The Nation Newspaper

Category: Equities

  • MAXUT Consulting gets award

    Global data security com-pany,OneSpanhas  recognised MAXUT Consulting as best sales and technical integration partner in Nigeria and the West African region.

    OneSpan gave the award at a brief ceremony during the recently-concluded Third Annual Banking Security Summit in Lagos.

    The event, organised by MAXUT and OneSpan, had in attendance speakers and stakeholders from the Nigerian and African banking, payments, and fintech sectors as well as representatives from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).

    Presenting the award, Vice President, Sales, EMEA South, OneSpan, Mr. Christian Herstens and Regional Manager for Africa, Mr. Nicolas Poire reiterated OneSpan’s reliance on local firms such as MAXUT Consulting to deliver industry-leading security and fraud solutions to customers in various countries worldwide and the role played by Nigeria in leading fraud prevention and banking security awareness in Africa.

    “MAXUT was a major contributor to OneSpan’s growth in Africa in 2018,” Nicolas Poire said.

    MAXUT Consulting Chief Executive Officer, Mike Odusami and Senior Vice President, Martin Ajayi-Obe received the award.

    Odusanmi commended customers for making the award possible and for trusting in MAXUT to keep online and mobile banking transactions secure.

    He noted that MAXUT customers included Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Skye Bank, FCMB Group, Union Bank of Nigeria, Unity Bank and other top banks in Nigeria

     

  • Fidson to raise N4.5b from shareholders

    Fidson Healthcare Plc is to raise N4.5 billion new equity capital by issuing new ordinary shares to its shareholders.

    A regulatory filing at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at the weekend indicated that Fidson Healthcare will be issuing 900 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to its shareholders at N5 per share. The rights issue will be pre-allotted on the basis of three new ordinary shares for every five ordinary shares held as at the close of business on July 5.

    Last year, the company’s shareholders approved the raise of N6 billion to boost its working capital and support its expansion plan. At the 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) , shareholders authorised the board of directors of Fidson Healthcare to “raise further capital of up to N6 billion through an offer whether by way of public offering, rights issue, private and special placement of shares”.

    The meeting also authorised the directors to absorb oversubscription and to convert existing loans due to any person from the company towards payment for any rights or shares subscribed for. Shareholders also increased the authorised share capital of the company from N1.2 billion to N1.5 billion by the creation of more 600 million shares of 50 kobo each.

    Fidson Healthcare Plc Chairman, Mr. Felix Ohiwerei, said the new capital would be used to boost working capital that had been negatively impacted by the depreciation of Naira.

    He noted that the company’s new factory had come on stream at the end of 2016 and the company needed more capital to realise its potential and utilise the new factory to full capacity.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Fidson Healthcare for the year ended December 31, 2017 showed that turnover grew by 84 per cent N7.6 billion in 2016 to N14 billion in 2017. Cost of sales increased by 91 per cent from N3.6 billion in 2016 to N6.9 billion in 2017. Profit before tax rose from N443 million in 2016 to N1.57 billion in 2017. With this, earnings per share increased from 21 kobo in 2016 to 71 kobo in 2017.

    The financial reports showed a 53 per cent increase in total overhead including administrative and selling and distribution expenses, from N3.1 billion in 2016 to N4.7 billion in 2017, which was due to an increase in the marketing and distribution expenses.  Finance cost also increased by 45 per cent from N690 million in 2016 to N1 billion in 2017. The increase in finance cost was mainly due to increased working capital to drive growth and a hike in interest rates from financial institutions. Despite the increase in total cost, the company recorded a 127 per cent increase in operating profit which grew from N1.1 billion in 2016 to N2.5 billion in 2017.

    The board of directors of Fidson Healthcare, however, approved a 300 per cent increase in dividend payout for the 2017 business year. Shareholders will receive a dividend per share of 20 kobo for the 2017 business year, representing an increase of 300 per cent on five kobo dividend per share paid for the 2016 business year. The company had distributed N75 million as cash dividends to shareholders for the 2016 business year.

  • 90% SMEs loans rejected, says minister

    The Minister of State, Industry,  Trade and Investment,  Aisha Abubakar disclosed yesterday that the rejection rate of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) loan applications by commercial banks was greater  than 50 per cent for some banks and as high as 90 per cent for other banks.

    The minister spoke at the Fate Foundation 4th policy dialogue series on entrepreneurship in Abuja, stating that the high rejection rate include poor documentation for accessing loans and limited knowledge of the business.

