Markets review: Umeme shares tumble nearly 40%

KAMPALA - Umeme’s share price tumbled sharply last week, plunging almost 40% to close at sh220, even as trading activity on the Uganda Securities Exchange picked up pace.

The stock price opened Monday’s trading session (October 27) at the same price. The slump in the share price came a few days after the company released its interim earnings report for the six months ending June 30.

Umeme’s stock registered the lowest turnover of the trading week, with trades worth just sh3.91m. Total turnover climbed 82.97% to sh979.27m, up from sh535.21m the previous week, according to market data from Crested Capital.

Stanbic Holdings traded sh652.93m worth of shares exchanged. Bank of Baroda (BOBU) followed with sh188.29m, while dfcu traded sh76.77m. Activity in telecom counters was relatively muted, with MTN posting sh23.41m and Airtel Uganda sh21.3m in turnover.

On the price front, Dfcu’s stock stood out, rising 20.83% to close at sh319. BOBU climbed 4.07% to sh47.02, Airtel Uganda added 1.84% to reach sh83, and MTN gained 1.18% to end at sh294. Cipla Quality Chemicals slipped 2.54% to sh115.

Most other counters remained flat, with National Insurance Corporation steady at sh5, British American Tobacco Uganda at sh15,000, Uganda Clays at sh6.5, Stanbic Holdings at sh62, and New Vision Limited at sh150.

On cross-listed counters, Kenya Airways rose 2.38% to sh103.97, KCB added 2.73% to sh1,571.04, and Equity Bank climbed 2.66% to sh1,620.30. East African Breweries gained 1.58% to close at sh5,812.83, while Nation Media Group fell 1.27% to sh363.22.

At the close of the week, the USE All Share Index edged up 0.98% to 1,480.24 points, reflecting gains among cross-listed stocks, while the Local Companies Index slipped 0.26% to 136.93 points, weighed down by Umeme’s slump.