In the local market this week, the NSX Local index was up 3.04% at 518.3, and the NSX Overall Index was up 2.94% at 1782.7. As at 1 March 2022, Namibia Breweries was the largest local company on the exchange, with market capitalization of N$ 9.9 billion, followed by FirstRand Namibia Limited with N$ 7.9 billion, Capricorn Group Limited with N$ 6.8 billion and Mobile Telecommunications Limited with N$ 6.2 billion. Oryx Properties Limited lead the market this week, closing at N$ 10 per share after growth of 16.8%, with Capricorn Group Limited second, closing at N$ 13.09 after growth of 16.6%. In terms of volume Stimulus Investments Limited lead the market with N$ 1.9 million worth of shares traded, with FirstRand Namibia Limited in second place with N$ 0.8 million worth of shares traded. The local currency lost 2.27% against the US Dollar, to close at N$ 15.40 per USD, and lost 0.29% against the British Pound, to close at N$ 20.52 per GBP. It closed at N$ 20.52 against the Euro, a loss of 0.43%.
FirstRand Namibia Limited released their Consolidated Group Unaudited Results for the period ended 31 December 2021, indicating that their net interest income increased by 15.8% to N$ 1 051 million, with headline earnings increasing by 11.1% to N$ 618 million. As such, basic earnings as well as headline earnings per share increased by 10.2% and 11% respectively, to 235.2c and 236.3c respectively. They noted that the improving macroeconomic environment reduced the impairment provisioning rate this year, but noted that they expect a major interest rate hike cycle due to inflation risk, which they consider to be their biggest risk considering their cost base.
