Category: Equities

Wema Bank Plc has enlightened small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on financing opportunities and how to navigate corporate challenges.

At a webinar themed ‘Unbundling Tax, Legal and Compliance – Issues for SMEs’ organised by Wema Bank, experts spoke variously on how SMEs could upscale their businesses and Wema Bank’s products and services they can use to drive their businesses.

The webinar, one of the avenues the bank is using to deepen financial literacy and business optimisation across its stockholder universe, featured Head, Legal Services, Wema Bank, Hilary Ajodo; Fiscal Policy Partner & Africa Tax Leader, Pricewater Coopers (PwC), Taiwo Oyedele; Head, Online Sales & Digital Platforms, Business Day, Linda Ochugbua and Head, Corporate Strategy & Planning, Wema Bank, Olufemi Akinfolarin.

Speaking on ‘Legal Challenges Faced by SMEs’, Ajodo said business education and registration was essential for any serious-minded entrepreneur to avoid floundering.

He said to thrive, “one of the first steps an entrepreneur who intends to run a business should take is to gain adequate knowledge of the business and decide on the nature of corporate entry to register.”

Ajodo said entrepreneurs must endeavour to start small by registering their businesses as an enterprise before migrating to a Limited Liability Company and finding ways of minimising expenses to maximise profit.

He advised SMEs owners not to venture into businesses they are not sure of, sign any contract without adequate information, and avoid litigation as the first step in a dispute, but explore alternative settlement means.

Ajodo added that they should get insurance for their business assets, adequately prepare for unforeseen trends by diversifying their business stream of income and being prepared for government policies that may affect any business.

Wema Bank’s Head of Legal Services further advised them to obtain loans only from legitimate sources, ensure they have a clearly stated business plan for profit maximisation, and join like-minded business associations.

He urged SMEs to avoid capital mismatch and approach Wema Bank as the best option to access business capital facility.

Also speaking, Taiwo Oyedele of PWC highlighted the significance of sustainable evolution of businesses and regulatory dynamic for success.

“As an entrepreneur, you must think about how you grow your brand beyond you by keeping your eyes open for opportunities,” Oyedele said.

He further urged SMEs to ensure they acquire financial literacy and composite business intelligence as this will enhance understanding of tax obligations, regulatory compliance and contractual processes of businesses.

Oyedele stressed the need for documentation and record-keeping of business transactions, advising business owners to always keep receipts and other confirmation of business relationships as evidence, and copy requisite institutions in case of litigation.

 

By Taofik Salako, Deputy Group Business Editor

 

Fidson Healthcare Plc has listed its debut commercial paper (CP) on the FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, providing investors with opportunity to trade on their holdings.

Fidson Healthare listed its N4.50 billion Series 1 Commercial Paper, which was issued under the company’s N10 billion commercial paper issuance programme.

Chief Financial Officer, Fidson Healthcare, Mr. Imokha Ayebae, said the debut CP issuance would allow Fidson Healthcare to broaden its sources of funding and lower its overall cost of borrowing.

He added that the issuance would also strengthen the company’s commitment to the vision of building sustainable brands that will foster expansion and growth plans in the pharmaceutical industry across West Africa.

“We acknowledge the support of the investor community in ensuring the success of the CP issuance. We will continue to assure their confidence in us as we deliver on our objectives of innovation and development within the Nigerian healthcare space,” Ayebae said.

According to him, Fidson Healthcare is a leading pharmaceutical manufacturing company that is engaged in manufacturing and sale of pharmaceutical and healthcare products in Nigeria.

“With more than 35 registered pharmaceutical products, across different therapeutic areas, in the pharmaceutical industry, the proceeds from this issuance will be used by Fidson Healthcare to finance its short-term working capital requirements,” Ayebae said.

