The market capitalization of Palm Cote d’Ivoire SA (Palmci), an Ivorian agro-allied company run by the wealthy Billon family, has dropped by CFA38.65 billion ($58.9 million) in the past 138 days.
The recent drop in Palmci’s share price on the BRVM stock exchange, which occurred as investors booked profit from their stakes in the agro-allied company after its share price soared above CFA13,000 ($19) in May, is responsible for the decline in its market capitalization.
Since May 4, shares in the group have declined by more than 19 percent, from CFA13,100 ($19.96) nearly 138 days ago to CFA10,600 ($16.15) at the time of drafting this report, resulting in huge losses for shareholders.
As a result of the decline in the group’s share price, its market capitalization has dropped by CFA38.65 billion ($58.9 million) in the past 138 days, from CFA202.52 billion ($308.5 million) to CFA163.9 billion ($249.63 million) at the time of drafting this report.
As a division of SIFCA, an Ivorian agro-allied conglomerate founded by the late industrialist Pierre Billon, the father of the current country’s Commerce Minister Jean-Louis Billon, Palmci is an Ivory Coast-based company.
Jean-Louis Billon, the heir to SIFCA, which owns Africa’s largest palm oil refining plant, has been instrumental in the growth of both Palmci and the conglomerate itself.
Under his leadership, the agro-allied company has been able to leverage the recent increase in the global price of crude palm oil to create increased value for stakeholders, resulting in a double-digit rise in its share price as investors maintained their buying interest in the company.
In line with his desire to play a key role in the development of Cote d’Ivoire, toward the end of 2021 Jean-Louis Billon announced his candidacy for the presidential election scheduled for 2025.
