Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Uchumi down to Sh8 ahead of rights issue

Money Markets

 Shoppers at an Uchumi outlet in Nairobi. The retail chain is issuing an extra 99.5 million shares to its existing shareholders at Sh9 to raise Sh895 million for expansion. PHOTO | FILE
Shoppers at an Uchumi outlet in Nairobi. The retail chain is issuing an extra 99.5 million shares to its existing shareholders at Sh9 to raise Sh895 million for expansion. FILE PHOTO |  NATION MEDIA GROUP
By GEORGE NGIGI
In Summary
  • The retailer’s shares have continued dropping below the rights issue’s “discounted” price of Sh9.

Uchumi yesterday moved more than six million shares as the stock slid to Sh8 a unit.
Stockbrokers, however, said the 6,587,700 shares traded were not a block sale that could have signalled the exit of a major shareholder days to the start of the company’s rights issue. The retailer’s shares have continued dropping below the rights issue’s “discounted” price of Sh9.
“The counter is deteriorating in terms of fundamental value. The core business as a retail chain business is in growth in sales, which at less than 10 per cent with an inflation rate of six per cent means it has been flat,” said Genghis Capital analyst, Silha Rasugu.
The market remained generally flat with the indicative 20 share index dropping by 1.78 points to close at 5193.11 points. Safaricom was the busiest counter, moving 7,189,300 shares at an average price of Sh12.20 per unit. This was a slight gain, of Sh0.05 from previous session’s trading.
Mumias Sugar, nominally the cheapest stock in the market, held steady at Sh1.70 with 579,300 shares changing hands. NIC bank rights traded in the open market at Sh11 down from Sh15 on Friday.
With the discounted rights issue price at Sh49.25, investors who bought the rights in the open market will pay a total of Sh60.25 for a share which is currently trading at Sh64.50.
There were 25,300 rights traded

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