The Nation Newspaper

Category: Equities

  • Jaiz Bank grows profit by 312.3% in first half

    Jaiz Bank Plc recorded a well-rounded performance in the first half  with significant growths in income and profitability.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Jaiz Bank for the six-month period ended June 30, 2017 showed that gross income grew by 45.7 per cent while profit rose by 312 per cent.

    Gross income rose to N3.08 billion in first half 2017 as against N2.11 billion recorded in comparable period of first half 2016. Profit jumped from N114.04 million in first half 2016 to N470.19 million in first half 2017. Jaiz Bank, as a pioneer, is still under a tax waiver for pioneer.

    The bank’s gross income from Islamic financing had grown by 26.7 per cent to N3.25 billion in first half 2017 as against N2.563 billion in first half 2016. The bank’s share as a Mudarib or equity investor also grew by 33.7 per cent from N1.99 billion to N2.66 billion. The report showed that the bank grew its total assets to N80.662 billion in the half year of 2017 compared to N65.230 billion in the corresponding period of 2016. The bank’s shareholders’ fund also increased from N11.302 billion in the first half of 2016 to N15.248 billion in the first half of 2017.

    Managing Director, Jaiz Bank Plc, Hassan Usman attributed the impressive performance in the first half to the support from the board, management and staff of the bank and the commitment to the business model which is hinged on a better life for all stakeholders.

    “The results attained so far are already proofs that we are doing better than 2016. This year will define how we move forward; we are in the process of creating a five-year plan that will further define our identity in the Nigerian banking space. We have ambitious ideas about what we would like to be, and the board and the shareholders are committed to ensuring we become a formidable player in the market,” Usman said.

    He said the bank would in the second half focus on opening more branches in different parts of the country and fostering its strategy of providing retail banking to a large segment of the society who are desirous of its products and services.

    “We are focused on building on our culture of ethics and taking the necessary decisions to align our perspective with client expectations,” Usman said.

  • New major investor acquires 4.4% stake in Livestock Feeds

    A new major investor acquired 4.4 per cent equity stake in Livestock Feeds Plc in pre-arranged deals valued at about N133 million.

    The transactions saw exchange of 132.96 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each of Livestock Feeds at above-market price of N1 per share. The transactions represent 4.4 per cent of the total issued shares of Livestock Feeds.

    The above-the-market price of the pre-arranged deals also appeared to impact positively on the market price of Livestock Feeds, which rose by 4.94 per cent to close at 85 kobo per share.

    The deals were done through the off-market, negotiated cross deals window of the Exchange and as such was not subjected to the dynamics of price discovery for the particular period. Off-market trade implied that the deal was sealed outside the floor of the NSE.

    The negotiated cross deal platform of the Exchange is a special-purpose trading platform that is meant for voluminous transaction. By the cross deal, it implies that the buyer and the seller had been prearranged and the transfer at the stock market was a mere perfection of the agreement between the two. The negotiated cross deal allows the parties to the deal to close the deal at reduced cost.

    While the details of the new major investor are still unknown, market analysts said UAC of Nigeria might be selling stake to special investor with technical capability.

    Livestock Feeds recently launched a bid to raise about N750 million new equity funds from existing shareholders through a rights issue of 1.0 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at a price of 75 kobo per share. The rights issue was pre-allotted on the basis of one new ordinary share for two ordinary shares already held by the shareholder.

  • Ecobank extends rapid transfer services to customers

    Ecobank extends rapid transfer services to customers

    Ecobank has extended the capabilities of its Rapid Transfer product enabling all bank account holders in Nigeria receive money via the Rapid Transfer instantly from 33 African countries where Ecobank operates.

    With this development, a bank account holder in any bank in  Nigeria, who is privileged to receive transfer of funds from within Africa can now benefit from the Ecobank Rapid Transfer product. Rapid Transfer is an Ecobank proprietary send and receive money transfer product available in all Ecobank location across Africa. This unique product facilitates easy transfer and access to funds across Nigeria and in all countries where Ecobank is present.

    Announcing this new development in Lagos, Head Remittance, Consumer Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Esther Obot, said this is a strategic initiative that expands the reach of the product and allows non customers of Ecobank access the enormous benefits offered by this product. According to her, this is a more convenient way we believe bank customers in Nigeria can be served better.

    She explained that the Rapid Transfer service was conceived by Ecobank out of the need to provide convenient, accessible, and reliable money transfer service for its retail and wholesale customers and non-customers alike. The uniqueness of this product is its swiftness in delivery and accessibility as transactions are consummated instantly at the receiving end. “No matter the bank you have your account, you can receive money through Rapid Transfer” she reiterated.