Head, Investment Banking, FSDH Capital Limited – sponsor of the CP on the Exchange and Registration Member of FMDQ Exchange – Mr. Taiwo Olatunji, said FSDH Capital Limited was hand-picked by Fidson Healthcare to act as sponsor and lead arranger on the company’s debut CP issuance.

“We believe that the CP Issuance has provided the company with access to a wider pool of well-informed investors, increased liquidity and increased visibility within the Nigerian debt capital market,” Olatunji said.

FMDQ Exchange assured that it would continue to lead the revolution in the development of the Nigerian debt capital market by providing credible market structures to corporate and commercial businesses with the opportunities to meet their short-term funding requirements, whilst building their profiles.

“FMDQ Exchange remains positive about the possibilities of the Nigerian debt capital market and will continue to implement, with the support of its stakeholders, initiatives to improve and make the Nigerian debt capital market globally competitive, operationally excellent, liquid and diverse, in line with its GOLD Agenda,” FMDQ stated.

FMDQ Group is a vertically integrated financial market infrastructure (FMI) group – with its wholly owned exchange, central counterparty and depository – is a one-stop platform for the seamless and cost-efficient execution, risk management, clearing, settlement and depository services, as well as data and information services across the debt capital, foreign exchange and derivatives markets in Nigeria.

By Collins Nweze

The European Union (EU) has pledged the commitment of EU countries and their business concerns in Nigeria to redouble efforts and collaborate more with the government and Nigerian companies with a view to enhancing the growth and development of Nigeria.

Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ambassador Ketil Karlsen, said EU would work with their Nigerian counterparts and the government as trusted partners to redouble efforts to bring about enhanced developmental strides.

He gave the assurance during the celebration of European Day by the European Business Chamber (EuroCham) Nigeria.

“The European Union is a trusted partner not only in Nigeria but across the African continent and they are committed to engage to end security threats across Nigeria and the regions to consolidate democracy gains,” Karlsen said.

He noted that the EU as the largest trading partner with Nigeria is committed to promoting environmental and security conditions.

Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo commended EuroCham Nigeria for maintaining cordial relationships with Nigerian businesses and reiterated the commitment of the federal government to invest in initiatives that will promote and foster social investment.

He specifically thanked the European Union for supporting the emergence of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the Director General of the World Trade Organisation.

Chairman, Anap Business Jets Limited, Mr. Atedo Peterside in his keynote address titled: The Potential for Business Partnerships: What are the “Low Hanging Fruit” Opportunities? called for a level playing field to avoid the continued prevalence of multiple exchange rates that have deterred foreign direct and portfolio investments as well as genuine Nigerian investors who do not have the “clout” to access cheaper foreign exchange (forex).

“It is becoming increasingly difficult and impossible to justify making a major investment in Nigeria as the investor is forced to compete with a few persons whose cost profile is lower on account of their privileged access to cheaper forex,” Peterside.

He called on the investing public to embrace and apply Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors as part of their investment analysis to identify material risks and the odd genuine growth opportunities as some of the socio-economic problems are man-made and can disappear as quickly as they appeared.

President of EuroCham Nigeria, Mr. Adefolu Majekodunmi, who unveiled the new brand identity from European Business Oganisation (EBO) to European Business Chamber (EuroCham) Nigeria, stressed the need for concerted efforts to expand business opportunities between the EU and Nigeria.

He noted the need to reflect on the heritage of the European Union as well as to further establish the profile of the organization as a credible resource platform for healthy collaboration between European and Nigeria key business stakeholders.

“The EuroCham Nigeria identity will put the organisation at a vantage position in nurturing the existing healthy business collaborations under his leadership to ensure that the organization provides a constant link between the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS and the European business community in Nigeria as well as to help local investors to have access to the global market opportunities,” Majekodunmi said.

EuroCham Nigeria, hitherto known as EBO Nigeria, was founded by 18 European companies in October 2018 at the 7th EU-Nigeria Business. It is a member of the EBO Worldwide Network representing European business interests in markets outside the European Union that seeks to further promote trade, investments and exchanges with European business, as well as advocating European quality standards, best practices and corporate social responsibility and opening access to an active network channel in over 45 key markets that serves European multinationals.

