DAR ES SALAAM COMMUNITY BANK PLC
PRESS RELEASE
DCB emerges the best-performing African stocks of 2011
According to investinginafrica.net, the Dar es Salaam Community Bank (DCB) has emerged the fifth among the top ten best performing stocks in Africa for the year 2011. All the top ten winning companies averaged weekly trading volumes in excess of $10,000 during the year 2011. DCB which started operations nine and half years ago, focuses on lending to small and medium enterprises. DCB management boosted its 2010 dividend by 71 per cent.
A statement issued by Peter Machunde, CEO of Vertex Securities, brokers of the DSE the bank’s earning also increased by 23 per cent in the first nine months of 2011, propelled by a big gain in net interest income.
Other include the Botswana based ABC Holdings which has 61.5 per cent Year to Date Return. ABC grew after-tax earnings by 33 per cent during the first half of the year thanks to a stabilizing economic environment in its largest market — Zimbabwe.
Fidelity Life Assurance Company of Malawi emerged the overall winner by recording a 536.4 per cent YTD Return. Africa’s top performing stock thus far in 2011 is Zimbabwe’s oldest insurance company. Fidelity Life made its shareholders extremely happy by growing profits by 431 per cent during its 2011 fiscal year on the back of strong local demand for insurance products and a growing operation in Malawi.
It was followed by Truworths Zimbabwe and AEL Zambia with year to date returns of 137.1 per cent and 109.4 per cent respectively.
AEL supplies explosives to the Zambian mining and construction industry. Its 2011 financial results have been nothing to write home about. Investors may be speculating on long-term growth in the local mining sector.
Truworths is a leading Zimbabwean clothing retailer. Truworths operates 59 stores and also manufactures apparel for export. The company benefited immensely from dollarization with 2011 fiscal year operating profit soaring 204 per cent.
The forth winner was Société des Caoutchoucs de Grand-Béréby of Cote d’Ivoire which recorded the year to date return of 104.0 per cent. SOGB produces two very hot commodities: rubber and palm oil. Accelerating vehicle sales in China and India have driven up rubber prices, while palm oil prices are on the rise due to its increased usage as a bio-fuel.
Other winners were First Banking Corp Holdings of Zimbabwe, Produce Buying Company of Ghana, Total Petroleum Ghana and ZB Financial Holdings of Zimbabwe.
Furthermore, the market analysis by Firstglobalselect, the global market intelligence firm has indicated that the bank is also leading on monthly returns- year-to-date. The bank which emerged the only company listed at East African stock exchanges had an annual best return Year-to-Date of 128.57 per cent, ahead of all Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) listed companies.
