The Nation Newspaper

Tag: better returns

  • Vitafoam Nigeria assures of better returns

    •Shareholders get dividend, bonus

    Shareholders of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc yesterday approved the payment of N260.51 million as cash dividend and a scrip dividend of one share for five shares as the directors of the company assured that it would sustain the current growth trajectory.

    At the annual general meeting in Lagos, shareholders commended the company for what they described as impressive results in 2018. They approved the distribution of N260.51 million, representing a dividend per share of 25 kobo, in addition to bonus share of one new ordinary share of 50 kobo each for every five ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts for the year ended September 30, 2018 showed that Vitafoam Nigeria recorded impressive growths in sales and profitability. Group turnover rose from N17.69 billion in 2017 to N19.53 billion in 2018. Profit before tax jumped from N18.13 million in 2017 to N793.85 million in 2018. After taxes, the company reversed net loss of N127.69 million recorded in 2017 with a net profit of N601.92 million in 2018. Earnings per share thus improved from a loss of 15 kobo in 2017 to a gain of 57 kobo in 2018.

    Group Managing Director, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Mr Taiwo Adeniyi, said consistent growths in key performance indicators in successive results provide basis for assurance that the company will be able to surpass its previous performance in the current business year.

    He noted that the first quarter results for the current business year had shown the direction of the group’s business, adding that the second quarter results, which will be released in the next few weeks, further consolidated the performance of the company.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Vitafoam Nigeria for the three-month period ended December 31, 2018 had shown that turnover rose by 26.3 per cent while profits before and after tax doubled by 98.48 per cent and 123.14 per cent respectively. Group turnover stood at N6.38 billion in December 2018 as against N5.05 billion recorded in comparable period of 2017. Profit before tax rose from N258.53 million to N513.12 million while profit after tax jumped from N162.17 million to N361.87 million. Earnings per share also increased from 13 kobo by December 2017 to 33 kobo in December 2018.

    Adeniyi said the group’s Nigerian businesses are on a stronger footing while three of its seven subsidiaries have started to generate profit.

    He said the company will continue to innovate and develop products that will keep it ahead of competition and enable it to grow its turnover while extracting better values for shareholders.

    Chairman, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Dr Bamidele Makanjuola, said the growth in turnover and profitability reflected the robustness and fundamental strength of the group’s business.

    According to him, the company had taken strategic decision and reengineered its business with special focus on products quality, innovation, market differentiation, customer service and consumer education.

    “These efforts underscored our long-term priorities of growing revenue, controlling operating costs, and driving higher gross margins. I am pleased to report that we made great strides in cost containment and sustained positive trends in gross margins,” Makanjuola said.

    He said the dividend payout and bonus shares were rewards to shareholders for their unwavering support and commitment to the cause of the company.

    “We will continue to champion investment in people, processes and technology in a bid to grow revenue and consolidate the strategic transformation of our company,” Makanjuola assured.

     

  • Okonkwo promises better returns for investors

    Fidelity Bank CEO, Nnamdi Okonkwo has assured the investors and analysts community that the top Nigerian lender will deliver better returns in the 2018 financial year.

    Speaking in Lagos, during the Half Year Investors and Analyst Conference Call, Okonkwo said the bank will maintain the disciplined approach to the execution of the medium term strategic initiatives, that have sustained the bank’s strong performance in recent years. “From what we have seen so far and going by our half year results, we are staying with our guidance for the full year” said Okonkwo.

    The engagement with investors and analysts, came on the heels of the recently released H1 2018 results which saw the Bank record double-digit growth in key revenue lines and achieving significant traction in its chosen business segments.

    Gross profits rose by 27.3 to close at N13 billion whilst Profit After Tax (PAT) grew by 31 per cent to close at N11.8 billion from N9.03 billion recorded in 2017, a performance that Okonkwo attributed to the “disciplined approach in managing the balance sheet growth of the bank.

  • Nestle Nigeria optimistic of better returns

    •Shareholders get N33.7b dividend

    Nestle Nigeria Plc is optimistic the ongoing economic reforms and diversification agenda of the government will lead to better performance and returns to shareholders in the years ahead.

    Addressing shareholders at the annual general meeting yesterday in Lagos, Chairman, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Mr. David Ifezulike, said as the current economic recovery trend eases production constraints in manufacturing and agriculture and key government reforms continue to diversify the economy, an all-round improvement in the economy is expected.

    “In view of the foregoing and confident in the capacity of our people and the value of our brands, we look towards 2018 with optimism,” Ifezulike said.

    He assured shareholders of better returns in the years ahead noting that the increase of 34 per cent in the company’s sales in 2017 was evidence that consumers continue to trust its brands.

    He said the company will continue to work to retain consumer’s trust by responding to their needs and their preferences.

    According to him, Nestle Nigeria would continue to implement the policies that have contributed to the company’s growth in recent times.

