Namibian multimillionaire Quinton van Rooyen has recorded a decline in the market value of his equity stake in Trustco Group Holdings worth NAD 2.7 billion ($187.2 million) since the start of the year, as shares in the holding collapsed.
Trustco shares on the Namibia Stock Exchange have now lost more than two-thirds of their value, as shares in the diversified investment holding plunged to their lowest point since 2014, seven years ago.
As of press time, 8:35 AM (UTC), Sept. 9, shares in the diversified financial services group were trading at NAD 1.55 ($0.109), 3.1-percent lower than its closing price of NAD 1.60 ($0.0113) on Monday, Sept. 6.
Trustc0’s shares have dropped from their opening price of NAD 4.20 ($0.295) on Jan. 4 to NAD 1.55 ($0.109) as of the drafting of this report. This translates to a 63.1-percent loss for shareholders in 252 days.
The decline in the group’s shares has caused van Rooyen’s stake to decline from NAD 4.2 billion ($296.7 million) on Jan. 4 to NAD 1.6 billion ($109.5 million) as of the drafting of this report.
This translates to a loss of NAD 2.7 billion ($187.2 million) for the Namibian multimillionaire since the start of the year.
Van Rooyen, who owns 1 billion shares in Trustco, founded the well-diversified investment holding in 1992.
Since then, the group has grown into one of the largest diversified financial services groups in Southern Africa, with interests in banking and finance, insurance and asset management.
The recent sell-off in Trustco’s shares as investors moved their funds to safety was a reaction to a loss of NAD 252.61 million that the group reported in the first six months of its latest accounting year, ending March 31.
The weak results led the Trustco board to implement measures to improve operational efficiencies.
In addition to cost-containment measures, the board declared that it had available undrawn funding facilities of $19 million across all segments as of March 31.