    The government, Fate Foundations and other stakeholders have been preoccupied with initiatives that address these challenges and build a sustainable ecosystem for MSMEs that dominate the business landscape in Nigeria.

     

     

     

  • Stock Exchange suspends trading on eight companies

    Authorities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday suspended trading on eight companies for failing to adhere to best corporate governance and extant post-listing requirements.

    The suspended companies included seven insurance companies and an automobile company. The suspended companies include African Alliance Insurance, Cornerstone Insurance, R T Briscoe, Royal Exchange, STACO Insurance, Standard Alliance Insurance, Universal Insurance Company and Veritas Kapital Assurance.

    A report obtained by The Nation indicated that the companies were suspended after they failed to file their accounts and operational reports as required by the listing rules at the Exchange. The suspension will remain in place until the companies file the relevant accounts and reports.

    With the suspension, investors will not be able to trade on the shares of the companies, thus denying them opportunities to raise funds through such investments in case of financial needs.

    Post-listing rules at the NSE require quoted companies to submit their audited earnings reports, not later than 90 calendar days, or three months, after the expiration of the period. The rules also require quoted companies to submit interim report not later than 30 calendar days after the end of the relevant period.

    Not less than 83 per cent of quoted companies use the 12-month Gregorian calendar year as their business year. The business year thus terminates on December 31. While March 31 is usually the deadline for submission of annual report for companies with Gregorian calendar business year, the deadline for the quarterly report is a month after the quarter.

    NSE tags and applies fines on companies that fail to meet earnings reports’ deadline. The Exchange had on January 1, 2017 launched a new sanction regime for delay in submission of companies’ results. Under the new sanction regime, companies may pay fines that range from N100, 000 to more than N100 million as penalties for delay in the submission of their corporate earnings reports.

    Companies that also delayed their financial statements and accounts face threats of suspension and delisting in addition to the monetary fines.

    Under the new rules, quoted companies will be required to file their unaudited quarterly accounts with the NSE not later than 30 calendar days after the relevant quarter, and publish it within five business days after the date of filing, in at least two national daily newspapers, and post it on the company’s website, with the web address disclosed in the newspaper publication. Also, an electronic copy of the publication shall be filed with the Exchange on the same day as the newspaper publication. Where the company chooses to audit its quarterly accounts, it shall be required to file such accounts not later than 60 calendar days after the relevant quarter.

    For annual audited accounts, the new rules require companies to file their audited annual report and accounts with the Exchange not later than 90 calendar days after the relevant year end, and published in at least two national daily newspapers not later than 21 calendar days before the date of the annual general meeting, and posted same on the company’s website with the web address disclosed in the newspaper publications. Also, an electronic copy of the publication shall be filed with the Exchange on the same day as the publication.

     

  • TEF hosts Macron, 2,000 entrepreneurs

    The President of the French Republic,  Emmanuel Macron, who is in Nigeria on a working visit, will today, be interacting with more than 2,000 budding entrepreneurs from Africa.

    The entrepreneurs are alumni of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme.

    The session, which is the highlight of Macron’s visit to the country, will be chaired by the UBA Chairman, and Founder TEF, Tony Elumelu, and will give African entrepreneurs a platform to closely engage with President Macron, and garner ideas from his wealth of experience as one of the youngest Heads of State in recent times.

    The historic session will also provide a platform where participants can network and forge partnerships with French and African business leaders and policymakers who will be in attendance.

    Speaking ahead of the event, Elumelu said the collaboration between the French President and TEF is a result of President Macron’s acknowledgement that African entrepreneurs remain the key to Africa’s economic transformation, and his desire to connect with and elevate the voices of future leaders.

    In Elumelu’s words: “We welcome President Macron of France to meet our entrepreneurs, over 2,000 of them from across Africa. Macron is a new kind of leader. He brings the discipline of the private sector and understands the social obligations of the state. He speaks to Africa as a strategic partner and most importantly, he is a champion of entrepreneurship.

    “It is a pleasure to introduce him to our Africa; the Africa of innovation, determination and opportunity. We share a somewhat similar background with the French President being a banker, who became a visionary, and is bringing a new mindset to politics and business,” Elumelu said.

    The event will grant the French President the opportunity to interact, one on one, with Africa’s young entrepreneurs and explore partnership possibilities. “I, alongside, President Macron, will engage with these entrepreneurs in an interactive session, where we will discuss challenges of business in the private sector and solutions to create more benefits for the success of entrepreneurship. It promises to be an inspirational session,” Elumelu added.

