Zim mogul Paddy Zhanda gains over US$1,5 million

JUST as Zimbabwean businessmen like John Moxon and Zinona Koudounaris have seen their fortunes grow by millions of dollars in recent times, multimillionaire businessman Paddy Zhanda (pictured) has also seen his wealth surge, thanks to his stake in Masimba Holdings.

The sustained buying pressure and bullish sentiment on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, fuelled by investor reactions to the impressive results published by listed companies, increased the value of Zhanda’s stake in Masimba Holdings by more than $480 million (US$1,5 million) over the 71 days ending Friday last week.

The increase in the market value of his 8,08% stake in the group, which amounts to 19 515 019 ordinary shares, was driven by a double-digit increase in the share price of the Harare-based holding company.

Masimba Holdings shares were trading at $ (US0,22) as of Press time on May 6, representing a double-digit increase of 55% over the stock’s closing price of $45 (US$0,14) 71 days ago.

As a result, Zhanda’s stake in Masimba Holdings increased in value from $879,17 billion (US$2,73 million) on February 24 to $1,37 billion (US$4,24 million) at the time of writing. This equates to a total profit of $487,9 million (US$1,52 million) for the Zimbabwean businessman. Masimba Holdings is a wellestablished Zimbabwean group that offers engineering and infrastructure solutions to the agricultural, commercial, corporate, housing, mining, public and water sectors.

It operates through three segments, Masimba Construction Zimbabwe, Proplastics, and Property Development, with a consolidated revenue of $7,36 billion (US$23 million) in 2021.

The surge in the value of Masimba Holdings shares in recent times can be linked to investor buying interest after it posted an 87,2% increase in profit at the end of 2021 from $526,24 million (US$1,63 million) to $985,12 million (US$3,05 million) despite a 12% decrease in revenue.