Tunisian businessman Habib Essayeh gains $2.1 million as shares in Euro-Cycles surge

Tunisian multimillionaire businessman Habib Essayeh has seen a TND6.04-million ($2.1 million) increase in the market value of his stake in the Tunisian bike maker, Euro-Cycles S.A., in the past 30 days.

Essayeh, the company’s CEO, holds a beneficial 33.6-percent stake, amounting to 2,989,715 ordinary shares in the automotive company. This makes him its largest shareholder.

The recent $2.1-million bump in the market value of his stake can be linked to a surge in the share price of the Tunisia-based bike maker above the $11.20 mark.

As of press time, Jan. 8, shares were worth TND32.47 ($11.271), giving the automotive company a TND289.31-million ($100.4 million) market capitalization on the Tunis Stock Exchange.

Since Dec. 9, 2021, about 30-days ago, shares in Euro-Cycles increased from a price of TND30.45 ($10.57) to TND32.47 ($11.27) on Jan. 8. This led to a 6.6-percent gain for shareholders.

As a result of the single-digit price gains, Essayeh’s 33.6-percent stake has risen in value from TND91 million ($31.6 million) on Dec. 9, 2021 to TND97.1 million ($33.7 million).

This translates to a gain of TND6.04 million ($2.1 million) for the multimillionaire businessman in one month.

In the past year, the market value of his stake has increased by more than $7.54 million thanks to sustained buying interest in the company, as investors price in the robust financial performance that the bike maker delivered in 2021.

In a recent bourse filing, Eurocyles disclosed that its sales in Q2 2021 increased by 55.2 percent from TND45.18 million ($15.99 million) in 2020 to TND70.1 million ($24.81 million).

For the year ending December 2020, the company reported sales of TND119.82 million ($42.4 million), or an increase of 36.8 percent from 2019, when it recorded TND87.60 million ($31 million). Investment analysts expect the bike maker to report improved performance in 2021.