Category: Capital Market

Nigeria’s premier and largest non-interest bank, Jaiz Bank Plc has increased dividend payable to shareholders by 25 per cent after the alternative bank grew net profit by 68.5 per cent.

In a regulatory filing at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the board of Jaiz Bank recommended payment of a dividend per share of 5 kobo for the 2022 business year, totaling N1.727 billion.

The bank had paid a dividend per share of 4 kobo for the 2021 business year. The new dividend becomes payable on June 14, 2023 to all shareholders on the register of the bank by the close of business in June 1, 2023.

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts for the period ended December 31, 2022 released at the NGX showed double-digit growths across key performance indicators, underlining improvements in incomes and profitability.

The 12-month report showed that gross earnings rose by 29.4 per cent from N25.84 billion in 2021 to N33.43 billion in 2022. Profit before tax grew by 59.5 per cent from N4.16 billion in 2021 to N6.63 billion in 2022. With tax writeback of N248.54 million in 2022, net profit, grew by 68.5 per cent from N4.08 billion in 2021 to N6.88 billion in 2022. Earnings per share increased by 39.13 per cent to 19.2 kobo in 2022 as against 13.8 kobo in 2021. The issued share capital of the bank had increased from 29.46 billion shares in 2021 to 34.54 billion shares.

The balance sheet of the bank also expanded by more than one-third with total assets rising by 35.6 per cent to N378.82 billion in 2022 as against N279.27 billion in 2021. Total equity funds also increased from N24.31 billion to N29.80 billion.

Underlying ratios showed a generally positive outlook with the bank’s net income margin (NIM) improving from 7.86 per cent in 2021 to 8.29 per cent in 2022. Cost-to-income ratio improved from 75.49 per cent in 2022 to 70.51 per cent. Return on total assets increased from 1.49 per cent to 1.75 per cent. Return on equity also grew from 17.11 per cent in 2021 to 22.25 per cent in 2022. While capital adequacy dropped from 23.66 per cent to 19.50 per cent, liquidity improved from 29.78 per cent to 38.50 per cent.

Managing Director, Jaiz Bank Plc, Dr Sirajo Salisu said the 2022 result was a testimony that Islamic finance is increasingly gaining acceptance in Nigeria with Jaiz Bank leading the market with bouquet of value-adding products and services.

He noted that the bank has continued to make outstanding progress despite the headwinds, including the fluctuating currency rate and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war on the entire world.

According to him, the bank has consistently delivered remarkable results in the last four years, which clearly is a reaffirmation of its continuous growth trajectory, being the leader in Nigeria’s non-interest banking space.

Jaiz Bank has projected gross earnings of N9.78 billion for the first three months of 2023 as the management of the bank indicated that it would sustain impressive profit margins while driving top-line performance.

The three-month forecast for the period ending March 31, 2023 estimated that pre and post-tax profits would be N1.40 billion and N1.26 billion. This implies a pre-tax profit margin of 14.3 per cent and net profit margin of 12.9 per cent, within the top-bracket of the industry margins.

Jaiz Bank has already secured shareholders’ approvals to raise not less than N150 billion in new capital through Sukuk issuance and to implement a holding company structure that will see the bank engaging in other ancillary financial services.

Jaiz Bank’s planned N150 billion Sukuk will be the largest non-interest bond issuance in the Nigerian capital market.

Shareholders have also mandated the board of directors to take all necessary steps and transactions that would enable the bank to achieve its short to long-term growth objectives as well as greater competitiveness. These steps and transactions may include acquisitions, new investments, restructuring; expansion, capital raising and other business arrangements that enhance the bank’s growth trajectory.

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) has delisted the issued share capital of Global Spectrum Energy Services (GSES) Plc.

The was sequel to application by GSES for voluntary delisting.

The Board of Directors of GSES had last year secured shareholders’ approval to seek voluntary delisting of the company’s shares from the NGX, barely five years after it was listed.

The NGX at the weekend confirmed the delisting, stating that the entire issued share capital of the company had been delisted in line with the voluntary delisting request.

Authorities at the NGX had earlier approved the voluntary delisting, after efforts to convince the company to remain on the Exchange failed.

The delisting was a major turnabout for GSES, which had premised its listing in 2017 on its ambitious expansion plans aimed at tapping the huge untapped opportunities in its specialised area of operation.

GSES is one of the indigenous offshore support vessel companies operating in the marine security and GSES had in 2017 listed its total outstanding issued share capital of 800 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N5 per share.

The shares were listed by way of introduction. The listing added N4 billion to the total market capitalisation at the Exchange and had further deepened the exposure of the market to the midstream and upstream oil and gas sectors.

The special window of listing by introduction allows companies without previous initial public offerings to list their shares while retaining opportunity to float initial public offering (IPO).

GSES was incorporated in 2006 as an integrated oil and gas servicing company. The company’s operations span many oil and gas producing areas in West Africa. The company’s services include complimentary maritime security, logistics, energy and engineering

United Capital Plc recorded a modest growth of five per cent in its bottom-line in the first quarter of this year as 62 per cent growth in operating expenses moderated the impact of a considerable growth in turnover.

