The Nation Newspaper

Category: Investors

  • Guinness Nigeria gets N40b as rights issue

    Guinness Nigeria Plc has secured N39.7 billion new equity funds from its  shareholders, who picked up the entire rights offered by the brewer.

    Guinness Nigeria had offered 684.49 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N58 per share to existing shareholders on the basis of five new shares for every 11 shares held as at the close of business on March 15, 2017. Application list for the rights issue opened on July 24, 2017 and closed on August 30, 2017.

    Listing documents at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that 684.49 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each were added to shares outstanding in the names of Guinness Nigeria. With the listing, total issued and fully paid up shares of Guinness Nigeria has now increased from 1.5 billion shares to 2.19 billion shares.

    Diageo Plc, United Kingdom, the majority core investor in Guinness Nigeria, was expected to inject additional N21 billion in Guinness Nigeria by subscribing for its rights. The rights issue provides another window for Diageo to inject capital into the Nigerian subsidiary after the multinational backed down from its earlier proposal to acquire additional equity shares in Guinness Nigeria.

    Diageo had withdrawn from its plan to acquire additional shares of up to 15.7 per cent in Guinness Nigeria from minority shareholders citing the challenging market conditions in Nigeria. Diageo had in September 2015 announced that it was considering acquiring 15.7 per cent equity stake in Guinness Nigeria through its wholly owned subsidiary, Guinness Overseas Limited.

    Managing Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Peter Ndegwa, said the net proceeds of the new capital raising will support the company in executing its strategy in the context of ongoing external economic challenges.

    According to him, the rights issue will allow the company to deliver on its strategic objectives and give all its shareholders a unique opportunity to increase the number of shares they hold.

    “Our expectation is that funds raised will help mitigate the impact of increasing finance costs, optimise our balance sheet and improve the company’s financial flexibility,” Ndegwa said.

    Chairman, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Babatunde Savage, said that the supplementary new issue is part of the company’s long term plans to continue to invest in its business in Nigeria.

    “We have been here in Nigeria for 67 years and, while it has been challenging in recent times for many Nigerian businesses, we remain committed to this market as evidenced by our decision to offer this Rights Issue. We are grateful for the support that we have received from our shareholders and other stakeholders up to this point,” Savage said.

    Last year, Guinness Nigeria became the first total beverage alcohol company in Nigeria by acquiring the rights to distribute international premium spirits like Johnnie Walker whisky and Baileys liqueur in Nigeria and later commissioning a N4.7 billion spirits line for locally manufactured spirits at its Benin plant.

  • CSCS deploys new technology

    The Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc plans to increase automation and efficiency of the Nigerian capital market with the deployment of TCS BaNCS, a multi-asset class solution for securities depository, clearing and settlement. The new solution replaced the NASDAQ Equator which has been in use since inception of the company in 1997.

    Interim Chief Executive Officer, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, Mr. Bola Adeeko, said the new solution was at the core of the company’s business transformation initiatives which aim at improving efficiency in depository, clearing and settlement services.

    “This is a significant milestone for us and a demonstration of our commitment to bring excellent customer service delivery and efficiency to the Nigerian Capital Market,” Adeeko said.

    He expressed confidence that the new solution will be beneficial to the Nigerian capital market urging all stakeholders to take advantage of the enormous opportunities that the new platform offers.

    According to him, TCS BaNCS, as a market infrastructure, will drive Straight-Through Processing (STP) by providing the unique ability to support multiple markets and asset classes on the same platform. It will also support various types of account ownership structures such as segregated depository account, nominee and special purpose vehicle accounts and custodian accounts.

    “This initiative aligns very closely with one of our strategic objectives, which is to improve efficiency in our depository, clearing and settlement services – ultimately, we believe our customers and stakeholders at large will enjoy improved service delivery,” Adeeko said.

