Kenyan executive Sarit Raja Shah’s I&M Group stake hits $25 million as shares double

Kenyan executive Sarit Raja Shah has seen the value of his stake in I&M Group PLC climb to about $25 million as shares in the Nairobi-based financial services company doubled this year, lifting the market value of his 2.16 percent holding by roughly $12.6 million.

Raja Shah, 58, the group executive director and managing director of I&M Group and eldest son of Kenyan businessman Suresh Bhagwanji Shah, owns 37,595,103 shares in the lender, according to data tracked by Shore.Africa. His holding was worth KSh1.58 billion ($12.4 million) on Jan. 1, compared with about KSh3.2 billion ($25 million) currently.

Shares fuel wealth surge

The increase mirrors I&M Group’s 101.3 percent rise on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, where the stock climbed to KSh85.5 ($0.66) from KSh42.45 ($0.33) at the start of the year. The rally has pushed I&M Group’s market capitalization to about KSh148 billion ($1.14 billion), making it Kenya’s eighth-most valuable listed company.

I&M Group’s shares have also ranked among the strongest performers on the Nairobi bourse this year, supported by higher earnings at the tier-one lender. The company reported profit after tax of KSh9.31 billion ($72 million) for the six months ended June 30, up from KSh7.73 billion ($59.6 million) a year earlier.

Earnings strengthen the case

Total operating income rose to KSh33.69 billion ($262.2 million) from KSh27.39 billion ($213.1 million), while total interest income increased to KSh38.16 billion ($297 million) from KSh32.10 billion ($249.8 million). Net interest income also climbed to KSh25.04 billion ($194.9 million), compared with KSh20.43 billion ($159 million) previously.

The stronger income performance came despite higher loan loss provisions, which increased to KSh5.60 billion ($43.6 million) from KSh4.07 billion ($31.6 million). The lender’s balance sheet expanded during the period, with total assets reaching KSh746.31 billion ($5.81 billion) at June 30, up from KSh588.92 billion ($4.58 billion) a year earlier.

I&M expands across East Africa

I&M Group is one of East Africa’s largest financial services groups, with operations spanning commercial banking, bancassurance and wealth management across Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. The group’s expanding earnings and asset base have accompanied a sharp re-rating of its shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

For Raja Shah, the stock rally has sharply increased the paper value of his I&M Group holding. His 37.6 million shares have gained about KSh1.6 billion ($12.6 million) since the start of the year, taking the stake’s value to roughly KSh3.2 billion ($25 million). Earlier this year, he also received KSh84.6 million ($653,000) in final dividends from the group.