Positive outlook pushes TCC share prices up

Dar es Salaam. Positive outlook expressed in the Tanzania Cigarette Company (TCC) financial statement for the year ended December 2016 is pushing the company share price up.

The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (Dse) daily market reports have shown that the company share price gained by 6.57 per cent to Sh14,600 on Tuesday this week, higher from Sh13,700 recorded on Friday last week.

“What is happening now is that the company shares are moving to re-price correctly and investors are trying to get its proper price,” said Mr Rahpael Masumbuko, the chief executive officer of Zan Securities Limited. In annual report 2016, the company commented to have positive future growth, subject to a more conducive business environment, specifically higher rate of economic growth, stable currency and shrink of illicit trade of tobacco products.

During last year, the company recorded a 4.5 per cent growth of net profit to Sh68.7 billion from Sh65.7 billion recorded during the year 2015.

“TCC is among of the good products for investors in the market. What we see now is re-correction of the company’s market price,” Mr Masumbuko told The Citizen yesterday.

He said TCC has been stable over the years and investors, mainly foreign, have always been tracking for shares of stable companies to invest.

The company’s unaudited financial statement for the six months ended in June 2017 shown that profit fell by 25 per cent to Sh39.1 billion from Sh51.9 billion recorded during similar period of 2016.

In his comments on the first half statement, the company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Majd Abdou said he was optimistic about the company performance for the second half of 2017 and will take appropriate measures to achieve revenue and profit target.

Amid growing competition from domestic and imported tobacco products, the company domestic market share grew by 0.1 per cent, says a half year unaudited statement.

According to the DSE daily reports, TCC transacted shares valued Sh2.16 billion during the first two days of this week, making it the top mover, in terms of the value of shares transacted.

Last week, TCC investors transacted shares valued less than Sh2 million. Its total market capitalization increased from Sh1.3 trillion recorded during the end of last week to Sh1.4 trillion on Tuesday this week.