Africa-Press – Tanzania. TCCIA Investment Company Limited (TICL) has posted a 641m/- profit in the first half of this year bolstered by interest income and capital gains compared to a loss of 1.12bn/- of the corresponding period last year.
During the same period, the company’s total income increased by 45 per cent to 1.81bn/- compared to 814.2m/- at a similar period last year.
“The increase was due to higher interest income and capital gains from government securities trading, being a result of a diversification strategy,” TICL Chief Executive Officer, Peter Kifunguomali said.
He noted that total income increased by 45 per cent compared to the same period last year due to increase in dividend from equities, interest income as well as realized gains from investments in government securities.
However, despite the success that has been recorded, last year the company had faced several challenges, including the presence of regulations that limit the movement of prices for securities, forcing investors to sell shares at pre-arrangement deals which are below market price, incurring capital losses in the process.
He also mentioned lack of enough investment opportunities in the capital market as another challenge, saying the Tanzanian capital market mainly consists of government securities and few equities compared to other markets such as Kenya, South Africa and Egypt, which offer a range of derivative financial instruments in addition to equities and bonds.
Going forward, Mr Kifunguomali said the firm will continue to look for new investment opportunities in other sectors apart from financial services.
“Also, we shall join hands with another market
Participants, including brokers to advise the Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA) and Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) to remove the cap limit on securities so that share prices reflect the correct demand and supply trend,” he added.
In August last year, TICL unveiled major capital investment plans aimed at boosting its income by 68 per cent by 2022.
In the year that ended December 2019, the firm’s revenue was recorded at 1.78bn/-, up from 1.43bn/- in the corresponding period in 2018.
According to Mr Kifunguomali, the company was working hard to diversify its investment portfolio by investing in fixed income financial instruments.
“We are confident that we will meet the remaining goals in our improvement plans in 2020 and deliver growth of profitability within the 15 and 20 per cent margin range,” he said.