  • Adeboye’s wife seeks excellence in mortgage banking

    Life of Church Christian Church of God (RCCG) General Overseer Worldwide Pastor (Mrs) Folu Adeboye has urged mortgage bankers to promote the virtues of excellence and honesty in banking.

    She spoke at the opening of the head office of Jubilee-Life Mortgage Bank (JLMB), owned by the church in Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Mrs. Adeboye, who represented her husband Pastor Enoch Adeboye, recalled that in the 1990s, some mortgage banks after collecting customers’ money collapsed, thereby causing them tears, woes and untimely deaths. She warned the management of the bank to be above board in their customer relations.

    She said: ‘’You don’t need to break the hearts of people after collecting their money and send them to their early graves because you did not pay back.’’ She charged the staff to be unique in service delivery and carry out their responsibilities diligently.

    Chairman of the bank Elder Felix Ohiwerei described the event as glorious, adding that it was the first time that the 14-year-old bank would have its own offices, having been on rented apartments. ‘’In the past, people found it difficult to reach us. Now, we are in a spacious place where you can do so,’’ Ohiwerei said. He thanked customers for their support, and urged them to continue to bank with the lender.

    Its Managing Director, Aderemi Olatunbode said the lender was licensed in 2003 and commenced business the following year. From a shareholders’ capital fund of N200 million and a branch, it has grown to N5 billion with six branches. In response to those who accuse the bank of being unknown.

  • Equities on the balance as investors await half-year results

    Nigerian equities traded on the balance yesterday as investors weighed the prospects of corporate earnings in the light of current valuations. With 24 gainers and losers each, the overall market situation showed cautious optimism as investors realigned their portfolios.

    Gains recorded by large-cap stocks however sustained the positive market performance for the 10th consecutive trading session. Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed average day-on-day gain of 0.23 per cent, equivalent to net capital gain of N27 billion.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted equities rose from its opening value of N11.524 trillion to close at N11.551 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the main price index for the market, trended upward from 33,436.61 points to close at 33,514.93 points. With this, average year-to-date return rose to 24.71 per cent.

    Sectoral indices underlined the tight market situation between the profit-takers and bargain-hunters. Two sectoral indices declined, two other indices appreciated while one index was flat. The NSE Oil & Gas Index appreciated by 1.4 per cent while the NSE Banking Index rose by 1.1 per cent. However, the NSE Insurance Index and NSE Industrial Goods Index declined by 0.5 per cent each while the NSE Consumer Goods Index closed flat.

    Seplat Petroleum Development Company led the gainers with a gain of N9.98 to close at N485. Guinness Nigeria rose by N3.10 to close at N66.10. Okomu Oil Palm added N1.50 to close at N64.50. PZ Cussons Nigeria appreciated by N1.05 to close at N22.05 while Stanbic IBTC Holdings rose by 99 kobo to close at N32.49 per share.

    On the downside, Nestle Nigeria led the losers with a loss of N16.50 to close at N903.50. Presco declined by N3.22 to close at N61.32. Dangote Cement lost N2 to close at N208. MRS Oil and Gas dropped by N1.86 to close at N35.44 while Flour Mills of Nigeria declined by N1.10 to close at N25.15 per share.

    Total turnover stood at 331.43 million shares valued at N3.24 billion in 4,055 deals. The three most active stocks were Zenith Bank, with 33.11 million shares; United Bank for Africa (UBA), 28.24 million shares and FBN Holdings, which recorded a turnover of 26.55 million shares.

    “As half year corporate scorecards begin to trickle in, we expect market performance to remain largely bullish – driven by positive earnings expectation,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

  • FMDQ lists infrastructure fund

    FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange on Monday listed the Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NDIF), a mutual fund promoted by the Chapel Hill Denham Management Limited. Chapel Hill had established a N200 billion issuance programme for the NIDF and subsequently issued the first series under the programme- Series I 49.450 million units at N101.20 each.

    The fund, reputed as the first-ever listed infrastructure debt fund in Sub-Saharan Africa, is a close-ended fund and has its investment focus on the traditional infrastructure sectors including transport, power, renewable energy, utilities, energy infrastructure, logistics and other public-private-partnership investments.

    The fund aims at enabling investors to have access to infrastructure as an asset class, while providing the benefit of predictable returns available from long-dated infrastructure debt investments.

