U.S.-Nigerian telecom tycoon Sam Darwish gains $26.8 million in 22 days

U.S.-Nigerian telecom tycoon Sam Darwish has recorded a $26.8 million boost in his net worth in the past 22 days, as shares in his telecom infrastructure firm IHS Holdings surged by double digits in response to a stellar first-quarter financial performance.

Darwish founded IHS Holdings, a Nigerian telecom infrastructure firm in 2001. By tower count, the group is the largest telecom infrastructure group in Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, and the third-largest independent multinational tower company in the world.

At the time of writing, shares in the leading telecom company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) were worth $12.38 per share, giving the tower company a $4.06-billion market capitalization.

Since May 11, IHS stock on the NYSE has risen from $10.06 to $12.38, representing a 23.06-percent gain for shareholders in 22 days.

Thanks to the company’s share price surge, Darwish, who owns a significant 3.5 percent stake in IHS Towers, has seen the market value of his stake rise by $26.8 million in the past 22 days, from $116.57 million to $143.45 million at the time of writing this report.

The increase in the price of IHS shares was largely driven by investor reactions to the firm’s recently released first-quarter results. In the first quarter of 2022, the telecom infrastructure firm reported a profit of $16.9 million, up from a loss of $29.05 million in the same quarter in 2021.

The performance reflects the aggregate impact of a $361.7-million increase in revenue to $446.1 million, despite downward pressures from direct costs and operating expenses such as higher power generation costs and increased administrative expenses.

Revenue from its Nigerian operations increased by $59.4 million, or 22.7 percent, to $320.7 million from $261.3 million in the first quarter of 2021, while revenue from its Sub-Saharan Africa segment increased by $2.5 million, or three percent, to $85.6 million.