Financial analysts applauded Imara Holdings on Friday for embarking on a share split aimed at improving tradability in the market saying the move will enable the retail investors to lock into the financial system.
Imara Holdings, the best performing financial service outfit in terms of the share price, is listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) venture capital board and it embarked on 10 for 1 share split on Friday after it reached P 75.00 per share at Thursday close.
“I think it is going to create a lot of liquidity in the market. People like it,” Leutwetse Tumelo, of Capital Securities, said.
His sentiments were shared by Alphonse Ndzinge of Investec Assets Management who is based in Cape Town.
“I think it is going to help tradability. At P 75 .00, it was very expensive for retail investors because they had to pay P 7,500 to get a block of share and now they will have to pay P 7,500 for the same,” Ndzinge said from his office in Cape Town on Friday.
Imara Holdings, which is a holding company for Imara Assets Management and Imara Capital, entered the open-cry market in October 4, last year after an incubation of one year in Over The Counter (OTC) trading.
It floated 53,724,150 ordinary share of no par value (in terms of the current New Company Law).
During its debut on Venture Capital Board it was well received by the market and it jumped up to P 12.30 on a single trade.
The company is well diversified across the African market and it is also aided by its well focused products, such as African Opportunity FundÔÇöaimed at attracting money from the developed world into Africa.
The growth of the African markets has been a major contributing factor to the company’s performance thanks to the relatively low correlation between African markets (except Egypt and South Africa), and world markets.
The company has invested in a number of African markets which include Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
At the close of the financial year ending April 30, 2007 the company was pulled up by its Pan African strategy which saw revenue shooting up by 60 percent to P 66 million and profits after tax standing at a classic 415 percent to P 48 percent to P48.7 million. Further, earning per share was at 395 percent to P 9.21- a move which rang nice music to shareholders to attract them to the stock.
As a result of the move, punters dived for the stock driving it to P 75 by Thursday close- just on the eve of a share split.
“Imara continues to roll out its Pan African strategy and to build and strengthen its underlying businesses, while enjoying a record year,” the company said. “Imara African Opportunity Fund has been a resounding success, both in terms of funds raised and investment performance achieved.”
