The Nation Newspaper

Category: Equities

  • Berger Paints’ CEO unfolds growth plan

    Mr. Peter Folikwe, the new managing director of Berger Paints Nigeria has outlined the company’s strategic growth plan, which is aimed at enhancing shareholders’ value.

    Folikwe, who assumed office in March, said Berger Paints has modernized and upgraded its production with the acquisition of new machinery that will position the Nigerian company as one of the best paints manufacturers in Sub-Sahara Africa.

    He said recent investments in new production facilities, human resources and innovation were all aimed at enhancing the company’s earnings and shareholders’ value.

    According to him, the new production facility is designed to produce top quality and innovative products at reasonable prices, which will help the company to reduce inefficiency and increase the company’s turnover and market share.

    “Specifically, we are on the track to build the first automated paint manufacturing plant in the Sub-Sahara Africa. When completed, it will revolutionize our production and distribution processes, enhance product quality and delivery and reinforce our competitive edge,” Folikwe said.

    He assured that Berger Paints would continue to uphold the sanctity of the post listing requirements of the NSE, which place premium on full disclosure at all times, adding the management of the company is committed to creating better returns for shareholders.

    In his remarks, chief executive officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Oscar Onyema commended the board and management of Berger Paints for sustaining a long legacy of corporate excellence.

    He urged the company’s management to uphold the highest standard of corporate governance in order to be on the Exchange’s Premium Board Index for companies that excel in corporate governance.

    Folikwe spoke during a visit to the NSE, during which he also performed the ceremonial ringing of closing bell for the stock market.

    He had earlier assured shareholders of Berger Paints that the company would sustain its profitability noting that the performance of the company in the first half of 2015 indicates that the company has been waxing stronger despite the harsh operating environment for manufactures in Nigeria.

    He pointed out that the company is setting up a multi-billion Naira factory to expand its operations while working on innovative products that would not only appeal to Nigerian consumers but the entire global markets.

    Folikwe reiterated that his pre-occupation is to drive Berger Paints as a brand whose products would continue to define quality and acceptability in Nigeria.

    In a related development, Folikwe had called on the government to support the development of the Nigerian real sector by providing enabling environment for manufacturing companies to thrive.

    He said Nigerian manufacturers are contending with several obstacles, which have reduced their competitiveness and limit their growth potential.

    Folikwe urged the Federal Government to address the issues of foreign exchange rate, infrastructural deficit, multiple taxation and enforcement of enabling rules by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in order to create the much-needed enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

  • First start-up summit to promote young entrepreneurs

    The first annual conference on start-up firms is scheduled to hold in Lagos with the aim of encouraging investors, governments and mentors to support the growth of start-up firms.

    The annual conference tagged “Start-up Africa Summit” is scheduled to take place in October with the theme “Scaling Up to Critical Mass.” The summit is being organised by CITC Global Consulting, Customer Passion Point Limited (CPPL) and Zoom Runner Technologies Inc.

    Chief executive officer, Zoom Runner Technologies, Ayo Sopitan, said the event would promote the activities of aspiring entrepreneurs in Nigeria by giving them an opportunity to learn from start-up veterans while also providing a platform for budding entrepreneurs to showcase their start-ups.

    He said that the summit would also facilitate a dialogue between entrepreneurs and policy makers on how to boost entrepreneurial growth adding that the summit would help to identify, unveil and provide required funding and other resources to the next wave of promising entrepreneurs.

    “We have observed that there is a lot of attention paid to SMEs in Nigeria by the government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector. Very little is done to boost scalable entrepreneurship. We seek to draw attention to the Nigerian start-up ecosystem so that investors, aspiring entrepreneurs, policy makers will all contribute their quotas to boosting start-ups in Nigeria,” Sopitan said.

    Activities at the event will include panel discussions, keynote address, policy advisory, start-up contests and angel investment seminars. Confirmed speakers include Yemi Lalude, Tunde Kehinde, Mark Essien, York Zucchi and Neal Hansch among others. Federal and State governments will also be represented at the conference.