 

 

By Collins Nweze

The Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc is optimistic of improved returns to shareholders as the ongoing diversification of its businesses and investments in human resources are expected to drive sustainable growth in the years ahead.

Its Managing Director, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri, who spoke at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), said CSCS has laid a solid foundation that should provide a viable base for improved performance in the years ahead.

According to him, while the years ahead look challenging, they look more promising than ever, as the company reinforces its commitment to leveraging best-in-class technologies and continuous investments in human capital in delivering value to  stakeholders.

“Having laid a solid foundation over the past three years, we are more than ever optimistic on the prospect of our business, especially as we diversify the business for enhanced resilience against macro and market volatilities,” Jalo-Waziri said.

He noted that the impressive performance of the company in 2020 reflected its enhanced collaboration with various stakeholders and their unflinching support and loyalty to CSCS, as the core infrastructure for the capital market.

He said the company would continue to invest in the collective objective of deepening the capital market and broader financial system, even as it seeks new and efficient ways of enhancing its partnerships for mutual prosperity.

At the meeting, shareholders approved N1.17 dividend per share for the 2020 business year, representing a total dividend of N5.85 billion, some 36 per cent growth in return to shareholders, when compared to the N4.3 billion dividend or 86 kobo per share paid for the 2019 business year.

Chairman, CSCS, Mr. Oscar Onyema  explained that despite the challenges last year, the company emerged stronger, delivering outstanding growth in top and bottom-lines, and executing far-reaching initiatives that would sustainably strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of the business.

According to him, growing profit by over 41 per cent in such a challenging year to deliver 20.3 per cent return on average equity, the board of directors is more than ever upbeat on the value accretive prospects of CSCS.

“More importantly, we are enthusiastic on the progress made thus far in repositioning the business to efficiently play a more active and leading role in deepening the  capital market. With continuous investments in new technologies, talent, and work environment, we expect productivity to grow, as the board continues to work with the management to exceed stakeholders’ expectations,” Onyema said.

Shareholders, most of who participated through proxies due to the COVID-19 precautions, were excited at the performance of the company and unanimously approved the dividend proposal of N1.17 per share, as presented by the Chairman, on behalf of the Board of Directors.

Mr. Eric Idiahi, one of the proxy attendees at the AGM and Managing Director, Verod Capital LLC, a core shareholder of CSCS Plc, lauded the management for the performance in such a challenging year and reiterated the support of shareholders for the company, especially as the diversification of the business and culture of innovation should enhance the sustainability of the business and ensure its capacity to deliver superior returns to shareholders over the long term.

Commenting on the conduct of the meeting, Mr. Obong Idiong, the Chief Executive Officer of Africa Prudential Plc, the Registrar to CSCS said, it was  a well conducted general meeting, with due observance of all relevant statutory requirements, including COVID-19 precautions.

“I congratulate the Board and shareholders of CSCS on the impressive performance during the 2020 financial year and more importantly for a successful General Meeting,” Idiong said.

CSCS afforded shareholders who nominated proxies for physical attendance to observe proceedings of the general meeting via Zoom and YouTube, as the event was streamed live throughout the session. CSCS has a diversified shareholder base, including the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, some of the largest Nigerian banks, private equity firms, other institutional investors and retail investors. Its shares are traded over-the-counter through the NASD-OTC, the premier market for trading unquoted securities of public limited companies.

 

 

By Taofik Salako, Deputy Group Business Editor

Chairman, Dangote Sugar Refinery (DSR) Plc, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, yesterday urged government to faithfully implement the national backward integration policy in the sugar industry as the implementation will bring foreign exchange of up to $700 millon yearly from sugar production self-sufficiency.

