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South African (JSE) Materials Sector Analysis

UpdatedMar 13, 2026
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies30
  • 7D-1.6%
  • 3M8.6%
  • 1Y98.4%
  • YTD6.6%

Over the last 7 days, the Materials industry has dropped 1.6%, driven by a pullback from Harmony Gold Mining of 17%. On the other hand Sasol is actually up 19%. In the past year, the industry has gained 98%. Earnings are forecast to grow by 22% annually.

Sector Valuation and Performance

Has the South African Materials Sector valuation changed over the past few years?

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Fri, 13 Mar 2026R2.2tR1.2tR122.5b11.2x18.1x1.9x
Sun, 08 Feb 2026R2.2tR1.1tR66.1b11.7x33.9x2.1x
Tue, 06 Jan 2026R2.1tR1.1tR62.8b12.8x33.9x1.9x
Thu, 04 Dec 2025R1.9tR1.1tR63.0b12.4x30.2x1.7x
Sat, 01 Nov 2025R1.8tR1.1tR68.2b10.9x25.9x1.6x
Mon, 29 Sep 2025R1.9tR1.1tR68.1b10.6x27.6x1.7x
Wed, 27 Aug 2025R1.5tR1.1tR47.8b10.4x31.9x1.4x
Fri, 25 Jul 2025R1.5tR1.1t-R12,144,402,125.777.4x-120x1.3x
Sun, 22 Jun 2025R1.3tR1.1t-R11,552,717,344.327.7x-111.6x1.1x
Tue, 20 May 2025R1.1tR1.1t-R11,176,563,265.377.2x-102.1x1x
Thu, 17 Apr 2025R1.3tR1.1t-R8,507,167,247.857.6x-155.4x1.2x
Sat, 15 Mar 2025R1.1tR1.1t-R8,438,163,688.178.1x-133.1x1x
Mon, 10 Feb 2025R1.1tR1.1t-R49,777,676,329.318.4x-21.8x0.9x
Wed, 08 Jan 2025R946.8bR1.1t-R52,116,508,890.709.5x-18.2x0.8x
Fri, 06 Dec 2024R966.6bR1.1t-R52,624,061,262.239.7x-18.4x0.8x
Sun, 03 Nov 2024R1.1tR1.1t-R58,638,025,663.279.6x-18.5x1x
Tue, 01 Oct 2024R1.0tR1.1t-R60,417,206,418.9411x-17.1x0.9x
Thu, 29 Aug 2024R1.0tR1.2t-R38,141,139,803.3310.3x-26.9x0.9x
Sat, 27 Jul 2024R1.1tR1.2tR12.9b8.9x86x1x
Mon, 24 Jun 2024R1.1tR1.2tR15.3b9x69.3x0.9x
Wed, 22 May 2024R1.2tR1.2tR15.6b8.7x77.4x1x
Fri, 19 Apr 2024R1.2tR1.2tR17.1b8.2x71.2x1x
Sun, 17 Mar 2024R1.0tR1.2tR16.2b8.3x63.9x0.9x
Tue, 13 Feb 2024R1.0tR1.2tR96.6b9.4x10.7x0.8x
Thu, 11 Jan 2024R1.1tR1.2tR106.2b9.6x10.6x0.9x
Sat, 09 Dec 2023R1.1tR1.2tR107.1b9.6x10.7x0.9x
Mon, 06 Nov 2023R1.1tR1.3tR108.4b8.4x10.2x0.9x
Wed, 04 Oct 2023R1.1tR1.3tR109.4b8.6x9.7x0.8x
Fri, 01 Sep 2023R1.2tR1.4tR143.8b7.6x8.6x0.9x
Sun, 30 Jul 2023R1.4tR1.4tR189.7b5.5x7.5x1x
Tue, 27 Jun 2023R1.4tR1.4tR215.6b4.7x6.5x1x
Thu, 25 May 2023R1.6tR1.4tR233.0b5.1x6.7x1.1x
Sat, 22 Apr 2023R1.6tR1.4tR233.9b5.5x6.8x1.1x
Mon, 20 Mar 2023R1.4tR1.4tR220.4b5.6x6.4x1x
Price to Earnings Ratio

6.4x


Total Market Cap: R1.4tTotal Earnings: R220.4bTotal Revenue: R1.4tTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
South African Materials Sector Price to Earnings3Y Average -4.7x202420252026
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are pessimistic on the South African Materials industry, indicating that they anticipate long term growth rates will be lower than they have historically.
  • The industry is trading at a PE ratio of 18.1x which is higher than its 3-year average PE of -4.7x.
  • The 3-year average PS ratio of 1.1x is lower than the industry's current PS ratio of 1.9x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • The earnings for companies in the Materials industry have declined 18% per year over the last three years,
  • Revenues have also declined 5.6% per year.
  • This means overall sales from these companies are declining and profits are subsequently falling as well.