     

  • GTI Securities unveils new investment product

    GTI Securities Limited, a member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), has launched a new investment product that would help individual and institutional investors to grow their assets without undergoing the stress of the market risks. GTI Securities Limited is the owner of Sub-Sahara Africa’s first private trading floor.

    In a statement at the weekend, GTI Securities, a subsidiary of GTI Capital Group, stated that the new investment product, known as GTI Discretionary Portfolio Asset Management Service (D-PAMS), is designed for busy investors who do not have the time to monitor daily market activities or investors who do not have the expertise to handle stock analysis and appropriate stock picks with good fundamentals for profitability and growth.

    The firm stated that institutional and high net-worth individual investors would benefit from expert financial assets management citing its pedigree in successfully managing funds and investment portfolios of clients to achieve set objectives with optimum return in relation to clients’ risk tolerance level.

    “The D-PAMS is one of the latest initiatives of GTI Securities to help our clients and the investing public take advantage of the potentials inherent in our capital market; a portfolio manager is assigned to your portfolio for the sole purpose of value creation,” the firm stated.

    The firm assured the investing public that it would continue to improve on its bespoke services to cater for the needs of the investing public.

    According to the company, part of its value-added investment services included improved research reports, which provide daily market insights and regular business and economic news, stock analysis and recommendations and sectoral reports which give clients insights into the various sectors of the economy and assist them in making informed investment decisions.

    “We also offer free investment advisory. As a valued client, we will be willing to meet with you, at any point in time, to plan your investment portfolio across various assets classes based on your needs and in line with your investment objectives. We will also from time to time, be contacting you on your investment portfolio, to ensure proper re-alignment for improved profitability,” the firm stated.

     

  • Berger Paints’ chief urges govt to support real sector

    Managing Director,  Berger Paints Nigeria Plc, Mr Peter Folikwe has called on the government to support the development of the Nigerian real sector by providing enabling environment for manufacturing companies to thrive.

    Folikwe, who assumed the leadership position in Berger Paints in March, said Nigerian manufacturers are contending with several obstacles, which have reduced their competitiveness and limit their growth potential.

    Folikwe urged the Federal Government to address the issues of foreign exchange rate, infrastructural deficit, multiple taxation and enforcement of enabling rules by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in order to create the much-needed enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

    “The real sector is the major sector that can drive economic growth and development. But in Nigeria, the sector has consistently suffered a setback in the scheme of things. The sector is bedeviled with myriad of issues which include infrastructural deficits such as bad road, epileptic power supply, multiple taxation, Naira exchange rate volatility and the extent to which the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is actually tracking and sanctioning those who compromise standard in their product quality. All these increase production cost and force producers to pass the cost to consumers who are already struggling with weak purchasing power. Government should address these issues without further delay,” Folikwe said.

    He added that efforts should also be geared towards instituting a virile consumer advocacy framework in order to promote culture of quality products among manufacturers.

    According to him, quality products are necessary condition for competitiveness in the global market and it enhances consumers’ loyalty and higher turnover.

    He said Nigeria would compete more favourably in the global market if the country leverage on consumer advocacy approach through which consumers of products are made to know that while inferior products appear cheap, they are actually more expensive than quality products in the area of durability and utilitarian value.

    He however assured shareholders of Berger Paints that the company would sustain its profitability noting that the performance of the company in the first half of 2015 indicates that the company has been waxing stronger despite the harsh operating environment for manufactures in Nigeria.

    He pointed out that the company is setting up a multi-billion Naira factory to expand its operations while working on innovative products that would not only appeal to Nigerian consumers but the entire global markets.

    Folikwe reiterated that his pre-occupation is to drive Berger Paints as a brand whose products would continue to define quality and acceptability in Nigeria.