Speaking yesterday at the 15th annual general meeting (AGM) of the company  in Lagos, Dangote said that allowing for distortions in the sugar masterplan framework will adversely affect the target of the nation attaining self-sufficiency as projected.

He described the backward integration policy (BIP) as a commendable policy which will not only reduce imports of raw sugar but save the nation’s enormous foreign exchange used for importation.

He expressed delight that the BIP in the sugar industry is going on well, noting that if the National Sugar Master Plan is followed strictly and the players follow the rules, the country will be better for it as Nigeria will save between $600 million and $700 million annually in foreign exchange.

He stated that the backward integration policy of DSR is recording appreciable progress even as he declared the company’s irrevocable commitment to the policy.

Addressing the shareholders, Dangote said that despite the disruptions in the economy occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dangote Sugar Refinery has announced an increase in production volume which rose by 13.7 per cent to 743,858 tonnes in the financial year ended December 31, 2020, compared to 654,071 tonnes in 2019.

He stated that the company posted a group turnover of N214.3 billion a 33 per cent increase over the N161.1 billion in 2019, while in the same period the sugar group also posted a 6.9 percent increase in sales volume from 684,487 tonnes in 2019 to 731,701 tonnes in 2020. Gross profit increased by 40.4 per cent to N53.75 billion, compared to   N38.29 billion in 2019 while Group profit after taxation for the year increased by 33.2 percent to N26.70 billion as against N22.36 billion in 2019, reflecting management’s unrelenting goal to deliver consistent shareholder value.

Therefore, the board of the company declared a dividend payment of N18.22 billion to the shareholders, amounting to N1.50 kobo per ordinary share of 50k each.

According to him, the improvements were attributable to operations optimization strategy despite disruption caused by civil unrest in last quarter of the year.

“Our growth continued to benefit from the sustained efforts to drive customer base expansion and several trade initiatives and investments,” Dangote said.

He said the company has revised its sugar production target to 550,000 metric tonnes achievable by 2024 in line with the revised plan on the BIP by the federal government.

Group Managing Director, Dangote Sugar Refinery (DSR) Plc, Mr. Ravindra Singhvi, said the sugar group continued on the growth path with commitments to improve performance and generate value for all stakeholders.

He explained that this was reflected in the sales volume delivery of 731,701 tonnes, and production of 743,858 tonnes being 6.9% and 13.7% increase in volumes over the comparative year 2019.

He said the company would ensure all hands are on deck to meet the targeted 550,000tonnes projected to be achieved by 2024.

“Our Backward Integration goal is to become a global force in sugar production, by producing 1.5M MT/PA of refined sugar from locally grown sugar cane for the domestic and export markets.

“Our focus on the implementation of our key strategies in the face of the several challenges posed by the COVID-19  Pandemic, the peculiarities of the Apapa traffic situation amongst others we achieved a topline growth in revenue of N214.30 billion, a 33.0 per cent increase over 2019; a 53 per cent increase in profit before tax, and 33.2 per cent increase in profit after tax.

“2020 was indeed very eventful for our company ranging from the weak macroeconomic fundamentals caused by the underlying impact of COVID-19 pandemic which saw to the steady rise in forex rate, high inflation and the significant rise in our cost of production, to the worsening traffic gridlock on the Apapa Wharf Road which led to delays and at times disruption of the distribution and deliveries to customers,” Singhvi said.

He noted that one of the key highlights of during the year was the successful completion of the Scheme of Arrangement for the  merger between Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (DSR) and Savannah Sugar Company Limited (SSCL) with effect from September 1, 2020, to operate under one unified entity.

“We are confident the merger will enable us to achieve operational, administrative and governance efficiencies resulting in increased shareholder value. We will continue to pursue our Backward Integration Projects, and other key initiatives to grow our sales volumes, market share, optimize cost and operational efficiencies,” Singhvi said..

President, Association for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Dr. Farouk Umar commended the management of DSR for the impressive performance of the company despite the hiccups in the year 2020.

