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South African multimillionaire businessman Adrian Gore has seen the market value of his interest in his flagship firm Discovery Limited fall by R633.7 million ($41.2 million) in the past eight days, as local bourse investors sell down stakes in the South African financial services conglomerate.
Through its numerous brands, Discovery is one of South Africa’s biggest diversified global financial service firms with a core concentration on long- and short-term insurance, asset management, savings, investment and employee benefits.
Gore, a leading businessman who launched the financial services organization as a medical insurer in 1992, owns a sizable 7.48-percent share in the Sandton-based firm.
The multimillion-dollar drop in the market value of his shareholding in the past eight days can be linked to a sustained decline in the group’s shares, as investors continue to book profits after prices rose beyond $10 last week.
As of midday Feb. 24, Discovery Limited shares were trading at R153.63 ($9.99), down 4.3 percent from their opening price on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange yesterday morning.
Since Feb. 16, the market price of the group’s shares has fallen from R166.46 ($10.83) to R153.63 ($9.99) as of yesterday, Feb. 24, resulting in a 7.7-percent loss for shareholders.
Between Feb. 16 and 24, the market value of Gore’s shareholding fell from R8.2 billion ($534.8 million) to N7.5 billion ($493.6 million) as a result of the price drop.
This amounts to a total loss of R633.7 million ($41.2 million) for the multimillionaire businessman in just eight days.
Despite the recent fall in the market value of his investment, Gore’s ownership in Discovery has increased by $32 million this year as a result of the early profits he made at the start of the year.
During trading hours yesterday, Feb. 24, the company announced its interim financial results, which showed an eight-percent rise in normalized operating profit to R4.87 billion and a 26-percent increase in normalized headline profits to R2.88 billion.
Commenting on the financial results, Gore said the time under evaluation was one of the most crucial for Discovery.
“While the last two years have been challenging owing to the COVID-19 epidemic,” he said, “our shared-value insurance model has helped us to overcome hurdles and maintain the sustainability of our business—to the benefit of all our stakeholders.”
To overcome hurdles and maintain the sustainability of its business, Discovery has collaborated with AIA Group, a Hong Kong-based multinational insurance and financial organization, to set up a pan-Asian health insurance technology business in an effort to offer value.
The new business, which will be established under a joint venture structure, will be run in accordance with Discovery’s existing partnership with AIA Group.
The agreement, which is subject to South African Reserve Bank approval, will see Discovery possess a substantial 25-percent stake in the JV, while AIA will own a dominant 75-percent stake in the company.