     

  • Afrik Pharmaceuticals seeks N300m in private placement

    Afrik Pharmaceuticals Plc plans to raise N300 million new equity funds through special placement to strategic investors.

    The healthcare company plans to issue 600 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to strategic investor at the nominal price of 50 kobo per share. Resort Securities & Trust Limited, a member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), is working with the company on the proposed placement.

    Afrik Pharmaceuticals is a healthcare company listed on the Alternative Securities Market (ASem) sector of the NSE.

    Chairman, Afrik Pharmaceuticals, Chief Emeka Onyema, had last year said that a group of investors had agreed to put Afrik Pharmaceuticals Plc back on track by increasing the net worth of the company as well as increase the wealth of its stakeholders.

    He said the company was set to achieve its potentials by increasing its production of high-value products and enhancing its marketing strategy towards increasing the company’s market share and opening  of a whole new range of medical products.

    He noted that with an installed capacity of 396,000 litres annually, the company could achieve a 300 per cent increase within the next 12 months, equivalent to 1.2 million litres of intravenous products yearly.

    He pointed out that the company specialises in the production of large volume of parenteral solutions commonly called drips packaged in non-toxic soft medical grade bags, one of the most important and basic medical products.

    According to him, the demand for made-in Nigeria infusions currently stands at over 60 million litres per annum within Nigeria and other African countries, which has put pressure on the few existing infusion producing plants to meet the demands.

    He added that the company has taken a step to bring in a group of foreign investors to facilitate engagement of well -trained staff, expand distribution channels and streamline project management and evaluation.

  • Investors scramble for penny stocks as equities gain N432b

    Investors scramble for penny stocks as equities gain N432b

    Low-priced stocks, otherwise known as penny stocks, were the toasts of investors last week at the Nigerian stock market as four-day successive rally lifted the market with N432 billion capital gains.

    After losing N1.13 trillion in July, the stock market opened August with considerable rally. Day-on-day gain between Monday and Thursday moderated the built-up negative average year-to-date return. However, the market relapsed on the last trading day on Friday as investors turned round to profit-taking.

    Penny stocks dominated the top-gainers’ list with Evans Medical leading the pack with a gain of 38.9 per cent to close at 75 kobo. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) recorded the second highest percentage gain of 29.1 per cent to close at N2.66. PZ Cussons Nigeria recorded exceptional gain of 25.26 per cent to close at N34.51, the largest gain by any high-priced stock. May & Baker Nigeria also rose by 14.5 per cent to close at N1.50 while Continental Reinsurance appreciated by 12.05 per cent to close at 93 kobo.

    In spite of the last-day relapse, all value benchmarks at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed on the upside. The All Share Index (ASI), the composite index that tracks prices of all quoted equities, closed weekend at 31,441.71 points as against the week’s opening index of 30,180.27 points, representing a gain of 4.18 per cent.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted companies also followed the same uptrend to close at N10.776 trillion; representing an increase of N432 billion on its week’s opening value of N10.344 trillion. The gain last week moderated the negative average year-to-date return to -9.28 per cent. There were 37 gainers against 29 losers during the week while 124 stocks were flat.

    Total turnover increased to 2.38 billion shares worth N18.99 billion in 19,769 deals last week as against a total of 1.37 billion shares valued at N17.95 billion traded in 17,391 deals in the previous week. Financial services sector remained the dominant sector with a turnover of 1.996 billion shares valued at N13.195 billion in 11,232 deals; representing 83.79 per cent and 69.49 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. Conglomerates sector occupied a distant second position on the activity chart with a turnover of 106.53 million shares worth N425.53 million in 1,150 deals. The third place was occupied by natural resources sector, which recorded turnover of 100.021 million shares worth N50.103 million in 16 deals.

