Palm Cote d’Ivoire SA (Palmci), an Ivorian agro-allied firm led by the wealthy Billon family, has returned a total CFA26.2-billion ($45.4 million) gain to shareholders since the beginning of 2022, as investors continue to acquire the company’s shares.
Palmci is an Ivory Coast-based corporation that operates as a subsidiary of SIFCA, an Ivorian agro-allied conglomerate created by the late industrialist Pierre Billon, the father of the country’s Commerce Minister Jean-Louis Billon.
The company owns the largest palm oil refining plant in Africa.
Under the leadership of the Billon family, the agro-allied company has been able to leverage the recent increase in the price of crude palm oil in the global market to create increased value for all stakeholders, resulting in a double-digit increase in its share price as investors sustained buying interest in the company.
As of press time on Feb. 17, shares in Palmci were trading at CFA8,685 ($15) on the Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres, 7.5-percent higher than its opening price on Feb. 16.
Since the start of the year, its share price on the regional exchange has risen from CFA6,990 ($12.1) at the start of the first trading session this year to CFA8,685 ($15) at the time of writing.
The price increase has accrued a total 24.2-percent gain for shareholders since the beginning of the year, while the company’s market value is up by CFA26.2 billion ($45.4 million) so far.
According to data compiled by Billionaires.Africa, Palmci’s market capitalization has climbed from CFA108.1 billion ($187.2 million) on Jan. 1 to CFA134.2 billion ($232.6 million) at the time of writing.
In an effort to create value for the shareholders, Palmci entered into a deal with OPC, a Canada-based firm involved in the development of potassium carbonate manufacturing in West Africa.
The agreement, signed through its West African subsidiary, OPC Ivory Coast Inc., allows for the production of a combination of food-grade potassium carbonate crystals, potassium carbonate solution, and organically derived fertilizers utilizing OPC’s licensed technology.
