South African businessman Andre Du Plessis gains $16 million in 100 days from Capitec Bank

South African businessman Andre Du Plessis has seen the market value of his Capitec Bank stake rise by over R233.53 million ($16.02 million) in the past 100 days, as investors remain bullish on the bank’s financial performance in the medium to long term.

The multimillion-dollar increase in the market value of his stake can be attributed to the increase in its share price since the beginning of the year, as investors maintained buying interest in the South African lender.

The uptrend in Capitec shares has continued since the bank’s half-year report revealed that its headline earnings for the first six months of the current fiscal year increased from R650 million ($44.6 million) the previous year to R3.99 billion ($273.7 million).

Capitec Bank is one of the leading lenders in South Africa in terms of client base. The bank is a financial brand that creates shared value through its transactional banking services and lending products such as term loans, credit facilities, and credit cards.

Du Plessis, a top South African businessman who co-founded the lender in 2001 with South African billionaire Michiel Le Roux and leading businessmen Jannie Mouton and Riaan Stassen, owns a beneficial 0.008-percent stake in the company, totaling 917,976 shares.

Shares in the leading financial services group were trading at R2,294.2 ($157.39) as of press time on April 11, 1.81-percent lower than their opening price on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange this morning.

Since the start of the year, shares in the bank have increased by 12.5 percent from a price of R2,039.8 ($139.95) per share on Jan. 1 to a price of R2,294.2 ($157.39) per share at the time of drafting this report.

The uptick in the bank’s shares caused the market value of Du Plessis’ stake to increase from R1.87 billion ($128.46 million) to R2.11 billion ($144.48 million). This amounts to a total gain of R233.53 million ($16.02 million) for the multimillionaire businessman since the year began.

After reaching the retirement age of 60 on Jan. 14, the South African businessman will leave his position as CFO and board member of Capitec Bank at the end of June.