    Chief Executive Officer, Chapel Hill Denham Group, Mr. Bolaji Balogun said infrastructure funding has been a major investment theme in the firm over the last decade.

    “We are very proud of this pioneering role and NIDF is a natural fit with our commitment to developing Nigeria and Africa’s productive infrastructure,” Balogun said.

    He commended the progressive regulatory environment, which enabled NIDF to be conceptualized as a reaffirmation of the forward-thinking approach of National Pension Commission (PenCom), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and FMDQ.

    Balogun, who doubles as chief investment officer of the NIDF pointed out that infrastructure debt provides a uniquely attractive combination of long term, stable, predictable income and a yield higher than that available from government bonds.

    Managing Director, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, Mr. Bola Onadele called on governments in Nigeria to unlock the potentials of the Nigerian economy by facilitating private sector funding for infrastructure.

    According to him, there is need for government reforms and regulation to position key sectors to be commercially viable to galvanise huge capital to infrastructure.

    He added that the FMDQ was working in collaboration with other key stakeholders to facilitate the development of a sustainable finance strategy for the country.

  • Equities open with marginal gain

    Nigerian equities reopened yesterday to profit-taking transactions but the gains by some highly capitalised stocks counterbalanced the selloffs and pushed the overall market position to a marginal gain of N13 billion. After six consecutive positive trading sessions, investors turned round to monetise capital gains and lock in profits yesterday.

    With 26 losers to 23 gainers, the positive overall market position was boosted by gains recorded by blue chips in fast moving consumer goods and industrial goods sectors. Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated average gain of 0.12 per cent or N13 billion. Average year-to-date return inched up to 23.91 per cent.

    Most sectoral indices closed negative yesterday, underlining the widespread selloffs that were orchestrated by the profit-taking sentiment. The NSE Insurance Index dropped by 0.6 per cent. The NSE Banking Index and NSE Oil & Gas Index declined by 0.5 per cent each. On the upside, the NSE Consumer Goods Index rose by 1.3 per cent while the NSE Industrial Goods Index inched up by 0.03 per cent.

    The positive overall market position was driven mainly by gains recorded by Nigerian Breweries, Forte Oil, Dangote Cement, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Unilever Nigeria, Seven-Up Bottling Company and Nestle Nigeria. Seven-Up Bottling Company led the gainers with a gain of N5.72 to close at N94.95. Forte Oil followed with a gain of N4.33 to close at N60.50. Unilever Nigeria rose by N3.38 to close at N36.38. Nigerian Breweries rallied N3.36 to close at N157.38. Flour Mills of Nigeria rose by N1.25 to close at N26.25. Nestle Nigeria garnered 95 kobo to close at N904. Okomu Oil Palm rose by 86 kobo to close at N60.38. Dangote Cement added 20 kobo to close at N209.20 while Champion Breweries chalked up 15 kobo to close at N2.65 per share.

    Turnover was above average with the exchange of 322.81 million shares valued at N2.73 billion in 3,830 deals. Niger Insurance was the most active stock with 150.05 million shares valued at N72.03 million. FBN Holdings followed with 35.97 million shares worth N213.76 million while FCMB Group placed third with 14.85 million shares valued at N17.95.

    On the downside, International Breweries led the losers with a loss of N1.46 to close at N30. PZ Cussons Nigeria dropped by 85 kobo to close at N20.65. Oando lost 72 kobo to close at N6.83. Nascon Allied Industries declined by 47 kobo to close at N9.03. Dangote Sugar Refinery dipped by 34 kobo to close at N8.66 while United Bank for Africa dropped by 20 kobo to close at N8.80 per share.

    “Whilst the decline in market breadth is suggestive of waning sentiment towards equities, we expect performance to remain bullish in the short to medium term as expectations of half-year 2017 corporate earnings – a major driver of performance at this time – remain positive,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

  • High-cap stocks lift equities to N92b gain

    Nigerian equities continued their rally yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as investors appeared to be reallocating more funds to large-cap stocks ahead of the release of first half earnings reports of most blue chip companies.

    Key benchmark indices at the stock market showed improved positive pricing trend with average day-on-day gain of 0.80 per cent, equivalent to net capital gain of N92 billion. With this, the average year-to-date return climbed to 23.71 per cent.

    With 33 gainers to 19 losers, the positive market situation was buoyed by widespread positive sentiment as well as considerable rally within the highly influential large-cap stocks. Leading oil and gas fast moving consumer goods companies, cement companies and banks headlined the positive market situation.

