Moroccan businessman Karim Benjelloun gains $1.7 million in six weeks

Moroccan tech tycoon and leading businessman Karim Benjelloun has seen the market value of his stake in Morocco-based technology distributor, Disway SA surge, by MAD16.6 million ($1.6 million) in the past six weeks as investors react to the group’s 2021 financial performance.

Disway distributes technological products and offers a wide range of international brands from IT publishers and manufacturers. The technology product distributor is linked to Benjelloun and Abdellatif Hakam, who hold a beneficial 7.23- and 11.6-percent stake in the hardware company, respectively.

As of press time on April 9, Disway shares were worth MAD834.2 per share on the Casablanca bourse. This is 63 basis points higher than their opening price on the local bourse on Friday.

Since Feb. 24, shares in the Moroccan technology products distributor have risen from MAD715 ($73.19) per share to MAD834.2 ($85.39) per share as of the time of drafting this report, accruing a total 16.67-percent gain for shareholders.

As a result of the price gains, the market value of Benjelloun’s 7.23-percent stake has increased from MAD99.3 million ($10.16 million) on Feb. 24 to MAD115.81 million ($11.86 million).

This translates to a total MAD16.55-million ($1.7 million) gain for the Moroccan multimillionaire businessman in the past six weeks. The million-dollar increase in the market value of his stake cements his position as one of the wealthiest investors on the Casablanca bourse.

In recent times, the surge in the market price of Disway shares can be linked to investors buying interest in the company after it reported a single-digit increase in its consolidated revenue at the end of 2021 despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations.

According to figures contained in its recent activity indicators for the fourth quarter of 2021, its revenue in 2021 rose by 6.7 percent from MAD1.7 billion ($182.5 million) in 2020 to more than MAD1.8 billion ($193.2 million), driven by growth in product demand and the adoption of its e-commerce website.

Its revenue increased by 10.5 percent to MAD515 million ($55.3 million) in the fourth quarter of 2021, driven by an 18-percent increase in the sales of fixed and portable PCs, printing, and imaging products.