    He added that Nestle brands remained the leaders in their categories by increasing the focus of the marketing efforts on driving penetration through the Popularly Positioned Products (PPP) strategy while continuing to educate consumers on the benefits of good nutrition delivered by high quality products.

    Shareholders at the meeting approved the payment of N33.7 billion as cash dividend for the 2017 business year. Shareholders commended the company’s performance noting that the company’s fundamentals remain strong.

    A breakdown of the dividend indicated that N21.8 billion will be distributed as final cash dividend to shareholders, representing a final dividend per share of N27.50. The final dividend will be paid on May 23, 2018 to shareholders on the register of the company as at the close of business on May 4, 2018. Nestle Nigeria had earlier paid interim dividend of N11.89 billion, representing a dividend per share of N15. Total dividend per share for 2017 now stands at N42.50.

    The significant increase in dividend payout underlined improvement in the performance of the company in 2017 as net profit rose by 326 per cent.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Nestle Nigeria for the year ended December 31, 2017 showed that turnover rose by 34.2 per cent from N181.9 billion in 2016 to N244.2 billion. Gross profit also grew by 33.9 per cent from N75.3 billion in 2016 to N100.9 billion in 2017. Profit before tax jumped by 117.3 per cent to N46.8 billion as against N21.5 billion recorded in the previous year. After taxes, net profit leapt from N7.9 billion in 2016 to N33.7 billion in 2017, representing an increase of 326 per cent.

     

  • Cordros Capital predicts better returns for equities in 2018

    Nigeria’s macroeconomic outlook is more favourable to continuing rally at the equities market, Cordros Capital has said.

    Presenting its special outlook report tagged “Nigeria in 2018: Looking Beyond the Surface, Cordros Capital yesterday outlined a positive outlook for the Nigerian economy and the equities market, noting that average return at the equities market could range between a modest return of between 10 and 15 per cent and a bullish performance as high as 40 per cent.

    Managing Director, Cordros Capital, Mr. Wale Agbeyangi, said Cordros Capital as one of the top stockbroking firms at the Nigerian stock market is committed to providing investors with value-added services that enable them to make informed decisions.

    He noted that the special report was part of the research and investment advisory function of the company adding that the company will also organise a special forum to engage investors and stakeholders on the underlying issues in the Nigerian economy and the capital market.

    Head, Research and Strategy, Mr. Christian Orajekwe, who spoke extensively on the special report, noted that Nigeria’s economic outlook is promising with continued favourable financing condition, strong consumer sentiment that will help maintain consumption demand and business investments  and favourable commodities prices.

    “Compared to the last two years, Nigeria’s macro outlook is more favourable to equities,”  Orajekwe said.

    According to him, with the strong start so far this year and significantly favourable macroeconomic and political backdrop, strong corporate earnings growth ease valuation concerns, strong portfolio inflows to record high level, merger and acquisition activities and strong moderation of fixed income and treasury yield, Nigerian equities could record average full-year return of more than 40 per cent.

    He however noted that with due consideration for the downside risk, the equities market could deliver a more probable return of between 10 to 15 per cent. This assumption rests on the bullish start for the year, moderate improvement in the macro environment, stable to modest corporate earnings growth, modest improvement in portfolio inflows over 2017, marginal moderation of fixed income and treasury yields and modest election concerns.

    “Back-to-back gain of more than 80 per cent total is not a new phenomenon. Bull markets do not die of old age,” Orajekwe said.

    Head, Investment Banking, Cordros Capital, Mr. Femi Ademola, urged investors to cherry-pick stocks, and hold 2017 position and watch out for fourth quarter earnings for 2017 and first quarter earnings for 2018 to determine the earnings direction for quoted companies.

    “Small-cap companies will benefit from stronger recovery of economic activities, election-related spending, passage of the minimum wage bill into law, and improvement in public sector revenue while raw materials intensive companies are to benefit from the stability of the naira,” Ademola said.

    He added that highly-geared companies will also benefit from the expected moderation of interest rates while cement companies are expected to benefit from the expected improvement in public sector construction activities.

     

  • Sterling Bank assures shareholders of better returns

    Sterling Bank assures shareholders of better returns

    The management of Sterling Bank Plc has assured that the bank would continue to build up shareholders’ value in spite of envisaged challenges in the banking industry.

    Managing director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Yemi Adeola, said the bank’s performance in 2014 showed the strengths of its resilient growth model and its ability to continue to deliver value for all stakeholders.

    Addressing shareholders at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, Adeola assured that a proposed multi-currency debt capital of $200m would improve the bank’s fortunes substantially.

    According to him, the 2014 financial performance lays credence to the commitment of the Sterling Bank team to its collective goals and the resilience of its business model.

    He outlined that the bank has invested substantially in the upgrade of its technology infrastructure and re-engineering, centralization and automation of processes to improve customer experience.

