Despite a $29-million gain in the first week of 2021, Quinton van Rooyen, Namibia’s richest investor, has seen the market value of his stake in Trustco Group Holdings decline by more than $24 million since the start of 2022, as investors on the local bourse digest the group’s 2021 earnings figures.
Van Rooyen, Trustco Group’s group CEO, owns a majority 63.94-percent stake in the Namibian investment holding. The recent drop in the value of his stake can be attributed to investors’ reaction to the group’s loss in 2021.
The businessman’s net worth increased by NAD451.8 million ($29 million) in the first week of 2022 thanks to double-digit growth in the market value of his majority stake in Trustco Group.
According to its earnings report, the Namibian investment holding lost NAD988 million ($64.7 million) at the end of its fiscal year 2021, which ended in August 2021, a 190-percent increase over the NAD343-million ($22.5 million) loss reported the previous year.
Investors sold off stakes in the group as a result of the poor financial performance, resulting in a 21.9 percent drop in its share price from NAD1.6 to NAD1.25 as of press time.
The sustained sell-off in the group shares caused the market value of his stake to fall from NAD1.61 billion ($109.8 million) at the start of 2021 to NAD1.25 billion ($85.8 million) as of press time.
This translates to a total loss of NAD351.4 million ($24.02 million) for the Namibian businessman since the beginning of the year.
In an effort to regain investors’ confidence and place the group on the path of sustainable earnings growth, Trustco embarked on a restructuring move to avoid some losses resulting from its operations, which saw its staff size reduced by 269 employees during the year.