  • Union Bank closes application for N50b rights issue

    Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc has closed the application list for its N50 billion rights issue. The application list for the rights issue opened on September 20, 2017 and closed on Monday October 30, 2017.

    Union Bank planned to raise N49.745 billion from existing shareholders through a rights issue of 12.133 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N4.10 per share. The rights issue had been pre-allotted on the basis of five new ordinary shares of 50 kobo each for every seven ordinary shares held as at the close of business on Monday August 21, 2017.

    The net proceeds of the rights issue will be used to enhance the bank’s regulatory capital requirement, increase working capital and grow in strategic areas that correspond to emerging opportunities in Nigeria, enhance technological platforms through strategic investments in technology and digitalisation and optimise customer experience with investments in customer touch points.

    Chief Executive Officer, Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc, Mr. Emeka Emuwa, has said the new capital raising is critical to the bank’s short to medium term business objectives as the new equity funds will support the bank’s strategy to accelerate business growth and position it as a leading commercial bank in Nigeria.

    “With the commencement of the rights issue subscription, we have now officially entered a new phase of our transformation where we will be focused on accelerating business growth to deliver on our objective of becoming one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions,” Emuwa said.

  • Chi wins Top 50 Brands Nigeria Awards

    Top 50 Brands Nigeria Awards has recognised Chivita juice and Hollandia dairy as leading brands within the Chi Limited conglomerate. The firm has been recognised among the Top 50 Brands and honoured as the Most Innovative Brand in Nigeria.

    The brand’s success story at the awards has been driven by a desire to churn out innovative products like Chivita and Hollandia that are benchmarks and definitive standards in their respective categories.

    Speaking on the awards, CEO, Top 50 Brands Nigeria, Taiwo Oluboyede, said with the volume of competition that businesses face, it has never been more important for brands to stand out through innovation as well as develop a unique identity and value proposition through strategic branding.

    “The brands honoured at this year’s edition of the Top 50 Brand Nigeria Awards have transcended their product/services categories and mean much more to the consumers. Specifically, Chivita and Hollandia have been outstanding in this regard through a consistent delivery of innovative product variants that have become household names in Nigeria,” he said.

    “The recognition amongst the Top 50 Brands and the Most Innovative Brands Award for Chi Limited is a part of the outcome of a painstaking year-long brand research which reviewed the brands’ performance, classification and rating.”

    Deepanjan Roy, Managing Director of Chi Limited, expressed delight at the recognition and commended the organisers for creating an invaluable platform for celebrating brands that are at the forefront of their respective segments.

    “For us at Chi Limited, these awards will inspire us on our journey of innovation-driven success. We are passionate about our brands like Chivita and Hollandia and the strategic innovations that ensure a competitive advantage that places us second to none. We will remain steadfast in our commitment to healthy and superior products that add value and exceed consumer expectations,” he added.

    Deploying specific criteria including brand popularity, category leadership, innovation, national spread, Corporate Social Responsibility and online engagement to measure brands, the Top 50 Brand Award evaluates and celebrates top corporate brands that have consistently maintained leadership position in their categories, living up to their promises, and have become a part of the popular culture, attracting powerful visual cue that evokes emotion from consumers.

  • Olam Sanyo Foods launches new noodles

    Olam Sanyo Foods, a joint venture between Olam International and Japanese noodle-maker Sanyo Foods, has launched its Cherie Egglicious, the first noodles in Nigeria to contain real egg.

    At the launch at Bristol Palace Hotel, Kano, Category Head, Beverages, Noodles & Culinary, Olam Sanyo Foods, Mr. Sidhartha Samal said Cherie Egglicious noodles was developed after large- scale research across the country.

    “We observed two things when meeting mothers – most of them added eggs to noodles and almost all cited stickiness as a major issue, especially when cooked noodles were prepared in lunch boxes for children to take to school. Cherie Egglicious, therefore makes life easier for mothers because it’s non-sticky, they also know that they are giving their families the goodness of real egg, plus Vitamin A and Iron,” Samal said.