     

  • CBN lifts forex market with $210m injection

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (cbn) yesterday injected $210 million into the interbank foreign exchange market.

    The forex injection is in line with cbn’s desire to ensure liquidity in the foreign exchange market in order to meet customers’ requests in various segments of the market.

    CBN’s figures showed that the the apex bank offered $100 million to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment received the sum of $55 million. Customers requiring foreign exchange for invisibles such as tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others, were also allocated the sum of $55 million.

    The bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department (CCD), Isaac Okorafor, confirmed the figures and reassured the public that the bank would continue to intervene in the interbank foreign exchange market in line with its quest to sustain liquidity in the market and maintain stability.

    It will be recalled that last Friday, June 29, 2018, the CBN had intervened to the tune of $318.73 million to cater for requests in the retail segment of the forex market.

    Meanwhile, the naira continued its stability in the forex market, exchanging at an average of N360/$1 in the BDC segment of the market on Tuesday, July 3.

  • Equities continue downtrend with N124b loss

    The downtrend at the Nigerian equities market worsened yesterday as investors continued a selling spree that had seen the market opening the second half with a loss of N120 billion. Altogether, Nigerian equities have lost N244 billion in the first two trading session in the second half.

    With more than two losers for every gainer, average benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange declined by 0.9 per cent, representing a net capital depreciation of N124 billion. This further depressed the negative average year-to-date return to -1.7 per cent.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted equities dropped from its opening value of N13.746 trillion to close at N13.622 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI) also declined from its opening index of 37,946.92 points to close at 37,605.12 points.

    All sectoral indices closed in the red with the exception of the NSE Insurance Index, which rose by 0.6 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index declined by 1.5 per cent. The NSE Banking Index dropped by 1.3 per cent. The NSE Oil & Gas Index lost 1.2 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index dipped by 1.1 per cent.

    There were 30 losers against gainers. Nestle Nigeria led the losers with a drop of N65 to close at N1,510. 11 followed with a loss of N9.90 to close at N190. Lafarge Africa declined by N1.50 to close at N39.45. Dangote Cement dropped by N1.30 to close at N222.80 while Cadbury Nigeria declined by 70 kobo to close at N12.30 per share.

    On the positive side, Beta Glass led the contrarian stocks with a gain of N4.15 to close at N90.45. Unilever Nigeria followed with a gain of N2.50 to close at N55. Nigerian Breweries added 80 kobo to close at N113.90. Red Star Express chalked up 50 kobo to close at N6.50 while Custodian Investment rose by 38 kobo to close at N5.50 per share.

    Total turnover stood at 254.8 million shares valued at N2.6 billion. Multiverse was the most active stock with a turnover of 100 million shares valued at N20 million. Zenith Bank followed with a turnover of 16.5 million shares worth N403.28 million while Guaranty Trust Bank placed third with 13.01 million shares worth N515.96 million.

    “In line with our expectation, market performance was bearish today and we expect this to be sustained in subsequent sessions as investor sentiment stays soft. However, we do not rule out the possibility of some end of the week bargain hunting as investors take advantage of attractive market prices,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

    Analysts at the SCM Capital said they expected the market to remain downbeat.

     

     

  • NDIC builds capacity for Uganda DPFU

    The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) is assisting the Uganda Deposit Protection Fund (DPFU) to develop capacity for the implementation of the Deposit Insurance System (DIS) in the East African country.

    The corporation recently hosted a five-member delegation from DPFU who arrived the country to understudy the activities of the corporation.

    The NDIC has been the destination of choice for several sister agencies and Central Banks from across the African continent eager to understudy the activities of the Corporation and learn from its rich experience in Deposit Insurance – a subject on which it is recognized as a leader in Africa.

    The Ugandan team was only the latest delegation from several Africa countries to visit the Corporation for capacity building.

    The NDIC previously hosted delegations from the Reserve Bank of Malawi, Reserve Bank of Lesotho, Deposit Protection Fund Board of Kenya, Deposit Insurance Board of Tanzania, Commission Bancaire del’Afrique Centrale (COBAC) of Cameroun, Delegates from Banque Centrale Des Etats De L’ Afrique De L’ Ouest (BCEAO) in Senegal all of whom the NDIC assisted build the capacity for the implementation of the Deposit Insurance System (DIS) in their various jurisdictions.

    Others include teams from the Central Bank of The Gambia, Bank of Tanzania, the Deposit Protection Corporation of Zimbabwe, and the Ghana Deposit Protection Corporation (GDPC). In September, 2018, the NDIC will also host the African Regional Conference of the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI).