Key extracts of the interim report and accounts for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023 showed that gross earnings rose by 27 per cent to N5.34 billion in first quarter 2023 compared with N4.21 billion recorded in comparable period of 2022.

Net operating income rose by 39 per cent from N3.55 billion in first quarter 2022 to N4.94 billion in first quarter 2023.

However, operating expenses jumped by 62 per cent to N2.66 billion in first quarter 2023 as against N1.64 billion in first quarter 2022. Profit before tax thus improved by five per cent from N2.69 billion to N2.82 billion. Profit after tax also increased by six per cent to N2.44 billion in first quarter 2023 as against N2.31 billion in first quarter 2022.

The company’s total assets increased by 21 per cent to N727.55 billion by March 2023 compared with N601.92 billion recorded by the 2022 year end. Total liabilities also rose by 23 per cent from N568.93 billion in December 2022 to N700.85 billion by March 2023. Shareholders’fund however declined by 19 per cent from N32.99 billion in December 2022 to N26.71 billion in March 2023.

Group Chief Executive Officer, United Capital Plc, Mr. Peter Ashade, said the company had to cope with economic peculiarities associated with election years.

He noted that the company recorded positive growth across top and bottom line earnings during the first quarter, despite elevated cost of doing business and volatile financial markets globally in addition to a heated political landscape among other uncertainties in the domestic economy.

“Our business diversification strategy which we have pursued concertedly since 2019, and prudent risk management practice is yielding desired results in line with our long-term vision, sustaining our earnings growth, protecting investors’ assets, and strengthening our business model to withstand macroeconomic shocks in the harsh operating environment which continues to present a challenge for policymakers globally.

“Our business outlook and projections for the year remains positive and we are laser-focused on creating new business opportunities, improving our value propositions to meet our clients’ needs, and capturing optimal economic value to deliver decent returns to shareholders,” Ashade said.

United Capital had recently paid N9 billion as cash dividends to shareholders for the 2022 business year. At the annual general meeting at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, shareholders approved the distribution of a dividend per share of N1.50 for the 2022 business year.

The audited report of the company for the year ended December 31, 2022 had shown a 13 per cent increase in profit before tax to N13.50 billion. Gross earnings rose by 49 per cent to N26.90 billion while total assets grew by 33 per cent to N601.92 billion.

Addressing the shareholders, Chairman, United Capital Plc, Prof. Chika Mordi, said despite the macroeconomic pressures of 2022, United Capital reported an outstanding financial performance with the group’s Return on Average Equity (RoAE) one of the highest among listed financial services institutions.

He said the performance of the group signified solid growth in the overall profitability of the group and its subsidiary businesses.

“We are confident in our ability to deliver consistent superior returns as we have put in place appropriate strategies to respond to possible scenarios that the year 2023 could throw at us,” Mordi said.

He outlined that in addition to its outstanding financial performance, United Capital’s subsidiaries individually recorded significant milestones during the year.

“The investment bank acted as joint issuing house to Dangote Industries Limited (DIL)’s $1 billion bond issuance, the largest bond issuance in the Nigerian debt capital market by a corporate entity. Its asset management subsidiary won the award for the fastest growing investment management company in Nigeria at the 2022 International Finance Awards and remains among the top three fund managers in Nigeria. The Trustees business cemented its industry leadership as the number one trustee business in Nigeria in terms of funds under management (FUM) and its consumer finance business disbursed over 130,000 loans totalling N21 billion,” Mordi said.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc started the new business year on a strong note with significant growths in all major income lines in the first three months of the year.

Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of the UBA Group for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023, released at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), indicated that gross earnings rose by 47.5 per cent from N183.9 billion in first quarter 2022 to N271.2 billion in first quarter 2023. Interest Income, which stood at N125.9 billion as at March 2022, grew by 53.4 per cent to N191.9 billion by March 2023. Operating income rose by 39.6 per cent to N175.7 billion as against N125.9 billion. Profit before tax  rose by 38.2 per cent to N61.4 billion in first quarter 2023 compared with N44.5 billion recorded in the first quarter 2022. After taxes, net profit increased from N41.5 billion to N53.6 billion, an increase of 29.1 per cent.

Group Managing Director, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, explained that despite the high inflationary, and challenging global environment, UBA was able to leverage the uptick in interest rates and improved digital offerings, in growing funded and non-funded income.

He said the growth in pre-tax profit was exciting, as it has helped to drive increased returns to shareholders, with a 22.6 per cent Return on Average Equity (ROAE) compared to 19.7 per cent recorded in December 2022.

“We have continued to record improved gains in our customer acquisition and retention strategies across our countries of presence, evident in the 10.5 per cent growth in customer deposits to N8.6 trillion from N7.8 trillion at the end of 2022. This has enabled the group drive increased loan growth and interest income, with loans to customers at N3.6 trillion, representing a year-to-date increase of five per cent.

“For 2023, we remain committed to improving the group’s performance as we strategically position our entities to take advantage of emerging developments within their jurisdictions and across the globe. We will continue to deliver excellent rewards to our stakeholders,” Alawuba said.