    He noted that Cherie Egglicious is available across the country through distribution partners and supermarkets in two sizes that meet family needs – 70g and 120g and they are suitable for consumers of all ages.

    During the launch, Cherie brand ambassador and Kannywood star, Ali Nuhu, sampled a bowl of Cherie Egglicious noodles and then urged fans to try it too.

    “Cherie Egglicious noodles are delicious and nutritious. My whole family are fans of the Cherie noodles and they will love Egglicious, as well as the power of egg. These noodles are not sticky and they are fortified with minerals and vitamins. Everyone should go out to try them now,” Nuhu said.

    More than 150 guests were invited to try innovative noodles recipes created with Cherie Egglicious. As part of the launch promotion, consumers who buy a carton of 40 noodles will get four packets free. This launch offer will be available across Nigeria.

  • Transcorp sustains growth with N9b profit in Q3

    Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp) Plc recorded considerable improvement in its overall return outlook in the third quarter as the conglomerate drew on improved top-line and operating efficiency to return to positive bottom-line.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Transcorp for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2017 showed that the group’s turnover rose by 35 per cent from N41.92 billion in third quarter 2016 to N56.76 billion in third quarter 2017. Gross profit rose by 45 per cent from N19.84 billion in 2016 to N25.62 billion in 2017. Operating profit stood at N16.81 billion compared with N11.58 billion in comparable period of 2016.

    With better finance cost management, net finance cost declined considerably to N7.77 billion in 2017 as against N24.37 billion in 2016. Profit before tax thus improved to N9.04 billion in third quarter 2017 as against pre-tax loss of N12.7 billion recorded in third quarter 2016. After taxes, net profit recovered to N8.2 billion in 2017 as against net loss of N14.21 billion in corresponding period of 2016.

    President, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) Plc, Mr. Adim Jibunoh, said the third quarter performance highlighted a significant improvement in the group’s operations.

    According to him, the result was achieved largely through improved and sustained production capacity in the power business as a result of improvements in gas supply amongst other initiatives and the positive outlook in the hospitality business.

    “Our power plant has consistently ranked as the number one power producer in the country for third quarter 2017 and we are on track for a stronger performance in fourth quarter 2017, as we progress plans to increase our available capacity,” Jibunoh said.

    He added that improvements in general economic activity in Abuja on the back of implementation of 2017 budget and return to operations of newly upgraded room stocks will boost occupancy and top line performance for Transcorp Hotels in the months ahead.

    Jibunoh had earlier assured the investing public that the conglomerate would deliver better returns in the current business year.

    He noted that the conglomerate would deliver better returns in 2017 given the growths across its business segments.

    He said the conglomerate has been investing in its businesses in the hospitality, power and oil and gas sectors because of its strong faith in the economy.

    He said the conglomerate was working on becoming the biggest provider of electric power in the country.

    “The shareholders will be happy this year as something good will come out as a return to them,” Jibunoh said.

    Transcorp, owned by more than 300,000 shareholders, has a vast business portfolio that comprises strategic investments in the power, hospitality, agribusiness and oil and gas sectors. The group’s notable businesses include Transcorp Hilton  Hotel, Abuja; Transcorp Hotels Calabar; Transcorp Power Limited, owner of 972 megawatts power plant, Teragro Commodities Limited, operator of Teragro Benfruit plant-Nigeria’s first-of-its-kind juice concentrate plant; and Transcorp Energy Limited.

  • Interest expense weighs down Lafarge Africa

    Lafarge Africa Plc ended the third quarter with a marginal recovery in profitability but significant increase in net interest expense constrained the bottom-line. Despite about 39 per cent growth in sales, Lafarge Africa ended the quarter with a pre-tax profit of N1.08 billion.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of the cement company for the period ended September 30, 2017 showed that sales rose by 38.9 per cent to N223.67 billion in 2017 as against N161.04 billion recorded in comparable period of 2016. Gross profit also surged from N18.11 billion in 2016 to N57.31 billion in 2017. The cement manufacturer pooled operating income of N18.40 billion in 2017 compared with operating loss of N32.97 billion in comparable period of 2016.

