Nitl equity portfolio up 23.5%, profit hits K1.3bn
National Investment Trust Limited (Nitl), the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE)-listed collective investment scheme, has seen its equity portfolio jumping by 23.56 percent in the six months ending March 31 2014.
Interim results for the company published yesterday indicate that the increase in equity portfolio is higher than the Malawi All Share Index (Masi), the overall measure of the MSE performance, which increased by 20.54 percent.
“The result of most of our investee companies were positive, resulting in increased dividends and fair value for the period,” reads the statement accompanying the results signed by chairperson Dan Kamwaza and director Robert Mdeza.
In the six months, Nitl, whose objective is to provide a vehicle to facilitate broad public participation in a diverse portfolio of equity investments in Malawi, has posted a 645 percent increase in profit to K1.3 billion from K177 million the year before.
The interim results also show that total income went up to K1.3 billion from K210 million the year before with total expenses hitting K31 million from K20.4 million the year before.
The company, whose total assets have jumped to K6.7 billion from K3.4 billion, has achieved earnings per share (EPS) of K9.78 from K1.31 the year before.
Nitl has 135 million shares on issue and its share price traded at K32 at the close of business last Friday. It remains to be seen if investors will react to the results Nitl has posted.
Nitl was established as a vehicle to avail ordinary investors an opportunity to participate in a wider range of investments than those feasible for most individual investors and to share the costs.
Analyst says Nitl has the advantage of reducing capital risk by diversification and that by investing in as wide a range of equities and securities, the capital risk of the ordinary investor is reduced.
