Casablanca Stock Exchange to Continue Its Upward Trend in May
Rabat – The Casablanca Stock Exchange will continue its upward trend in May 2017, according to the analysts of Crédit du Maroc Capital (CDMC).
This growth is mainly due to the improvement of national macroeconomic indicators and the continued decrease of Treasury bills (BDT), said the stock market company in its monthly balance sheet for April 2017.
After spending the first quarter of 2017 in the red, the Casablanca Stock Exchange managed to pull itself together to finish the fourth month of the year in progression, something that, according to the CDMC, will renew investors’ hopes after several weeks of sluggishness, reports the MAP.
Under these conditions, the MASI Index showed a 2.27 percent growth to 11,379.71 points and of 2.44 percent to 9,264.29 points for the MADEX Index. This growth comes after the culmination of negotiations for the formation of the government under the aegis of the Saad Eddine El Othmani, the same source added. The publication also mentions the prospect of a record cereal production for the 2016-2017 crop year of 102 million quintals, an increase of 203 percent compared to the previous season, in addition to the stable outlook of Standard & Poor’s with the renewal of the debt rating long-term bond to BBB-. The short-term rating remains fixed at A-3.
The analysts of the CDMC also highlighted the progress of the Generation Cash Plan (PGC) of the Addoha Group. They underlined the real estate group’s achievement of its objectives, in particular the net deleveraging of MAD 360 million from MAD 3.50 billion, registering a gearing of 32 percent compared to 45 percent at the end of 2014.
Quarterly real estate realizations also showed the disposal of a stock of 1,643 units of finished products, a gain of MAD 1.81 billion, and the disbursement of MAD 43 million for the purchase of land on the Casa-Rabat axis for an annual envelope of MAD 300 million.
Other highlights of the month were the release of the Crédit du Maroc Group’s results at the end of March 2017, showing a net banking income of MAD 548.8 million with a 1 percent growth from last year, a risk cost down by 33.8 percent and a group net income increasing by 54.4 percent to MAD 104 million.
The CDMC also notes that the recovery in Casablanca Stock Exchange last April stems in particular from the gains made by virtually all large cap stocks, with Addoha leading the stocks with a 10 percent growth, followed by Cosumar with 8.33 percent, BCP with 4.46 percent, Marsa Maroc with 2.41 percent and lastly Attijariwafa bank with a 2.25 percent increase, reports MAP. These five values ??alone contributed by 1.45 percent to the rise of the MASI Index during the past month.
The overall market valuation stood at MAD 586.6 billion, showing a net rebound of 2.10 percent with an increase of more than MAD 12 billion compared to March 2017.