    However, net finance expense jumped from N7.4 billion to N17.31 billion. Profit before tax thus depressed to N1.08 billion, albeit a considerable recovery when compared with pre-tax loss of N40.37 billion in 2016. After taxes, net profit stood at N937.91 million by September 2017 compared with net loss of N37.4 billion in 2017. Earnings per share was modest at 10 kobo in 2017 compared with net loss per share of N8.27 in corresponding period of 2016.

    The management of the company said the top-line performance was driven by the success of the group’s energy strategy, which helped to deliver four-fold increase in operating margins to N41.7 billion with margins stable at 30 per cent.

    According to the company, persistent gas shortages in the Southwest did not deter operations at the plants of the building solutions provider as the plants ran efficiently on alternative energy sources.

    Lafarge Africa Chief Executive Officer, Michel Puchercos, noted that although gas shortages in the Southwest persisted, for the nine-month period, Ewekoro II utilised 65 per cent of coal and petcoke combined, as gas supply was low at about 36 per cent.

    “Ewekoro I plant utilised 44 per cent of alternative fuels, with gas supply in the region of 50 per cent while Sagamu achieved about 25 per cent alternative fuel substitution over the same period. Mfamosing plant in the Southeast region, utilised 99 per cent gas in spite of a gas explosion in August. AshakaCem operations utilised 82 per cent of coal over the same period. The energy strategy of Lafarge Africa delivers against the objectives set and enables the development of local businesses,” Puchercos said.

    According to him, stable pricing environment, steady industrial operations, fuel flexibility, execution of commercial and logistics performance improvement plan helped to boost the company performance.

    He noted that the company successfully shipped the first batch of cement to Ghana market, which has been well accepted.

    He pointed out that the decision to attain fuel flexibility was part of the company’s turnaround plan that began in September 2016.

    “Our company continues to recover. Our EBITDA margin expectations in Nigeria for 2017 remains strong at the mid-30s, as we strengthen the performance on the basis of a robust route to market, efficient logistics operation, and cost optimisation programme through fuel flexibility, reduction of foreign exchange exposure and administrative cost optimisation

    “Our South Africa operations would benefit from the aggregate & concrete business, as our cement operations stabilises. Lafarge Africa remains committed to delivering strong performance and create value for our shareholders in 2017,” Puchercos said.

    He, however, cautioned that cement demand in Nigeria was significantly lower than the previous year and is expected to stay low on account of the economic slowdown in the first half of 2017.

  • Nigerian Breweries takes friendship party to Owerri

    Nigerian Breweries Plc, producer of “33” Export Lager Beer, has hosted consumers to an evening of fun under its ongoing Friendship Parties being held in key cities.

    Before the event held at the Bongo Centre, Owerri, Imo State, other cities across Nigeria, including Lagos, Ibadan, Uyo, and Port-Harcourt had felt the friendship vibe as consumers were entertained by top DJs and comedians such as Comedian Bash, I Go Save, Shakara, Ajebo, DJ Kentalky, DJ Real and other entertainers. The leading beer has celebration of friendship as its key message in all the cities visited.

    Chika Dike-Paul, a guest at the event in Owerri, who was excited, praised the “33” Export brand for creating memorable moments with the friendship party.

    “As a hardworking person, who believes in the importance of friendship, the weekends are the best opportunities to connect. For us, the friendship party has become an event we look forward to because we spend time together relaxing and creating new memories, especially when there is always good music and comedy,” he said.

    Brand Manager “33” Export Lager Beer, Mfon Bassey, restated the brand’s commitment to promoting friendship by providing platforms for people to come together and have fun.

