The Nation Newspaper

Category: Investors

  • May & Baker grows Q3 profit by 241% to N744.3m

    May & Baker Nigeria Plc drew on improved cost management and increased margins to sustain impressive growth in profitability in the third quarter as total comprehensive profit grew by 240.65 per cent to N744.33 million.

    Key extracts of the nine-month report for the period ended September 30, 2018, released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), showed that the company  continued to witness impressive growth in its core Pharma business, with stronger margins, despite slight decline in revenue and present macroeconomic challenges.

    The report showed that gross profit rose by 10.6 per cent from N2.156 billion in third quarter 2017 to N2.385 billion in third quarter 2018. Operating profit also increased by 15.83 per cent from N770.71 million to N892.75 million. With finance cost dropping by 37.25 per cent from N479.60 million in third quarter 2017 to N300.94 million in third quarter 2018, profit before tax jumped by 89.19 per cent to N609.94 million as against N322.39 million recorded in comparable period of 2017.

    Profit after tax from continuing operations also leapt by 89.82 per cent from N218.505 million to N414.76 million. With the addition of net profit of N329.57 million from discontinued operation, total net comprehensive income grew by 240.65 per cent to N744.33 million in 2018 as against N218.505 million in 2017. Turnover dropped marginally by 5.63 per cent from N6.93 billion to N6.54 billion. The company had during the period divested and sold its noodles business as part of its strategic focus on its core healthcare business.

    Earnings per share, based on continuing operations, increased by 89.78 per cent from 22.30 kobo in 2017 to 42.32 kobo in 2018. On the basis of total net comprehensive income, earnings per share jumped by 240.58 per cent to 75.95 kobo in third quarter 2018 as against 22.30 kobo in third quarter 2017.

    Besides, key underlying profitability ratios showed a more profitable company with pre-tax profit margin almost on a double at 9.32 per cent in third quarter 2018 as against 4.65 per cent recorded in third quarter 2017. Operating profit margin lent credence to the improving profitability of the core operations of the company rising from 11.13 per cent to 13.65 per cent. Gross profit margin had improved from 31.11 per cent to 36.47 per cent, underlining the cost-effectiveness of the top-line strategy.

    The continuing strong bottom-line performance places May & Baker Nigeria on a stronger footing to sustain its recent dividend payment records. May & Baker Nigeria had in 2017 increased cash dividend by 233.3 per cent to 20 kobo per share compared with 6.0 kobo per share paid for the 2016 business year. The bottom-line position makes the ongoing rights issue of May & Baker Nigeria to be attractive with possible dividend yield of eight per cent within less than four months.

    May & Baker Nigeria is raising N2.45 billion in new equity funds through a rights issue to existing shareholders. The company is offering 980 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N2.50 per share to existing shareholders. The rights issue has been provisionally pre-allotted on the basis of one new ordinary share for every one ordinary share held as at the close of business on Tuesday, September 4, 2018. Application list opened on Monday October 22, 2018 and will close on Wednesday November 28, 2018. Capital Assets Limited and Compass Investments &Securities Limited are the stockbrokers to the rights issue while Cordros Capital Limited and Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited are the issuing houses.

    Managing Director, May & Baker Nigeria Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okafor, said the third quarter performance showed that the company’s strategic focus and investments have continued to yield gains for the shareholders.

    He said the ongoing rights issue would further help to reduce finance costs, increase capacity and bring greater returns to shareholders, urging shareholders to pick up their rights in order to realise the benefits of their patience and support for the company over the investment years.

    He said the company would pay dividend on the new ordinary shares to be issued through the rights issue, despite the fact that the proceeds of the rights issue will not impact our business this year as the net proceeds will be received towards the end of current business year.

     

  • Nigerians should learn to create multiple streams of income, says MD

    Managing Director, Flobal Trust Limited, Mr Abayomi Adeyeri, has advised Nigerians to seek ways of creating multiple streams of income for sustainable wealth and good living standards.

    He said Nigerians must learn to optimise their incomes and cultivate good attitudes that would make them  succeed early in life.

    He pointed out that Flobal Trust Limited, an investment advisory company licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),   aims to build a world-class investment institution with sustainable growth, and to expand the worth of its customers by providing innovative investment advisory services.

    A former senior management member of Ecobank Nigeria and author of Multiple Bold Steps, Adeyeri said with its real estate and investment company subsidiary called Flobal Capital LLC in the United States, Flobal Trust’s mission is to provide effective platform and enabling environment that will facilitate and ensure convenient and accessible services and opportunities to its customers.

    Speaking against the background of the introduction of the Multiple Bold Steps, Adeyeri said  Nigerian youths, especially those not employed and salaried workers should learn how to create multiple streams of income without necessarily compromising good values, adding that civil servants in Nigeria should step up their customer service skills and imbibe ownership spirit.