Executive Director, Finance and Risk, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Ugo Nwaghodoh, said first quarter performance demonstrated the group’s resilience and commitment towards delivering value and enhancing the confidence of its customers, stakeholders and the wider public notwithstanding the competitive landscape and current global trend in the industry.

According to him, the impressive performance of UBA Group in first quarter 2023 was hinged on its continuous improvement and growth in gross earnings and balance sheet size as total assets grew by 4.6 per cent to N11.4 trillion in March 2023 from N10.9 trillion last December.

“The growth in gross earnings is on the strength of increase in both interest income and non-interest income while growth in total asset is attributable to increased deposits due to aggressive deposit mobilisation drive that resulted in a 10.5 per cent growth in customer deposit in the first quarter,” Nwaghodoh said.

 Nigeria’s apex capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned the public against patronising firms blacklisted by Italy’s securities regulator, Commissione Nazionale per le Soecieta’ e la Borsa (CONSOB).

CONSOB had blacklisted five additional e-commerce websites for offering unauthorised and fraudulent financial services.

The blacklisted websites included CMS or capmarketstrategy.io, Bitsterzio, Invest Atlas, Ether-Arena Limited and Ether-Arena Limited operating under veneab.co.

CONSOB had ordered Internet Service Providers (ISP) operating in Italy to block public access to the blacklisted websites and called on prospective investors to adopt the greatest diligence in making investment choices.

CONSOB advised investors that common sense behaviors are essential to safeguarding one’s savings, including checking the registration status or otherwise of such e-commerce websites.

SEC cautioned Nigerian investing public that the e-commerce websites were not registered by Nigeria and the financial services offered by these e-commerce websites were also not authorised by the SEC.

“In view of the above, the general public is hereby warned that any person dealing with the above mentioned e-commerce websites is doing so at his or her own risk,” SEC stated

Capital market regulators, operators and other stakeholders are scheduled to meet this Wednesday to brainstorm on the implementation of the Revised Capital Market Master Plan, which aims at repositioning the market for global competitiveness.

The Capital Market Committee (CMC) – an industry-wide consultative body, will hold its first meeting in the year through Zoom.

The CMC comprises members of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), representatives of capital market operators and trade groups and other stakeholders. It was primarily established to serve as a medium for the exchange of ideas among market stakeholders as well as an avenue for providing feedback to the SEC on how to address challenges, improve market operations and enhance the regulatory framework.

“During the meeting, issues bordering on implementation of the Revised Capital Market Master Plan, implementation of the fintech roadmap, the commodities trading ecosystem roadmap as well as other salient matters relating to the capital market and the economy would be discussed,” SEC stated at the weekend.

SEC launched the Revised Capital Market Master Plan (CMMP) last November. The masterplan serves as a blueprint to harness opportunities to better position the capital market as the engine of economic growth and development.

The SEC had previously implemented many initiatives under the 10-year Capital Market Master Plan, which was designed to reposition the  capital market as an attractive investment destination and a critical facilitator of capital formation for the accelerated growth and development of the economy.

Some of the initiatives that had been implemented included direct cash settlement, regularisation of multiple subscriptions, dematerialisation of share certificates, and the introduction of the e-dividend management system.

SEC noted that recent initiatives have helped in promoting transparency, protecting investors and enhancing market confidence, while also ensuring that only fit and proper persons are allowed to operate in the capital market.

According to the Commission, the objectives of the masterplan are in agreement with the Federal Government’s economic strategy, focused on deepening the capital market and encouraging a private sector-led economy to drive inclusive growth.

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) has suspended trading in the shares of Global Spectrum Energy Services (GSES) Plc, preparatory to the delisting of the company from the NGX.

The Board of Directors of GSES had last year secured shareholders’ approval to seek voluntary delisting of the company’s shares from the NGX, barely five years after it was listed.

The NGX stated that the suspension of trading in the shares of the company was to prevent trading in the shares “in preparation for the delisting of the securities of the company” from the NGX.

Authorities at the NGX had earlier approved the voluntary delisting, after efforts to convince the company to remain on the Exchange failed.

The delisting is a major turnabout for GSES, which had premised its listing in 2017 on its ambitious expansion plans aimed at tapping the huge untapped opportunities in its specialised area of operation.

Shareholders of Global Spectrum had in 2022 approved a special resolution authorising the board of directors to seek voluntary delisting from the NGX.

GSES is one of the ndigenous offshore support vessel companies operating in the marine security and GSES had in 2017 listed its total outstanding issued share capital of 800 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N5 per share. The shares were listed by way of introduction. The listing added N4 billion to the total market capitalisation at the Exchange and had further deepened the exposure of the market to the midstream and upstream oil and gas sectors.

The special window of listing by introduction allows companies without previous initial public offerings to list their shares while retaining opportunity to float initial public offering (IPO).

GSES was incorporated in 2006 as an integrated oil and gas servicing company. The company’s operations span many oil and gas producing areas in West Africa. The company’s services include complimentary maritime security, logistics, energy and engineering.