Nompumelelo Magwaza
NOVUS Holdings made its debut on the JSE yesterday and its share price almost doubled in value in intraday trade.
The company issued shares before the listing at R13.25. Yesterday, the company’s share price rose as much as 89 percent to R25 before closing up 26.79 percent at R16.80.
Novus, previously known as Paarl Media, listed on the JSE with plans to grow its printing, labelling and tissue businesses into the sub-Saharan African region. Not only will the company take its core business, which is printing, to these markets but it would also be taking along its new divisions, including labelling and tissue manufacturing.
Novus chief executive, Stephen Van der Walt, said the listing would take Novus to another platform with a new horizon going forward.
“Novus, means new in Latin and with this in mind we are looking for diversification and new projects and new growth inside the company.”
The group’s core strategy will now focus on unlocking value on its core businesses under the Paarl banner.
“However, in the next five years we would like to build a business where up to 50 percent of our business is not built on core printing,” said Van der Walt. Prior to the listing, Novus had placed 87.5 million shares at price of R13.25 a share, which included the exercise of an over-allotment option of 7.5m stabilisation shares from Media 24.
A total of R1.159bn was raised as part of the listing.
The group said the listing was a significant development in the history of the group, which has an ambitious growth plan to expand its business in South Africa and markets in sub-Saharan Africa where there was significant potential for growth in the print and related manufacturing sectors.
Van der Walt said Novus was currently servicing the sub-Saharan countries with printing of text books and literature. He said the group would focus on the southern part of the continent as the northern region faces political turmoil and industries that were influenced by European corporates.
Novus is a leader in the printing and manufacturing sectors specialising in printing of magazines, books, catalogues and commercial printing. Novus also took to the market Correll where the group manufacturers tissue products in KwaZulu-Natal.
“We have our manufacturing facilities and we also use our waste products,” Van der Walt said. He said this part of business would not only enter into the South African market but also into the greater African tissue market.
“That is pretty much in our next stage of investment.”
The second business that the group plans to grow would the labelling business, which currently services the wine export and food services market.
The core of the company listed was highly profitable and with new and young management team they want to take the business into another platform.
“The listing gives us access and exposure to the investing community and places us among the leading blue chip companies on the JSE,” he said.