    According to him, his desire to see others succeed in life and the urge to pass a strong message that anyone can make it irrespective of colour, gender and challenges of life motivated him to put his experience and knowledge as a senior wealth creation expert into a book.

    “I intend to speak to our youths never to quit and not to be discouraged. The power to create lies in every youth. They are to activate same and turn their desires into reality. The various tools required for activation of creation power are enumerated in this book. Also, every employee should know that they are limited in wealth creation. The true wealth creators are entrepreneurs,” Adeyeri said.

    He said the book takes people through the art of taking multiple bold steps and serve as a confidence booster, noting that in order for anybody to take bold steps, such a person must be courageous and have a strong positive attitude.

    “The thrust of the book is to plan well and put strategies that will ensure success in life in place in the various cycles of life discussed in this book. This is my first book and I intend to write more. It is currently available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Multiple Bold Steps website and most online bookstores with delivery period of between two days to one week depending on your location in the world. However, we plan to partner with any reputable publisher in Nigeria to publish the Nigeria version of this book soon,” Adeyeri said.

     

  • Stock Exchange expels stockbroking firm

    Authorities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) have revoked the operating licence of Alliance Capital Management Company Limited and expelled its management from the capital market. The NSE  expelled no fewer than 90 stockbroking firms in 2017.

    A regulatory document obtained by The Nation indicated that the decision to expel the firm was taken by the National Council of the Exchange, the highest administrative organ of the NSE.

    The NSE stated that the revocation and expulsion was due to deregistration of the firm as a capital market operator by the Securities & Echange Commission (SEC), the apex capital market regulator.

    “Dealing members are advised not to engage in any activity with the above mentioned firm,” the NSE stated.

    With the expulsion, the stockbroking firm will not be able to trade in the Nigerian stock market and other international markets that Nigeria has Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with. Nigerian capital market authorities have standing bilateral agreements with several other jurisdictions including Morocco, Angola, China, Ghana, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.

    With the expulsion, investors who have their investment accounts with the expelled stockbroker, will be required to move their accounts to other functional stockbroking firms.

    Also, directors, executives, top management and other employees of Alliance Capital Management Company Limited will not be able to secure any employment in the capital market without prior clearance and written consent of the Exchange.

    The Exchange noted the need for stockbroking firms to ensure compliance with extant rules and regulations on dealing with employees and directors of expelled firms.

    Under Rule 6.12 of the Rulebook of the Exchange, 2015, members of the Exchange are disallowed from employing any of directors, authorised clerks or other persons including principal officers such as the chief executive officer, chief finance officer, chief compliance officer and chief risk officer, who have been indicted by the Exchange or the Commission without prior regulatory approval.

    Also, the rule disallows other stockbroking firms from employing any person who was an officer or employee of a stockbroking firm or dealing member expelled from the Exchange; any person expelled, as an authorised clerk or its equivalent, from any other exchange; any person refused admission as a member of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers or any person expelled from its membership; any person expelled as a member of any professional association or institute and any person who is insolvent or has been convicted of theft, fraud, forgery, or any other crime involving dishonesty.

    The Rulebook of the Exchange 2015 provides that: where the Exchange revokes a dealing member’s licence, the Exchange shall immediately commence the process of expelling such dealing member.

    Besides, the rules empower the NSE to suspend any authorised clerk or revoke the registration of any authorised clerk who has breached any rules or regulations of the Exchange or is found to be complicit in any breach of such rules or regulations.

    Also, suspension of any stockbroking firm by SEC will lead to immediate suspension by the NSE while revocation of any broker’s registration will lead to expulsion of the firm by the NSE.

    “Without  prejudice  to  all  the  remedies  open  to  the  dealing  member,  where  a  dealing member is suspended by the Commission, as soon as the Exchange is notified, it shall immediately  commence  the   process   of  suspension or  expulsion of   the   dealing member.

    “Where a Dealing Member’s registration is revoked by the Commission, as soon as the Exchange  is  notified,  it  shall  immediately  commence  the  process  of  expulsion  of  the dealing member,” the rules stated.

  • Nigerian Breweries declares N4.8b interim dividend

    The board of Directors of Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc has approved the payment of N4.8 billion as interim cash dividend to shareholders for the third quarter.

    Shareholders will receive an interim dividend per share of 60 kobo, a drop of 40 kobo from the N1 paid for the same period in 2017.

