- Industrial action constrained port activity in South Africa
- Management has kept a lid on operating costs
When South32 (S32) was spun out of BHP Billiton midway through 2015, the then chairman, Jac Nasser, said that the demerger would not only simplify the group structure, but that it had “the potential to unlock shareholder value”. In the event, shareholders in the demerged entity, essentially comprised of the assets from the Billiton rump, have fared nearly as well as their counterparts in its more illustrious cousin.