Uchumi Supermarket Sets a New Low of KES 3.75

Listed retailer, Uchumi Supermarkets Ltd (NSE: UCHM) has opened taks with its suppliers that could see the creditors convert the debt into equity. This move comes after efforts to inject cash in the first quarter proved futile. Its debt to suppliers climbed sharply to KES 3.6Bn from KES 1.8Bn the previous year.

The Company received their shareholders’ approval to source for investors to inject KES 5Bn into the company but its taken longer than expected. Additionally, the sale of assets expected to contribute up to KES 3.6Bn has also been delayed by court cases. The retailer is hopeful that if the talks are successful, it would ease the debt load on its books. Uchumi Supermarket Ltd (NSE: UCHM) has today set a new low of KES 3.75 closing at KES 4.00 during today’s trading.

The local market closed on a bleak state, as the NSE 20-share index closed on a downturn plunging by 0.82% to 3989.71 points. The NSE All Share Index went down by 0.51% to close at 145.72 points while the NSE 25 Share Index followed suit, declining by 0.54% to close at 4216.32 points. Market capitalization contracted by 0.52% to KES 2,053.97 billion from KES 2,064.60 billion. Equity turnover however bucked the trend, surging up by 22.67% to KES 0.511 billion, attributable to a 48% increase in volumes traded. Market breadth, an unbiased measure of the market performance, indicated that the market conditions had declined; with the number of stocks that declined, 21, outweighing the number of stocks that advanced, 13.

Equity Market Highlights

Equity Group Ltd (NSE: EQTY) was the most actively traded stock today accounting for 39.69% of the total market value traded activity. Safaricom Ltd (NSE: SCOM) also registered high levels of activity, accounting for 28.82% of the total market turnover.

Crown Paints Kenya Ltd (NSE: BERG) capped the gainers list, advancing by 6.80% to close the day at KES 55.00. Longhorn Publishers Ltd (NSE: LKL) gained 5.88% to close the day as the second best performer at KES 4.50. Stanlib Fahari I-Reit Ltd (NSE: FAHR) emerged as the top loser of the day, plunging by 8.05% to close at KES 20.00. TPS Eastern Africa Ltd (NSE: TPS) similarly lost 6.52% to close at KES 21.50.

Article by Genghis Research.