    The current interim dividend will become payable on Monday, December 10, 2018 to all shareholders in the book of the company at close of business on Thursday, November 22, 2018.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Nigerian Breweries for the period ended September 30, 2018 showed that profit after tax dropped by 38.4 per cent N14.7 billion in third quarter 2018 as against N23.9 billion in comparable period of 2017. Operating profit had dropped by 34.4 per cent from N42.3 billion to N27.7 billion. Profit before tax also dropped by 34.7 per cent from N34.4 billion to N22.4 billion. Group turnover had dropped from N254.67 billion in third quarter 2017 to N238.07 billion in third quarter 2018. Earnings per share dropped from N3 in third quarter 2017 to N1.85 in third quarter 2018.

    Company Secretary and Legal Adviser, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Uaboi Agbebaku said the new excise duty regime which came into effect in June and the consequent effect of it, adversely impacted the third quarter results.

    He added that the company also undertook a rightsizing exercise which resulted in a substantial one-off cost during the quarter.

  • Franchise sub-dealer wins award

    The Chief Executive Officer of Aflat Global Investment, Mr. Tajudeen Lawal, has been awarded by Business Executive International as the best sub-dealer for the group’s franchise.

    At a business forum and award ceremony in Abeokuta, Lawal was presented with a new Toyota Corolla car in recognition of his positive contributions to the growth of the franchise business in Ogun State. The award was presented to Lawal by the Chief Executive Officer of Business Executive international, Mrs Anike Kazeem.

    The forum and award ceremony marked the second year anniversary of Business Executive International, a franchise business being championed by Kazeem. The event was attended by several investors in the franchise business, many of whom shared glowing testimonies about their success stories since they joined the franchise.

    In his remarks, Lawal said that the franchise business was geared towards eradicating poverty, citing the testimonies from various investors.

    “You only need to sleep in your house while your invested money works for you”, Lawal said.

    Explaining the modus of the business, Lawal observed that the gestation period of the investment is now 30 working days, while the franchise now has new products which include Premium, Gold and Silver packages among others.

    One of the special guests at the occasion and a sub dealer , Alhaji Wahab Kamorudeen added that the franchise business ensures peace of mind, noting that the major advantage of the franchise business is its multiplier effect.

  • Pure Bliss wins African quality award

    Pure Bliss biscuits have been awarded Africa’s Most Outstanding Premium Quality Biscuit Brand of the year.

    The premium biscuits were rated the best at the African Quality Achievement Awards (AQAA),  held at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

    Africa Quality Achievement Awards recognises the organisations, brands and personalities who have embraced the quality culture and integrated seamlessly best in class quality management practices as an integral part of their journey in achieving overall objectives.

    The selection of awardees was done by a group of international quality professionals from across Africa including officials of Standard Association of Nigeria (SON), Ghana Bureau of Standards, Uganda Bureau of Standards (UNBS), Africa Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) and Pan African Quality Organisation.

    Launched in 2016, within a span of two years, Pure Bliss range has become one of favourite biscuits for Nigerians with over 400 packs being consumed every minute.

    Pure Bliss is available in three delightful variants – Pure Bliss Milk Cream Wafer, Pure Bliss Rich Cocoa biscuit and Pure Bliss Premium Milk Cookies.

  • ATAF, African parliament sign MoU on tax, financial flows

    In its quest to strengthen tax legislations in Africa and combat illicit financial flows (IFF), the African Tax Administration Forum  (ATAF) has signed a Memorandum of Understand (MoU) with the Panafrican Parliament (PAP) at the Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda.

    The Executive Secretary of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), Mr Logan Wort and the Speaker of the Parliament Hon. Nkodo Dang, signed a five-year MoU to formalise cooperation between their respective institutions on tax policy and tax administration reforms on the continent.

    Prior to the signing, Mr Wort was invited by the Hon. Speaker to make a presentation on the correlation between Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and Taxation and the collaborative role that their two institutions can play in addressing this issue on the continent.

    These included capacity building and tax education for members of parliament through ATAF, a stronger advocacy role for members of parliament on tax issues and domestic resource mobilisation in national, regional and continental fora, in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and the role of parliamentarians in enacting sound national tax legislations, as well as collaborative tax research initiatives between PAP and ATAF.

    ATAF, which has been endorsed by the African Union as the African voice on tax matters, considers sound domestic tax legislations and the development of expertise on tax treaties key conditions for the implementation of effective tax reforms on the continent. It therefore, views the PAP as a critical strategic partner given the oversight and advocacy roles of the parliament.

    The MoU comes just days after the fifth Ordinary General Assembly of ATAF in Gaborone, Botswana, where participants explored ways to move Africa beyond aid and is viewed by both signatories as a significant step towards stemming illicit financial flows, improving domestic resource mobilisation and funding Africa’s development.

    The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) is an organisation which was established by African revenue authorities in 2009, in order to improve the performance of tax administrations in Africa. ATAF believes that better tax administration will enhance economic growth, increase accountability of the state to its citizens, and more effectively mobilise domestic resources.

