eBusiness Weekly
Enacy Mapakame
A downward trend continued on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) with all the benchmark indicators closing the week pointing southwards on the back of losses in the market’s top cap counters.
The market’s top 10 counters by capitalisation account for 70 percent of the bourse’s total market value.
Delta, Cassava, Innscor, OK Zimbabwe and Padenga closed the week to Wednesday in the negative, dragging the entire market as activity remained subdued.
In the week under review, the primary indicator, the ZSE All Share Index, went down 1,3 percent to 228,96 points while the Top 10 Index eased 1,45 percent to 204,06 percent as the market’s heavies succumbed to selling pressure.
At 762,96 points, the Industrials Index was 1,2 percent lower than prior week’s 772,28 points.
The resources indicator, the Mining Index, fell the hardest with a 6 percent decline to 307 points.
Total market value retreated by 1,33 percent to $29,6 billion from prior week’s $30 billion.
Weighing down the market were big caps, Delta that backtracked 0,86 percent to $3,46 while industrial conglomerate Innscor lost 4 percent of value to close at $3,55.
Retail giant, OK Zimbabwe, went down 8,4 percent to 65,25 cents while Cassava was 3,9 percent lower to $1,42.
Crocodile breeder, Padenga, was also among the blue chips that closed the week in the negative, after letting go of 2,4 percent to $2,44.
However, cigarette manufacturer BAT closed in the positive with a 5,5 percent increase to $47,50 as it remains the most expensive stock on the bourse, ahead of insurance giant Old Mutual, which also rose 2,1 percent to $36,24.
Telecoms giant and second biggest company by market value, Econet rose by a marginal 0,33 percent to $1,46.
Sugar processor, Star Africa, remained almost flat at 3,6 cents after reporting growth in earnings for the half year to September 30, 2019 on the back of a change in product mix as well as cost containment measures.
According to the groups financials for the period under review, turnover jumped 388 percent to $132 million compared to $27,9 million recorded in the same period in the prior year, while profit for the period went up by over 2000 percent to $$12,4 million.
Diversified insurance group, Fidelity, also remained flat at 9 cents after reporting revenues for the nine months to September 30, 2019 surged 154 percent to $45 million compared to the same period in the prior year, despite a challenging business environment characterised by inflationary pressures.
During the week, several other companies released financial updates for the quarter or half year to September 30, 2019 that showed a general growth in earnings compared to same period in the prior year comparable period.
Diversified hospitality group, Meikles Limited, said profit after tax for the six months to September 30, 2019 jumped 966 percent to $160 million compared to $15 million achieved in the same period in the prior year.
The group’s shareholders last week approved the planned sale of Meikles Hotel and still subject to Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s approval. The deal is expected to give financial strength for the group’s planned strategy.
Also releasing financial updates during the week, diversified and only listed media group Zimpapers Limited, doubled its revenues in the quarter ended September 30, 2019, to $65,5 million from $32,2 million in the same period last year, despite the challenging operating environment during the period under review.
Elsewhere, banking firm NMBZ Holdings Limited, reported a 103 percent jump in profit before tax to $146 million for the nine months to September 30, 2019, compared to $72 million in the same period last year which resulted in total comprehensive income doubling to $109 million.
The business environment is anticipated to remain challenging in the short to medium term, but companies across sectors remain upbeat of earnings growth as they come up with survival strategies and cost containment measures.