He said the shareholders expected more robust results next year since the economy is already picking up, noting that for the company to have performed excellently under pandemic, then next year will be greater for all.

Founder, Independent Shareholders Association, Sir Sunny Nwosu said the management of DSR led by  Dangote has never let the shareholders down for once  pointing out that the management style is second to none, which has made the company to be growing steadily.

According to him, the way the company has been executing its BIP projects was also commendable as this will afford the company opportunity to meet target within it projected timelines.

Dangote Sugar Refinery is Nigeria’s largest producer of household and commercial sugar with 1.44M MT refining capacity at the same location. Its refinery located at Apapa Wharf Ports Complex, refines raw sugar imported from Brazil to white, Vitamin A fortified refined granulated white sugar suitable for household and industrial uses.

Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc acquired Savannah Sugar Company Limited, located in Numan, Adamawa State in December 2012, and embarked on the ongoing rehabilitation of its facilities and expansion of its 32,000 hectares’ sugarcane estate. In September 2020, the scheme of merger between DSR and Savannah Sugar estate was completed which gave birth to a bigger and stronger business with considerable opportunity for growth and delivery of superior benefits to all stakeholders. The expansion and rehabilitation of the sugar estate is still ongoing as well as the development of the greenfield site acquired at Tunga, Nasarawa State for the achievement of DSR’s sugar for Nigeria development master plan.

The Nasarawa Sugar Company Limited, is the registered subsidiary of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc. The 78,136 hectares Sugar Project Site is located at Tunga, Awe Local Government Area, of Nasarawa State. Massive developments in agriculture, irrigation infrastructure amongst others is ongoing at the site. Unfortunately, Lau/Tau project is still on hold following the lingering compensation issue between the communities and Taraba state government.

Sparkle, a digital platform providing financial, lifestyle and business support services to Nigerians around the world, is set to launch its loan services by September.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sparkle, Mr. Uzoma Dozie, said the  fintech bank offers an array of services from flexible payments and savings to analytics via its Android and iOS mobile application. Sparkle allows users to track daily, weekly, and monthly spending patterns, with detailed breakdown by category.

According to him, one of its features, Sparkle Stash, allows users save towards specific goals. Users can make purchases online and in-person with both Sparkle physical and virtual cards.They can also make split payments, make utilities and bill payments, and there is SparklePay which lets users send money to people without knowing their account numbers.

Dozie explained that Sparkle, which has been in operations for over a year, was launched to provide banking services digitally to Nigerians adding that it is focusing on two segments; individuals and small businesses.

“We are different from other competitors with our solution and our leadership team which has the working experience of operating in a traditional bank as well as partnerships with Visa, Microsoft, Google and PwC. We want to make digital banking completely simple from how transactions are done, provide banking services to small businesses, help them save as well as help them to be compliant with tax laws in Nigeria and simply put, we are using this as a form of transforming transactions into better solutions.

“So, we took the decision that we are not only going to build a solution but tie it around the customer and secondly it was also important that we partner with people to establish trust. The fact that we also have a banking license means that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has deemed us trustworthy to carry out these services,” he said.

Dozie said the firm has over 25,000 customers and believes that due to the strategic partnerships it has, the customer base segment could hit six figures before the end of the year as the management will invest in creating awareness about the brand.

“I think we have done fantastically well and like a year ago, nobody knew us but today we are mentioned as one of available digital banks. We are funded and supported by a group of people and so for us to have built that customer base and strategic partnerships shows that we are building a foundation and a platform that will connect us to our customers’ journey. We believe that we should be having about a six-digit area as regards customer base before the end of this year,” he said.

“Sparkle will start its loan services by the beginning of September but we could have started earlier but then we will want to build something that allows us to lend differently to people and we want to lend at a competitive price and not just the typical ones in banks. We want to be as fast as financial banks but a fraction of what they charge and we want to be cheaper with our loan rate and also lower the cost of borrowing,” he added.