    The trio of Continental Reinsurance Plc; Zenith International Bank Plc, and Axamansard Insurance Plc were the most active stsocks, accounting for a total of 1.03 billion shares worth N5.21 billion in 2,339 deals, about 43.4 per cent and 27.4 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

    Also traded during the week were a total of 6,639 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N999,551, which were traded in 22 deals. In the previous week, a total of 26,580 units of ETPs valued at N1.719 million were traded in 24 deals. Investors also bought 14,473 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N15.576 million through six deals.

     

  • Investors’ Protection Fund to pay N42.2m compensation to 158 investors

    The Investors’ Protection Fund (IPF) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is set to pay about N42.23 million as compensation to 158 investors that had suffered pecuniary losses from infractions by stockbroking firms.

    The IPF is a statutory fund established pursuant to Part XIV, Section 197 of the Investment and Securities Act 2007 (ISA) to compensate investors who suffer pecuniary loss arising from the revocation or cancellation of the registration of a dealing member firm by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), insolvency and bankruptcy or negligence of a dealing member firm of the Exchange.

    The IPF also compensates for defalcation committed by a dealing member firm or any of its directors, officers, employees or representatives in relation to securities, money or any property entrusted to, or received or deemed received by the dealing member firm in the course of its business as a dealing member firm.

    The board of the IPF yesterday stated that a total of 158 claimants for pecuniary losses suffered by them as a result of wrong doing by certain dealing member firms of the Exchange.

    According to the IPF, the 158 claimants due to be compensated are investors whose claims were verified by the Exchange, approved by the board of trustees of the IPF, and whose identities were verified by an identity verification consultant engaged by the IPF.

    The 158 investors would shares N42.23 million, with the maximum compensation capped at N400,000 in line with the approved rules of the IPF.

    “These 158 investors are being compensated for defalcation committed by 29 dealing member firms of the Exchange who are either inactive or have been expelled as members of the Exchange,” the IPF stated.

    The claimants had been screened and found to be eligible for compensation in accordance with the relevant provisions of the ISA and the IPF rules. The IPF will advise all 158 claimants about the processes to receive their compensation payments.

    Vice chairperson, board of trustees, Investors’ Protection Fund (IPF), Mr. Fubara Anga, said the fund had gone through a long, rigorous and transparent process and had worked in line with global best practices in reaching decisions on various issues regarding the IPF.

    “First of all, we put in place an appropriate corporate governance structure for the Fund; we adopted Rules for the IPF and then following transparent and auditable selection processes, we appointed auditors as well as identity verification consultants. We then commenced the process of identifying claimants and verifying their claims. We must thank the claimants for their patience,” Anga explained.

    Chief executive officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema, who is also a trustee of the IPF, described the maiden payment as a milestone pointing out that the payment affirmed commitment to the continuous development of initiatives that will bolster confidence in the capital market.

  • Diamond Bank grosses N103b in six months

    Diamond Bank Plc grew its top-line by N6.2 billion in the first half to N103 billion as the commercial bank continued to broaden its retail and corporate banking businesses.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts for the six-month ended June 30, 2015 released at the weekend showed that gross earnings rose by six per cent to N103 billion by June 2015 compared with N96.8 billion recorded in comparable period of 2014.

    Commenting on the first-half performance, chief executive officer, Diamond Bank Plc, Mr. Uzoma Dozie, said that the bank’s continued success in spite of regulatory headwinds underlined management’s strategies that promote sustainable growth and profitability in the long term.

    “Our innovative, customer friendly services, and retail banking strategy are showing positive results and will enable us to sustain low cost of funds. In the quarters ahead, we will focus on driving non-interest income, as we continue to explore opportunities to grow our market share responsibly. We shall expand customer relationships, enhanced by our elaborate channels and excellent service delivery,” Dozie said.

    However, further review indicated contraction in the bottom-line, but the bank’s capital adequacy ratio rose to 18.6 per cent, substantially higher than Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s minimum level. Profit before tax had declined from N16.07 billion to N14.19 billion while profit after tax slipped from N13.79 billion to N12.15 billion.