    Now in its ninth year of operation and headquartered in Pretoria, ATAF seeks to Improve the capacity of African tax administrations to achieve their revenue objectives, advance the role of taxation in African governance and state building, provide a voice for African tax administrations and develop and support partnerships between African countries and development partners.

  • Total Nigeria to pay N3 interim dividend

    Shareholders of Total Nigeria Plc will receive interim dividend per share of N3 as the downstream oil company grew third quarter net earnings by 28.7 per cent. It had paid similar N3 as interim dividend in 2017.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Total Nigeria for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2018 showed that turnover rose from N221.2 billion in third quarter 2017 to N226.92 billion in third quarter 2018. Profit before tax increased from N9.68 billion to N11.44 billion. After taxes, net profit rose from N5.96 billion in third quarter 2017 to N7.67 billion in third quarter 2018.

    Total Nigeria had paid N4.75 billion or N14 per share in final cash dividend for the 2017 business year, in addition to interim dividend of N1.02 billion, bringing total dividend for the year to N5.77 billion or N17 per share.

  • PEARL Awards seeks stable market

    PEARL Awards Nigeria has called for concerted efforts by stakeholders to engender a stable, sustainable and growing capital market.

    President, PEARL Awards Nigeria, Mr Tayo Orekoya, at a news briefing in Lagos, said market stakeholders including operators, regulators and government must continue to strive towards market stability, sustainability and growth.

    He noted that the Nigerian capital market has recently been undergoing a most harrowing experience,  with sustained losses in share values, resulting in huge depletion of wealth to equity stakeholders.

    He pointed out that while recent losses were caused by variety of factors, all stakeholders must work together to address underlying weaknesses and promote the competitive advantages of the market.

    “Regulators in particular must intensify efforts towards engendering restoration of investors’ confidence in the market and deepening the market for enhanced development. As partner in progress to capital market regulators, our focus is to continue to promote healthy competitiveness, reward outstanding performance, thereby enhancing vibrancy of the market,” Orekoya said.

    He said an all-inclusive stakeholders’ approach would go a long way to compliment the efforts of the regulatory authorities towards returning the market to the desired path of sustainable growth and market development.

    He said the PEARL Awards Nigeria has shortlisted some 90 companies for consideration for the 2018 awards for outstanding companies and individuals in the Nigerian capital market.

    According to him, the 23-year-old award programme is part of the group’s contribution to the growth of the Nigerian capital market and it has since inception been guided by the principles of fairness, transparency and objectivity in its selection process while its scientific approach in determining nominee companies remains unassailable.

    “We are not unaware of the huge responsibility placed on our shoulders as a result of the reliability on our sense of judgment by investors and shareholders alike, but are determined to continue to play our part with every sense of fairness, objectivity and equity,” Orekoya said.

    He noted that the theme for the 2018 edition:”Sustaining the Winning Edge”, is in realisation of the need to recognise and reward companies, which in spite of the challenges in the operating environment, local and international, have continued on the winning edge, outperforming others and emerging leaders deserving of honour in the capital market.

    For the 2018 PEARL Awards, recognitions, honours and awards shall be in three main categories, including main competitive awards category, which consists sectoral leadership awards, market excellence awards and overall highest award; honorary awards category, which consists PEARL chief executive officer of the year award, outstanding honorary award for capital market development, capital market journalist of the year award and media award for capital market reporting; and the special recognition awards category, which include issuing house of the year award, stockbroking firm of the year award and good corporate governance award.

     

     

    The awards in the main competitive awards category were determined utilizing nine performance indices namely turnover growth; return on equity; earnings yield; share price appreciation; dividend cover; dividend yield; net asset ratio; dividend growth and profit margin ratio.

    In order to ensure fairness, objectivity and authenticity in its assessment, the research and collation sub-committee, sourced the required data from the annual reports of quoted companies duly filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Stock Exchange Daily Official lists for the year under consideration. The report of the research & collation sub-committee was reviewed, verified and thereafter endorsed by the board’s technical committee, which subsequently presented it to the full board for consideration and approval.

    The winning company for each of the awards for which the nominees are listed would be announced at the 2018 Awards Nite, which is scheduled to hold next month in Lagos. Also, the nominees as well as winner of the overall highest award (The PEARL) for this year would be announced at the Awards Nite.

     

  • SEC warns against online retail forex trading

    Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned investors of the potential danger in retail online foreign exchange (forex) trading.

    In a circular, SEC noted the increase in advertisements in electronic and other media asking investors to engage in leveraged online retail forex trading.

    “The public is hereby advised that online retail forex trading is currently unregulated and consequently may be subject to abuse. Until a framework for regulation of online retail forex trading is developed by the SEC, any person participating or engaged in such investment activity does so at his or her own risk,” SEC stated.