Trustco shares take back most of the 2018 gains, losing 52% during February
Trustco shares are on the retreat. Since its lofty highs in January, the share has lost more than half its value during February, wiping out roughly N$8 billion in shareholder value.
Trustco Group Holding Ltd, listed on the main board of the Johannesburg Securities Exchange in the Speciality Finance division, posted an enormous rally in the second semester of 2018. From just more than N$6 per share, it had a meteoric rise, posting more than 100% gains for shareholders just before year end.
At the beginning of January this year, Trustco shares hit an unprecedented N$16 per share after the company announced an extensive refinancing deal late in 2018. This momentum was carried for about three weeks, the share still trading at N$13.50 at the beginning of February. Volumes were however very thin and it was the exception when three deals were registered in a single day.
From there Trustco has continued to lose ground, hitting N$7.01 on Monday this week.
According to the statutory announcements on the Stock Exchange News Service (SENS), several directors sold Trustco shares during January including the financial director, the chairman of the board, two non-executive directors and group Managing Director, Dr Quinton van Rooyen as part of the N$1 billion refinancing deal announced in October last year.
Trustco has a current market capitalisation of N$7.39 billion but its share trades at a price earnings ratio of almost 25. In comparison, Nictus, the other Namibian company listed on the JSE has a market capitalisation of only N$46 million but trades at a P/E ratio of only 11.
