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Forty-four-year-old South African businessman PJ (Piet) Mouton and related entities have earned $125.19 million (R1.92 billion) from Capitec in the last 32 days, as shares in the bank surged to an all-time high.
Capitec is South Africa’s largest lender by number of customers. The bank is one of the most reputable banking brands globally, offering transactional banking services and loan products such as term loans, credit facilities and credit cards.
Piet Mouton, a non-executive director in Capitec, holds a beneficial stake amounting to 6,685,622 ordinary shares in the leading retail bank.
The market value of his stake in the South Africa-based bank has increased from R10.25 billion ($667.39 million) on July 19 to R12.17 billion ($792.57 million) as of the drafting of this report today, Aug. 20.
This translates to a gain of R1.92 billion ($125.19 million) for the multimillionaire in 32 days.
Mouton also holds a substantial stake in PSG Group, a South Africa-based investment holding founded by his father, Jannie Mouton, in 1995.
Shares in Capitec have been on a steep rise since March 2020, when the global equity market experienced a massive sell-off due to the risk and uncertainty emanating in the global equity space following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Signs of recovery to pre-pandemic levels, driven by a growth in customer credit and debit transactions and increased deposits owing to a growth in discretionary savings, led to the recent surge in the bank’s share price.
As of press time, 10:40 AM (UTC), Aug. 20, shares in the leading lender were trading at R1,819.96 ($118.54), 26.7-percent higher than its opening price for the year.
The bank’s shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange have increased from R1,532.50 ($99.82) on July 19 to R1,819.96 ($118.54) on Aug. 20.
The recent surge in the bank’s shares has accrued a total 18.8-percent gain for shareholders in 32 days.
In its 2021 annual results, Capitec disclosed that its headline earnings decreased by 27 percent to R4.6 billion ($299.36 million), compared to the R6.3 billion ($410.00 million) that was generated in the previous year.
It noted that in the first half of its financial year, earnings decreased by 78 percent owing to the COVID-19 induced lockdown.
Meanwhile, headline earnings in the second half of its financial year increased by 18 percent compared to the previous year.
