South African Ackerman family makes $105 million in five weeks from stake in Pick n Pay

The South African Ackerman family’s wealth has increased by R1.54 billion ($105.03 million) in the past 34 days, as the market value of their stake in South African supermarket chain Pick n’ Pay has increased by more than 27 percent in five weeks.

Pick n’ Pay is the second-largest retailer in the country. The retail behemoth headquartered in Cape Town operates more than 2,000 stores in eight African countries.

Members of the Ackerman family, which includes Raymond Ackerman, who founded the retailer in 1967, and Gareth Ackerman, the group’s chairman, own a significant 25.53-percent stake in the leading retailer, totaling 124,677,238 ordinary shares.

The multimillion-dollar gain capped by the family’s stake in Pick n’ Pay can be attributed to a sustained surge in the South African retailer’s shares as investors maintained buying interest in the group in anticipation of improved performance at the end of its fiscal year in 2022.

According to a report released last week by the retail behemoth, it reported single-digit sales growth at the end of its 2022 fiscal year, owing to an increase in liquor and clothing sales during the period under review.

Figures contained in the group’s trading update revealed that sales increased by 5.2 percent to R97.9 billion ($6.67 billion) during the period under review, up from R93.1 billion ($6.35 billion) in 2021.

Since March 7, the share price of the South African retailer has increased from R44.46 ($3.04) to R56.78 ($3.88) on April 10, representing a 27.71-percent gain for shareholders in 34 days.

As a result of the price surge, the market value of the family’s 27.71-percent stake in Pick n’ Pay has increased by R1.54 billion ($105.03 million) from R5.54 billion ($379.02 million) on March 7 to R7.08 billion ($484.04 million) at the time of drafting this report.