By Taofik Salako, Deputy Group Business Editor

The Nigerian equity market closed the first trading of the weeek negative as selloffs in some large and mid-cap stocks overwhelmed the overall market situation.

The benchmark index for Nigerian Exchange  (NGX) Limited,  the All Share Index (ASI)  declined by 0.10 per cent to close at 38,287.58 points.

Aggregate market capitalisation  of equities listed on the NGX also dropped  N19.956 trillion from its opening value of N19.975 trillion.

Total turnover stood at 141.146 million shares valued at N1.09 billion in 3,566 deals.

There were 18 gainers against 17 losers. Nigerian Breweries recorded the higehst gain. It was followed by Sterling Bank. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated recorded the highest loss. It was followed by Access Bank.

Further analysis showed month-to-date and year-to-date losses increased to -3.9 per cent  and -4.9 per cent respectively.

UACN Property Development Company  was the most traded stock by volume at 17.34 million shares.

Sectoral indices showed mixed performance. The NGX Consumer Goods Index rose by 0.5 per cent. The NGX Oil & Gas Index appreciated by 0.2 per cent while rhe NGX Industrial Goods Index inched up by 0.1 per cent. On the nnegative side, the NGX Insurance  Index dropped by 0.7 per cent while the NGX Banking Index also dipped by 0.7 per cent.

By Taofik Salako, Deputy Group Business Editor

 

Shareholders of Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc yesterday approved the change of the name of the company to Seplat Energy Plc in line with the company’s transition into a full energy solutions company.

At the annual general meeting in Lagos, which combined physical presence and virtual streaming to the global audience, shareholders approved resolutions for the change of name, payment of dividends and corporate share buyback among other businesses.

Chairman, Seplat, Dr. Ambrosie Orjiako, said it was the responsibility of the board to plan for the long-term sustainability of the company, as scenario analyses on Seplat’s assets have been conducted under different climate change and demand scenarios.

According to him, Seplat looks forward to a future in which it is much more involved in promoting low carbon environment in its operations, hence the adoption of the new name, Seplat Energy, as its new name.

He noted that while such a transition will involve significant new innovations, technology, skills and relationships, compared to the company’s existing expertise of subsurface exploration, drilling and hydrocarbon processing, it is determined to be a major part of Nigeria’s future energy mix and help drive the country towards more sustainable energy generation.

“Our ANOH Gas Processing Plant will be a major step forward in Nigeria’s drive to reduce carbon emissions, replacing potentially millions of small-scale, inefficient, and polluting generators with cleaner utility-scale power generation fired by Nigerian natural gas.

In addition, we intend to increase our disclosure of environmental, social and governance (ESG) data, by adopting the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and will commit to reporting CO2 emission data to the Carbon Disclosure Project in the near future.

“Helping our communities Part of our ESG commitment is already apparent in the long-term projects we implement in our host communities. As the Covid-19 pandemic struck Nigeria, it was our duty to help our host communities and States in whatever ways we could,” Orjiako said.

He pointed out that the company’s cash position remained strong in 2020 and the $318 million of cash it generated from operations was significantly more than the $150 million invested for future growth.

According to him, the company’s capital expenditure in 2020 was higher than the $125 million spent in 2019, which demonstrated the company’s commitment to growth; as it voluntarily repaid $100 million of its revolving credit facility and ended the year with $225 million in cash and net debt of $440 million.

He outlined that the company’s average working interest production was 51,183boepd, including 33,714bopd of liquids and 101MMscfd gas, 17,469 boepd.

“Of this, our Eland assets contributed 8,855bopd, or 26 per cent of total liquid volumes. Our financial performance enabled us to maintain our commitment to paying dividends. While other companies were cutting back or cancelling payments for the 2019 financial year, because of prevailing uncertainties, we honoured our commitment and paid a final dividend of US$0.05, for a total dividend of US$0.10 for 2019.