Industry Trends

Which industries have driven the changes within the South African Materials sector?

ZA Market-3.14%
Materials-1.62%
Chemicals14.30%
Paper and Forestry Products2.92%
Packaging-1.22%
Metals and Mining-2.52%
Basic Materials-6.06%
Industry PE
  • Investors are most optimistic about the Chemicals industry which is trading above its 3-year average PE ratio of 7.6x.
    • Analysts are expecting annual earnings growth of 51.3%, which is higher than its past year's earnings growth of 12.9% per year.
Forecasted Growth
  • Analysts are most optimistic on the Paper and Forestry Products industry, expecting annual earnings growth of 93% over the next 5 years.
  • However this is lower than its past earnings growth rate of 426% per year.
  • In contrast, the Packaging industry is expected to see its earnings grow by 4.6% per year over the next few years.

Top Stock Gainers and Losers

Which companies have driven the market over the last 7 days?

CompanyLast Price7D1YValuation
SOL SasolR172.0018.9%
+R17.6b		128.0%PE46.1x
GFI Gold FieldsR829.471.1%
+R8.0b		124.5%PE12.4x
SAP SappiR16.843.7%
+R362.7m		-59.1%PS0.1x
MPT MpactR21.612.3%
+R72.2m		-23.4%PE6.6x
BCF Bowler MetcalfR14.253.6%
+R33.5m		17.5%PE7.4x

Latest News

SOL
R172.00
Sasol
7D
18.9%
1Y
128.0%
HAR
R271.64
Harmony Gold Mining
7D
-17.4%
1Y
21.7%
MPT
R21.61
Mpact
7D
2.3%
1Y
-23.4%
MRF
R1.20
Merafe Resources
7D
0.8%
1Y
-4.0%
SSW
R58.27
Sibanye Stillwater
7D
-2.1%
1Y
227.7%
VAL
R1,566.11
Valterra Platinum
7D
-1.8%
1Y
130.3%
KIO
R326.19
Kumba Iron Ore
7D
-7.4%
1Y
-1.3%

KIO: Fair Value Will Persist As Dividends Balance Logistics Production Risks

Analysts have trimmed their ZAR340 fair value estimate for Kumba Iron Ore to about ZAR320.70, reflecting updated assumptions for revenue growth, margins, discount rate, and future P/E levels. What's in the News Kumba Iron Ore declared a gross final cash dividend of ZAR15.43 per share for the year ended 31 December 2025.
ARI
R220.00
African Rainbow Minerals
7D
-3.9%
1Y
50.0%
NPH
R381.97
Northam Platinum Holdings
7D
-1.6%
1Y
223.2%

NPH: Constructive HSBC Upgrade Will Support Higher Margins And Earnings Quality

Narrative Update Analysts have lifted their price target for Northam Platinum Holdings from ZAR396.94 to ZAR434.94, citing updated assumptions around discount rates, revenue growth, profit margins and a revised future P/E, along with a more constructive stance in recent research such as the HSBC upgrade. Analyst Commentary Recent research has focused on how revised assumptions around discount rates, revenue growth, profit margins and future P/E feed into the updated valuation for Northam Platinum Holdings.
IMP
R271.00
Impala Platinum Holdings
7D
-0.5%
1Y
137.9%
GFI
R829.47
Gold Fields
7D
1.1%
1Y
124.5%

GFI: Execution And Cost Risks Will Likely Restrain Elevated Expectations

The analyst fair value estimate for Gold Fields has been adjusted from ZAR630.00 to ZAR680.00, with analysts pointing to higher price targets from recent Street research and updated expectations for margins and risk as key drivers of the change. Analyst Commentary Recent Street research around Gold Fields has been mixed, with some higher price targets being balanced by more cautious views on execution and valuation risk.
RNG
R1.25
Randgold & Exploration
7D
23.8%
1Y
66.7%
PPC
R5.74
PPC
7D
-9.5%
1Y
43.1%

PPC: Stable Assumptions And Modest Model Tweaks Will Guide Balanced Outlook

Analysts increased their price target on PPC by ZAR2, reflecting updated views on the stock's valuation after revisiting assumptions such as discount rate, revenue growth, profit margin and future P/E. Analyst Commentary Bullish Takeaways Bullish analysts see the ZAR2 price target uplift as consistent with refreshed assumptions around discount rate and future P/E, which they view as better aligned with PPC's risk profile and potential earnings power.
TPC
R39.80
Transpaco
7D
2.1%
1Y
9.0%
SAP
R16.84
Sappi
7D
3.7%
1Y
-59.1%
BCF
R14.25
Bowler Metcalf
7D
3.6%
1Y
17.5%