Mpico takes a knock on Malawi Stock Exchange
Mpico Limited’s share price took a 4.7 percent knock on the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) to settle at K2 per share as investors continue to react to the company’s overall performance, a market analyst has said.
The counter’s share price shed 10 tambala on the back of 2.8 million shares changing hands, according to local shares market weekly report for the week ending June 21 2013.
A market analyst, Nelson Mkwende, who is also a manager at FDH Stockbrokers Limited, believes investors are reacting to a number issues pertaining to the company’s performance.
He said investors could be responding to the 30 percent drop in profit to K1.4 billion from K2 billion the company posted in the year ended December 2012.
“Investors are also questioning the progress of the shopping mall project in Lilongwe. Besides that, the company has not been paying dividends and there is not much motivation,” he explained.
The property management firm is building a K10 billion (about $25m) worth Gateway Shopping Mall in the capital, Lilongwe’s low density suburb of Area 47, whose construction deadline has been pushed further to March 2014 from October this year.
Mkwende said looking at the price earnings ratio (P/E) and price to book value (P/BV), the share is supposed to have gone down from the current level of K2 per share.
In the week under review, Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Limited gained K5.10 to close the week at K185 per share while TNM plc gained five tambala to close the week at K130 per share.
The upward shifts in the two counters brought positive movement of 1.40 percent and 1.43 percent on indicative Malawi All Share Index (Masi) and the domestic counters’ gauge, Domestic Share Index (DSI).
In all, the market recorded trading activity in nine counters; FMB, Illovo, Mpico Limited, National Bank of Malawi, National Investment Trust Limited (Nitl), Press Corporation Limited (PCL), Real Insurance Company of Malawi Limited and TNM plc.
