South African tycoon Stephen Brookes’ Balwin Properties returns $14.6 million to shareholders

Balwin Properties, a Johannesburg-based residential property developer led by South African businessman and real estate tycoon Stephen Brookes, has returned $14.6 million to shareholders in the past 26 days, as investors react to its first-half financial results.

At the end of today’s trading session on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, shares in the South African property developer were worth R3.1 ($0.181) per share, giving the company a market capitalization of R1.44 billion ($84.1 million) at the time of writing.

The company’s share price has risen by 21.1 percent since Nov. 2, exactly 26 days ago, returning a total of R250.9 million ($14.6 million) in gains to shareholders as its market capitalization increased from R1.19 billion ($69.46 million) to R1.44 billion ($84.1 million).

Brookes, who founded the property developer in 1996 and owns a total of 36.08 percent of the company, has seen the market value of his stake increase by R92 million ($5.3 million) in the past 26 days as a result of these value gains.

Despite the recent increase in market value, Brookes’ equity interest in Balwin Properties is worth $6.6-million less than it was at the start of the year, when the firm’s shares soared above a price of R3.4 ($0.22) per share.

Balwin is a large-scale estate developer in South Africa for people with low-to-middle incomes. It provides residents with high-quality, environmentally friendly, and affordable apartments, as well as an innovative lifestyle program.

Profit for the first half of the current fiscal year rose by 48 percent, from R117.2 million ($6.4 million) to R173 million ($9.4 million), according to earnings figures.

The double-digit increase in earnings was due to increased demand for South African residential properties, which resulted in a 20-percent increase in revenue from R1.31 billion ($71.38 million) to R1.6 billion ($87.2 million).