    The All Share Index (ASI)-the main price index for the Nigerian stock market, scaled another level to 33,246.91 points from its opening index of 32,981.63 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities rose correspondingly from its opening value of N11.367 trillion to close at N11.459 trillion.

    All sectoral indices closed positive with the exception of the NSE Consumer Goods Index, which slipped by 0.01 per cent. With three oil and gas stocks atop the gainers’ list, the NSE Oil & Gas Index recorded the highest sectoral gain with a gain of 2.8 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index followed with 2.0 per cent. The NSE Banking Index appreciated by 0.8 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index inched up by 0.2 per cent.

    Oil and gas stocks dominated the top gainers’ list. Mobil Oil Nigeria led the gainers with a gain of N22.45 to close at N259. Seplat Petroleum Development Company rose by N5 to close at N475. Forte Oil placed third with a gain of N3.50 to close at N53.50. Guinness Nigeria rallied N3 to close at N63. Lafarge Africa rose by N2.01 to close at N52. Dangote Cement, the most capitalised quoted company, appreciated by N1.85 to close at N208.11. International Breweries garnered N1.49 to close at N31.46. Stanbic IBTC Holdings rose by N1.04 to close at N31.30. Nestle Nigeria gathered 75 kobo to close at N903.05 while Guaranty Trust Bank, the most capitalised banking stock, chalked up 70 kobo to close at N36.90 per share.

    Investors also upped stakes on equities as turnover volume and value rose by 6.65 per cent and 37.2 per cent respectively. Investors swapped 288.85 million shares valued at N3.82 billion in 3,631 deals. United Bank for Africa was the most active stock with 114.47 million shares valued at N1.03 billion. Guaranty Trust Bank ranked second with 23.92 million shares worth N871.51 million while Niger Insurance placed third with 18 million shares worth N9 million.

    On the negative side, Nigerian Breweries led the losers with a loss of N1.47 to close at N153.70. UAC of Nigeria followed with a drop of 42 kobo to close at N16.58. NCR Nigeria declined by 38 kobo to close at N7.33. Champion Breweries lost 18 kobo to close at N2.39. BOC Gases declined by 16 kobo to close at N3.14 while Access Bank lost 15 kobo to close at N9.80 per share.

    Analysts attributed the continuing uptrend to portfolio rebalancing ahead of the release of the first half results off quoted companies. Not less than seven companies including Dangote Cement, Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank and Forte Oil have indicated that they could release their results by the month-end.

  • Stock Exchange suspends trading on 17 companies

    Stock Exchange suspends trading on 17 companies

    the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has suspended trading on the shares of 17 companies following the failure of the companies to adhere to best corporate governance and extant post-listing requirements.

    The suspended companies included African Alliance Insurance, Equity Assurance,  Fortis Microfinance Bank, Guinea Insurance, Premier Paints, Resort Savings & Loans, Sovereign Trust Insurance, African Paints (Nigeria), Aso Savings & Loans, Ekocorp, Evans Medical, Goldlink Insurance, Great Nigeria Insurance, Omatek Ventures, Union Dicon Salt, Union Homes Savings & Loans and Universal Insurance Company.

    A circular 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.

    Most quoted companies including all banks, major manufacturers, oil and gas companies, breweries and cement companies use the 12-month Gregorian calendar year as their business year.  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 its 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.

  • Global rating agencies rate Dangote Cement high

    Global rating agencies rate Dangote Cement high

    Two global rating agencies-Moody’s Investors Service and Global Credit Ratings (GCR), have rated Dangote Cement high for its financial strength and corporate outlook. In Rating reports published yesterday, both global rating agencies described the outlook of the Africa’s largest cement producer as stable.

    Moody’s assigned three respective high ratings to the cement company including a first time Ba3 Local Currency Corporate Family Rating (CFR), Ba3-PD Probability of Default Rating and Aaa.ng National Scale Rating (NSR).

    Global Credit Ratings assigned long-term and short-term national scale issuer ratings of AA+ (NG) and A1+ (NG) respectively to Dangote Cement.

    Dangote Cement’s share price rose by N1.93 per share to close at N203.94 as the news filtered to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    Assistant Vice President and Lead Analyst for Dangote Cement at Moody’s, Douglas Rowlings, said the ratings reflect Dangote Cement’s “strong standalone credit profile and track record of demonstrated financial support from a larger and more diversified parent Dangote Industries Limited”.

    Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Cement Plc, Onne van der Weijde noted that the ratings highlight the financial strength the company had achieved through unwavering focus on the profitable expansion of its business.