     

  • Equities open second half with N120b loss

    Nigerian equities reopened for the second half of 2018 on a negative note as market-wide portfolio rebalancing shaved off N120 billion from market values of quoted companies. Equities had started the second half of 2017 also with a similar loss of N120 billion.

    Against the background of a flat performance in the first half, equities traded mostly at discount yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with average decline of 0.9 per cent, equivalent to net capital depreciation of N120 billion within the five-hour trading session.

    The All Share Index (ASI)-the benchmark index for Nigerian equities declined from its opening index of 38,278.55 points to close at 37,946.92 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities also dropped from its opening value of N13.866 trillion to close at N13.746 trillion. Average year-to-date return stood at -0.8 per cent.

    With 21 losers to 16 gainers, most sectoral indices also closed in the red. The NSE Industrial Goods Index declined by 1.0 per cent. The NSE Banking Index dipped by 1.0 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index slipped by 0.1 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index declined by 0.1 per cent. However, the NSE Oil & Gas Index rallied by 0.8 per cent.

    “While small to mid cap stocks have enjoyed bargain hunting from short-term investors, we continue to observe bearish sentiments on bellwethers. Hence, we expect overall market performance to be bearish in subsequent sessions while emphasizing that valuations remain attractive for entry by long-term investors,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

    Dangote Cement- NSE’s most capitalised company, led the losers with a drop of N4.90 to close at N224.10. Forte Oil followed with a loss of N3.20 to close at N29.65. Nigerian Breweries declined by N1.10 to close at N113.10. Guaranty Trust Bank lost 50 kobo to close at N40 while Zenith Bank declined by 40 kobo to close at N24.60 per share.

    On the upside, 11, formerly Mobil Oil Nigeria led the gainers with a gain of N16.90 to close at N199.90. Guinness Nigeria rose by N1.30 to close at N99.05. Flour Mills of Nigeria chalked up 80 kobo to close at N32.80. Julius Berger of Nigeria added 55 kobo to close at N28.05 while C & I Leasing and Oando rose by 20 kobo each to close at N2.27 and N6.60 respectively.

    Turnover volume and value dropped by 47.9 per cent and 68.2 per cent respectively with the exchange of 244.5 million shares valued at N1.9 billion. Banking stocks dominated the top activities chart. Sterling Bank was the most active with a turnover of 100.35 million shares worth N138.5 million. FBN Holdings followed with 23.7 million shares valued at N251.11 million while Wema Bank placed third with 16.9 million shares valued at N12.4 million.

  • SEC okays ASHON as trade group

    Red Star Express Board of Directors at the weekend announced that it has recommended payment of N236 million to shareholders of the company as cash dividend for the immediate past year. The company had distributed same amount in the previous year.

    Shareholders will receive a dividend per share of 40 kobo, implying a dividend yield of 6.7 per cent on the company’s closing share price of N6. Red Star Express’ share price rose by 5.0 kobo or 0.84 per cent to N6 at the weekend.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Red Star Express for the year ended March 31, 2018 showed decline in the bottom-line. Group turnover rose from N7.3 billion in 2017 to N8.41 billion in 2018. Profit before tax, however, declined from N653.2 million in 2017 to N610.59 million in 2018. After taxes, net profit dropped from N426.76 million to N347.56 million.

    Red Star Express had secured shareholders’ approval to transit to holding company and raise additional capital. The new capital raising could be raised through debt issue, equity issue or a combination of both equity and debt.

    The Group include three subsidiaries- Red Star Freight Limited, Red Star Logistics Limited and Red Star Support Services Limited. The group principally engages in courier services, mail management services, freight services, logistics, warehousing and general haulage.

    Its Chairman, Dr Mohammed Koguna, has said the company plans to change its operating structure from group to holding company to reflect its business expansion and other emerging opportunities.

    According to him, the change to holding company is necessitated by the various initiatives the company seeks to explore and the need to have a more structured accounting system.

    “These are part of the company’s expansion plans aimed at taking full advantage of business opportunities,” Koguna said.

    Koguna, who owns the largest equity in the company, said the group has identified some growth platforms that will become full subsidiaries in the years ahead.

    “We will continue to be innovative so as to ensure the steady growth of the company, which would bring about sustained progression in terms of returns on investments. Our watchword in the management of both our human and capital resources will be to focus on cost efficiency, and concentrate on opening new horizons that will ensure we remain the market leader in our industry,” Koguna said.