KARO Leather shares dip 1.7 pct on BCPP's main market debut

Prague, March 2 (CTK) - Shares in leather processor KARO Leather fell by 1.7 percent to CZK175 apiece on their first day of trading on the main market of the Prague Stock Exchange (BCPP) today, its trading volume exceeding CZK700,000, according to BCPP statistics.

KARO shares have been traded since 2019 on the BCPP's Start market, which is intended for small and medium-sized enterprises.

"The development of the KARO share price was mainly influenced by negative sentiment on global stock markets linked to uncertainty coming from the Middle East," XTB analyst Tomas Cverna told CTK. According to him, the negative mood did not spare Prague either, but the PX index closed today's trading with a loss of 0.08 percent.

KARO shares were traded today with a volume of 4,018 shares worth a total of CZK706,686. This volume is not particularly high, considering that there were days when more was traded even on the unregulated Start market, Cverna added.

When KARO entered the Start market in 2019, it raised CZK40m in its first share issue at a valuation of CZK120 million. KARO's current market value is around CZK1.2bn, almost ten times more than when it entered the stock exchange. From the issue price of CZK40 per share at the time of subscription in November 2019, its value has more than quadrupled.

The capital raised on the stock exchange has enabled the company to significantly expand its original plant in Borsov, purchase a brownfield site in Brtnice, and revive the leatherworking tradition there by building a modern production facility.

KARO Leather shareholders approved the transfer of the company's shares to the main market of the Prague Stock Exchange last June.

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