Norges Bank buys hSenid shares from Carson group investment arm

The investment fund of Norway’s Central Bank, Norges Bank, is believed to be among those who bought the shares of human resource management software solutions provider hSenid Business Solutions PLC (HBS) yesterday, with over 10.7 million HBS shares changing hands.

The seller of the shares was Ceylon Guardian Investment Trust PLC, an investment arm of Carson Cumberbatch PLC.

As at September 30, 2022, Ceylon Guardian Investment Trust held little over 17.9 million shares or a 6.5 percent stake in HBS.

Out of the 10.7 million shares traded, 9.5 million shares were traded at Rs.16.70. Based on the broker data, Norges Bank appears to have bought about 4.4 million HBS shares for Rs.73.6 million.

CT CLSA Securities acted as the sell-side broker and Lynear Wealth Management was the buy-side broker, the market sources said. 

The balance shares were bought by local investors. 
The HBS share closed at Rs.17.40 yesterday, up 70 cents or 4.19 percent from the previous close.

HBS reported revenues of Rs.397.2 million in the July-September quarter, up 89 percent from the same period last year, driven by improvements in operations across all segments, particularly by its core ‘PeoplesHR’ products. 

The revenue grew by 27 percent in US dollar terms, measured on the constant currency basis.

The company generates nearly 50 percent of its revenues from foreign markets.  

The company reported earnings of 21 cents a share or Rs.57.9 million for the quarter, compared to seven cents a share or Rs.15.3 million in the year earlier period, recording a 280 percent increase.