/ 29 April 2005

MTN shares on the move

Shares in mobile service provider MTN Group collected 4,19% in Friday’s early session on the JSE Securities Exchange (JSE), where it was among the most active shares by value and number of shares traded. Traders attributed the surge to a renewed interest by foreigners.

At 12.32pm, the stock had steamed ahead 175 cents to trade at R43,55 per share from a R41,80 close on Thursday and a R41,99 close on Tuesday. MTN’s intraday best level so far is R43,80 per share.

“It seems to be attracting an incredible amount of activity, especially from foreigners. The stock has an international appeal and, in fact, there is also an interest from local players,” said a trader.

“Apart from bargain-hunters we’ve seen today, I think the foreign interest in the share has been renewed, hence the steady and accumulated upward movement — not just large deals but accumulation.”

So far, during the session, MTN has seen 1,830-million shares worth R78,457-million changing hands in 346 deals.

The stock, which started the year at R43,50, soared to an all-time high of R50,60 on March 9.

MTN, currently embroiled in a bid to acquire Netherlands-based Celtel International, is due to release its final results on June 2. According to analysts surveyed by I-Net Bridge, the group is expected to report 368,1 cents in headline earnings per share from last year’s 253,1 cents. They also forecast a dividend of 69 cents per share from 41 cents declared in 2004. — I-Net Bridge