South African multimillionaire Johan Burger earns $5.33 million as FirstRand shares soar

South African multimillionaire businessman Johan Petrus Burger has earned R79.32 million ($5.33 million) from his position in First Rand as shares in the company soar by double digits toward pre-pandemic levels.

Shares in FirstRand, Africa’s largest bank in terms of market capitalization, have been on the rise since the start of the year.

The surge in the lender’s share price can be attributed to sustained buying interest in FirstRand among investors and bargain hunters in anticipation of an improved financial performance at the end of its 2020-2021 financial year.

This bullish bias has sent the bank’s shares up by double digits. Meanwhile, investors are piling up shares in the belief that the bank’s earnings will recover faster than expected as the economy rebounds and deposit balances grow.

Investor expectations have been supported by a disclosure by the lender in June, in which it revealed that its earnings are expected to rise by at least 35 percent at the end of its 2020-2021 financial year.

As of press time, 10:35 PM (UTC), Aug. 17, shares in FirstRand were trading at R59.41 ($4.993), 19.98-percent higher than its opening price for the year, according to Google Finance.

The bank’s shares have increased from R49.55 ($3.330) on May 4 to R59.41 ($4.993) on Aug. 17, accruing a total gain of 19.90 percent for the shareholders in the past 105 days.

Johan Burger, the South African multimillionaire who retired as the banking group’s CEO in March 2018, holds 8,045,000 ordinary shares in FirstRand.

Data compiled by Billionaires.Africa revealed that the market value of his stake in the leading financial services group has increased from R398.63 million ($26.80 million) on May 4 to R477.95 million ($32.12 million) as of press time, 11: 28 AM (UTC), Aug. 17.

This translates to a gain of R79.32 million ($5.33 million) in 105 days.