    “The success of the “33” Export Friendship Experience is built on the opportunity it provides friends to connect,” said Bassey. He added:“No matter where they are, the “33” Export Lager Beer will be found anywhere their friendship leads.”

  • Fidelity Bank grows profit to N16b in nine months

    Fidelity Bank Plc has sustained a robust performance outlook in the third quarter as the commercial bank grew pre-tax profit by 65 per cent to N16.2 billion within nine months.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2017 showed that Fidelity Bank grew its top-line by 17.9 per cent while profit after tax also rose by 65.1 per cent. Earnings per share thus increased to 67 kobo in third quarter 2017, considerably above 40 kobo recorded in comparable period of 2016.

    The report showed that gross earnings rose to N130.1 billion in third quarter 2017 as against N110.3 billion reported the same period in 2016. Profit before tax rose from N9.8 billion to N16.2 billion while profit after tax increased to N14.45 billion in 2017 as against N8.75 billion recorded in third quarter 2016.

    Its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, attributed the consistent delivery of strong financial results by the bank to the disciplined execution of its medium term strategy, which centred on optimal balance sheet management, strategic cost reduction and increased play in the digital and retail banking space.

    “We are delighted with our nine months financial performance, which showed strong growth in key revenue lines and a corresponding decline in our operating expenses, despite the high inflationary environment,” Okonkwo said.

    He noted that the implementation of the initiatives from the bank’s business process review project continued to impact positively on operational efficiency as total operating expenses declined by 2.6 per cent to N47.5 billion, leading to cost-income ratio dropping to 66.8 per cent from 77.3 per cent by the end of 2016.

    He pointed out that the nine-month pre-tax profit of N16.2 billion is already higher than the annual profit numbers in any of the last four financial years between 2013 and 2016.

    He added that with strong focus on select niche corporate banking sectors as well as micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Fidelity Bank is rapidly implementing a digital based retail banking strategy, which has resulted in a 93 per cent growth in savings deposits over the last three years.

    He said with 50 per cent customer enrollment on debit cards, 30 percent of the bank’s customers are now using its flagship mobile and internet banking products.

    Fidelity Bank last week successfully issued a $400 million Eurobond, which was priced at 10.50 per cent coupon. The transaction regarded as the largest combined new issue and liability management offering by a Nigerian issuer, has reopened the international bond markets for Nigerian Tier II banks.

  • Africa Prudential envisions better opportunities for registrars, others

    The capital market holds out immense opportunities for growth for innovative and technology-driven capital market operators.

    At a stakeholders’ forum organised in Lagos by Africa Prudential Plc, experts agreed that capital market operators with the requisite foresight, innovation and technology would be better-positioned to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the market.

    Chairman, Africa Prudential Plc, Chief Eniola Fadayomi, said the stakeholders’ forum with the broad theme: “Leveraging Opportunities in an Evolving Capital Market: The Changing Roles of Registrars”, was organised to provide an opportunity for Africa Prudential and all its stakeholders to examine the past, present and future outlook of the capital market with a view to charting a road map for the future of all players in the industry in a genial atmosphere of robust debate.

    According to her, as a company with a very strong passion for transforming Africa through innovative solutions, superior investor relations, and business support services, Africa Prudential is in business to maximise mutual possibilities for all its stakeholders.

    She noted that in order to be at the competitive edge of innovation, a company must be agile and adapt to the changing times.

    “In other words, the company must be mindful of the fact that corporate success has its inherent risks and dangers – complacency. Nothing but change is permanent.  At Africa Prudential, we realise that change and innovation are paramount for a sustainable future for our company and that is why we are all here,” Fadayomi said.

    She added that the stakeholders’ forum would help ignite the spark of ideas, concepts, foresight and innovations that will spur the capital market industry to greater heights.

    She said Arica Prudential has diversified its business focus through an array of revolutionary new products as part of a sustainable vision for growth as a going concern.