    He added that the credit processing engine for the retail and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) space was re-engineered to streamline the process from origination to disbursement to enhance service delivery noting that various projects are at varying stages of implementation.

    He however pointed out that the full adoption of Basell 11 requirements could drive capital build up and slower loan growth in the banking industry while more efficient management of and slower growth in government revenue would see greater competition for private sector deposits leading to higher deposit rates.

    “While the economic landscape may be challenging, I strongly believe that the bank is on sound financial footing, given its stronger capital position, asset quality and dedicated workforce to advance its growth plans,”  Adeola said.

    Sterling Bank’s shareholders received 6.0 kobo dividend per share. Though the dividend payment reduced by 76 per cent against 25 kobo paid for the previous year, the bank was able to grow its profit by nine per cent in 2014.

     

     

    The bank’s balance sheet also showed that net loans and advances increased by 15.4 per cent to N371.2 billion in 2014 compared with N321.7 billion in 2013, while customer deposits rose by 15 per cent to N655.9 billion as against N570.5 billion just as shareholders’ funds increased by 33.5 per cent from N63.5 billion to N84.7 billion. Total assets closed 2014 at N824.5 billion, representing an increase of 16.5 per cent on N707.8 billion recorded in 2013.

    Chairman, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Asue Ighodalo said the bank was very optimistic about future prospects based on the strategic alliances being embarked by the board and management.

     

     

     

    Major highlights showed that net interest income leapt by 20.1 per cent to N43.0 billion in 2014 as against N35.8 billion recorded in 2013. This was driven mainly by an 11.4 per cent growth in interest income to N77.9 billion, which far outweighed the 2.2 per cent increase in funding costs to N34.9 billion. This underlined the increasing cost efficiency of the lender as cost of funds dropped from 6.1 per cent in 2013 to 5.3 percent in 2014. Similarly, non-interest income grew by 18.3 per cent from N21.8 billion in 2013 to N25.7 billion in 2014. This was boosted by an 82.2 per cent growth in net trading income to N6.8 billion.

    Shareholders who spoke at the annual general meeting lauded the bank’s performance, even as they tasked the management on the need to improve on the performance.

     

  • Dangote Sugar promises better returns, jobs

    Dangote Sugar Refinery (DSR) Plc’s strategic sugar master plan would enhance returns to shareholders and create massive jobs and opportunities for the Nigerian citizenry, the management of the company has assured.

    Speaking during introductory visit to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday in Lagos, the newly appointed managing director of Dangote Sugar Refinery, Mr. Graham Clark, said that the company has embarked on implementation of strategic initiatives to enhance returns to shareholders and widen opportunities for the people.

    Clark, who has served most recently as the Managing Director of Illovo Sugar Limited – Africa’s biggest sugar producers with operations in six African countries, assured that he would collaborate with the board and management of the company to increase its market share and sustain its leadership position.

    According to him, DSR will stimulate rural economy of Nigeria through its backward integration programme and create many jobs. The backward integration will reintroduce sugar production to Nigeria and ultimately make the product sufficient and stable in the market.

    He pointed out that the in furtherance of the backward integration, the company recently acquired farm machinery worth $35 million from Panafrican Equipment noting that acquisition was in demonstration of the company’s faith in the backward integration policy of the Federal Government and National Sugar Development Council (NSDC).

    He said that the DSR’s sugar master plan would lead to production of 1.5 million metric tonnes of sugar per annum locally adding that the company would increase its capacity significantly.

    “We are bringing agriculture back to rural Nigeria, we will bring new skills to rural Nigeria and employ many people, we would play our part in stimulating the sugar industry in Nigeria. Our plan is to consolidate what we have and build on the plans to continue to reinforce DSR as the leading player in sugar in Nigeria,” Clark said.

    Clark, who has over 30 years of experience in African sugar industry, said Dangote Sugar has commenced the acquisition of additional hectares of land across Nigeria for the massive sugar plantation projects.

    According to him, there will be exciting things taking place in the next few years as the company’s sugar development story effectively moves from now through a period of five to 10 years, when it will develop new sugar plantations and new sugar factories across the country.

    “We will embrace Nigerian farmers to join us in the production of our raw material, which is sugar cane. We will stimulate considerable economic activities in the rural communities,” Clark said.

    Dangote Sugar is actively pursuing a backward integration master plan with a target of producing a total of 1.5 million tons of sugar locally per annum. The subsidiary, Savannah Sugar Company Limited, Numan, Adamawa State is geared to meet this target. Savannah Sugar is located on 32,000 hectares of land with a 50,000 MT/PA sugar production capacity. Currently, the company has 5,000 hectares on cane which is now being harvested for sugar production. Additional locations are being acquired in Sokoto, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Jigawa, Taraba States amongst others.