    Dozie said the group continues to deploy new technologies and digital applications to drive financial inclusion and convenient banking amidst a decline in the pace of economic activities and weak economic fundamentals.

    He noted that although loans to customers increased by N2.6 billion, customer deposits, however, declined from N1.5 trillion to N1.4 trillion, reflecting the impact of the bank’s deliberate decision to improve the efficiency of its funding structure, and effect of implementation of Treasury Single Account (TSA) by the Federal Government and the CBN.

    He outlined that the bank’s focus remains on retail banking and providing convenient and easy banking to the micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSME) segment adding that it has also continued to grow its corporate and mid-tier business segments.

    “The concept of value chain management helps us to provide end-to-end solution to the distributors of our corporate clients and ultimately improve value for both us and the customers,” Dozie said.

  • Nigeria CFO Awards honours finance experts

    Nigeria CFO Awards honours finance experts

    The maiden edition of the Nigeria CFO Awards would highlight the immense contribution of chief financial officers to corporate and national development as part of efforts to further encourage corporate accountability and responsibility.

    Speaking on the awards scheduled for next September, Chief Executive Officer and Publisher, InstinctBusiness, Mr. Akin Naphtal, said the Nigeria CFO Awards was borne out of the need to recognise the achievements of financial executives who have been outstanding in their profession and have contributed in no small measure to the growth of their organisations and the economy at large.

    According to him, the award will honour top financial executives whose outstanding leadership practices have raised the standards of accountability within the profession, showcased brilliancy in managing their organisations wealth and supported the economic growth of the nation.

    “The awards will also provide a platform for top CFOs, heads of finance, high-level executive, analysts, academics and pundits in the business and financial sector to participate in conversations that will highlight shortfalls in the sector and shape future policy decisions,” Naphtal said.

    He noted that aside from celebrating the achievements of financial leaders, the occasion will also serve as an avenue for networking among chief financial officers and finance executives at the highest levels, which will be beneficial to all parties.

    InstinctBusiness, a business and financial magazine, has a wide reach that cuts across Africa and extends to the United Kingdom.  It is behind the highly successful MarketingWorld Awards, Ghana Telecoms Awards & West Africa Telecom Summit and a host of other industry events which have attracted industry movers from around the globe.

  • Equities recover with 0.14% weekly gain

    Nigerian equities posted their first week-on-week gain this second half last week as gains by highly capitalised stocks helped the market to a weekly average gain of 0.14 per cent within the four-day trading session.

    The All Share Index (ASI), the common value-based index that tracks prices of all quoted companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), closed the week at 31,091.69 points as against its week’s opening index of 31,047.99 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted companies rose from its week’s opening value of N10.628 trillion to close at N10.657 trillion. The average year-to-date return moderated to -10.29 per cent. There were 28 gainers against 44 losers during the week while 118 stocks remained flat.

    Total turnover stood at 1.73 billion shares worth N23.39 billion in 15,043 deals last week as against a total of 1.19 billion shares valued at N20.26 billion that were traded in 14,349 deals in the previous week. Financial services sector remained the most active with 1.34 billion shares valued at N17.98 billion in 7,612 deals; representing 77.8 per cent and 76.88 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The healthcare sector followed with a turnover of 184.01 million shares worth N109.61 million in 358 deals. The conglomerates sector accounted for 71.32 million shares worth N276.503 million in 937 deals.

    The trio of Zenith International Bank Plc, Union Diagnostic & Clinical Services Plc and United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc were the most active stocks, jointly accounting for 1.03 billion shares worth N14.01 billion in 1,467 deals, representing 60 per cent and 59.89 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

    Also, a total of 1,703 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N540,319 were traded in 15 deals compared with a total of 35,774 units valued at N1.055 million traded in 14 deals in the previous week.

    On the debt market, a total of 1000 units of Federal Government bonds valued at N1.08 million were traded in a deal compared with total 505 units valued at N514, 265 traded in a deal in the previous week.