is committed to the highest professional standards in pursuit of its fiduciary duty and responsibility. We continue to draw competitive advantage from the fact that we attract high-calibre people with modern skills, traditional values and a conservative attitude to investment.
Dividend policy

The Board deviated from its dividend policy and did not declare an interim dividend in the prior year. A similar strategy has since been adopted by several other bluechip companies in response to the global liquidity crisis of that time. It remains our policy to align the interests of all stakeholders. The general economic climate has tempered the remuneration prospects of many groups. This is true of wider society and is reflected this past year in distributions to our shareholders and rewards to our executives. The dividend policy of two times cover remains unchanged. Post statement of financial position date, the Board declared a dividend of 4 cents per share.
Sustainable empowerment

Our belief in sustainable business practices serves us well. We selected suitable black economic empowerment (BEE) partners and were careful not to develop a BEE structure that depended on a constantly improving share price. As a result, we are happy to report that our BEE partners continue to bring value to the business and their commitment to BJM is unimpaired by market weakness.
Directorate

We benefit from the collective wisdom of an extremely stable Board and I thank all directors for their invaluable contribution.

During the year Sidney Rebe resigned as an executive director of the Group, but will remain a member of the Group Executive Committee. We thank Sidney for dedicating his time and effort to the Group.

I thank all executives, staff members, clients and business partners of our business for their input during the year.
Annual meeting

Our annual general meeting is scheduled for 28 July 2010. The official notice of meeting can be found here.
Conclusion

We remain confident of BJM’s ability to meet continued challenges head on. We view the FIFA Soccer World Cup™ in South Africa to be positive for the country and expect it to provide some support for the economy. We did not falter in our quest for selective growth over the last year and will remain prudent in our approach, staying committed to growth in the business. Opportunities await well-capitalised companies with a sound business model and these will be carefully explored.
John Bester
Chairman
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