“In October 2020, we announced an interim dividend of US$0.05 and the Board has since approved an additional top-up of US$0.05, maintaining our US$0.10 dividend for the 2020 financial year. Since we raised $535 million at our initial public offering in May 2014, we have returned $344 million to shareholders in the form of dividends.

“The strengthening of our board is part of our ongoing desire to achieve world-class governance of our company. Six of our 13-member board are independent and we continue to work towards increasing diversity. In addition, as we announced in March, we have taken the bold decision to eliminate all related-party transactions – a move that exceeds the requirements of the UK Code of Corporate Governance,” Orjiako said.

Chief Executive Officer, Seplat, Mr. Roger Brown said there is pressure to reduce oil extraction and the carbon emissions it creates; although this depended on the rest of the world adopting less oil-intensive ways to travel and generate power.

He explained that Nigeria’s per-capita energy consumption and carbon emissions are actually very low, and its national electricity grid is still very poorly developed, thus the country is still reliant on small-scale diesel generation to satisfy its energy needs and this is the problem we need to address most urgently.

According to him, it is important to recognise that Nigeria is a developing country with low access to energy and a rapidly growing young population. Hydrocarbons are the country’s main resource and provide significant help for its economy. The proceeds from the oil industry fund a wide range of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and are crucial to the country’s societal development.

“Nigeria needs to achieve significant growth in its capacity to deliver education and health services, food production and energy security. Without the development of its indigenous oil and gas industry these goals will become very difficult to achieve and so in Nigeria, the industry remains not just relevant but essential,” Brown said.

He outlined that Seplat is embracing climate change opportunities on two fronts, firstly by continuing to invest heavily in expanding its domestic gas business in line with the government’s strategy to achieve universal access to electricity, and to make that energy cheaper and cleaner by replacing diesel generation, which is very damaging to the environment and the economy.

He added that gas is clearly the next step for Nigeria and Seplat has taken a leading position domestically with the Nigerian government declaring the ANOH project as one of the seven critical gas development projects for the country.

“Secondly, we have created a new energy unit to focus on lower carbon to zero carbon fuel sources and the natural extension beyond gas is for Seplat to participate in renewable energy, such as solar power, and in emerging technologies such as carbon capture and storage. Our view is that Nigeria will benefit from being able to deploy renewable energy on its electricity grid rather than solely developing an off grid renewable solution. By providing a base load of cheaper, lower carbon gas on the grid, the acceleration of grid-based renewables will be possible, which is why we are currently focusing on accelerating our midstream gas business and additionally expanding into LPG, which is a good fuel source for cooking, preventing deforestation.

“The priority for 2021 is to address our responsibilities as part of the global energy transition and to set realistic targets for how we as a company evolve to drive that transition along. Having survived the worst year in the history of the oil and gas industry, the actions we’ve taken before and during 2020 have left us in a position of strength and I am confident that as demand recovers and the imperative for gas increases, Seplat will exit 2021 a larger, stronger, more profitable company and strengthen its position as Nigeria’s indigenous energy leader,” Brown said.

Chief Financial Officer, Seplat, Mr. Emeka Onwuka, said the company’s robust financial performance in 2020 demonstrated the importance of a prudent approach to managing its finances, focusing on capital allocation, revenue diversification, cost control, hedging and debt management.

He added that despite a challenging year,  the company repaid $100 million debt, invested $150 million for growth and maintained its dividend at $0.10 per share for the year.

“Financial sustainability begins with the decisions we make about capital allocation and the priorities we consider when using cash. Our aim has always been to maintain a healthy balance sheet, focusing on cash generation first and foremost so we can build up a large reserve for future deployment and protect ourselves against the kind of downturns the world experienced in 2020,” Onwuka said.

 

Bank of Industry’s (BoI’s)  total assets grew to N1.86 trillion during  the 2020 financial year, despite the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on global economies.

BoI’s Chairman, Aliyu Dikko, who made this known  at its 61st Annual General Meeting , in Abuja, yesterday, said  the N1.86 trillion represented an increase of 79.1 per cent when compared to the N1.04 trillion it recorded in the 2019 financial year.

Dikko ascribed the achievement to the bank’s resilience and strive amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to businesses.

He said the increase in total assets by 79.1 per cent was driven to a large extent by the successful debt syndications of €1 billion and $1 billion that were concluded in March and December 2020, respectively.

Dikko said the bank’s total equity increased by 15.3 per cent from N293.08 billion in the previous year, to N336.48 billion in 2020, adding  that Loans and Advances grew marginally in 2020 by 1.3 per cent to N749.84 billion, from the year 2019 position.

This, he stated, was a reflection of the adverse impact of the challenging operating environment on growth of new loans.

He further explained that Profit Before Tax fell by 9.6 per cent from N39.34 billion in 2019 to N35.54 billion, attributing it to the slowdown in  economic activities during the year, as well as the various interventions and support initiated by the Bank for its customers.

The chairman said that the bank facilitated the disbursement of N2.5 billion and N1.2 billion under the N-Power and Government Enterprise & Empowerment Programmes to 300,011 and 109,039 beneficiaries, respectively, as part of the bank’s partnership with the Federal Government under the National Social Intervention Programme.

Dikko stated that BOI also made donations that impacted on economic integration and intra-Africa trade, by creating key opportunities for growth in the region particularly in food, pharmaceuticals, logistics and the digital economy.

“Despite the challenging year, I am pleased to announce that the Group’s financial statements remain strong and resilient.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the world to transform much faster than expected from the way we work to how we communicate; from the way we learn, to how we travel.”

“We have witnessed improved opportunities in key sectors and industries, notably health care  and Information and Communication Technology.

“The IMF projects a growth of 1.5 per cent for Nigeria on the back of recovery in oil economy, as well as implementation of key initiatives aimed at spurring economic growth.

“Our broad strategy in the coming year shall mirror that of the government, in terms of focusing on business recovery, whilst keeping an eye on growth and new business opportunities,” he said.

Dikko expressed appreciation to the bank’s Board, its management and staff and relevant stakeholders, including  the CBN, customers, government agencies and other strategic partners for ensuring its continued growth and success.

Similarly, the chairman commended the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, members of the Coalition against COVID-19, other private and public sector agencies, for their immense efforts toward managing and reducing the impact of the pandemic.

“Our thoughts and prayers also go to the frontline health workers and emergency response officials, who risked their lives daily to ensure the safety of others. They are by far the true heroes of 2020,” Dikko said.

 

 

By Taofik Salako, Deputy Group Business Editor

Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc recorded a 39.5 per cent growth in net profit in the first quarter as turnover rose by 27 per cent within the three-month period.

Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of NB for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 showed that turnover rose from N83.2 billion in first quarter 2020 to N105.7 billion in first quarter 2021. Profit after tax rose from N5.54 billion in first quarter 2020 to N7.73 billion in first quarter 2021.

The report showed that cost of Sales rose significantly by 36.6 per cent from N48.3 Billion in first quarter 2020 to N66.0 billion in first quarter 2021. Marketing, distribution and administration expenses also increased by 5.7 per cent from N24.09 billion in first quarter 2020 to N25.45 billion in first quarter 2021.

Company Secretary and Legal Director, Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc, Uaboi Agbebaku said the company remained focused on its strategy to deliver sustainable growth and will continue to monitor the business environment.

He said the company remains dynamic in its response to operational challenges in the economy, particularly in the face of COVID-19 pandemic.

“The impact of Coronavirus pandemic on the economy and by implication, the company continued during the period under review. Our priority remains to protect the health, safety and welfare of employees, customers and partners. For the rest of the year, we will continue to regularly monitor and evaluate the company’s financial position to ensure that our balance sheet remains strong,” Agbebaku said.