The market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) got a boost by N100.75 billion yesterday, following the historic listing of 1.612 billion ordinary shares of Notore Chemical Industries Plc (Notore) at N62.50 per share.
The company was listed on the industrial goods sector of the NSE. The listing was the first this year.
Notore, which is a vertically integrated agro-allied, chemical and power group based in Onne Rivers State, has six subsidiaries. They are Notore Supply & Trading Mauritius Limited, Notore Power Limited, Notore Seeds Limited, Notore Foods Limited and Notore Industrial City Limited.
Speaking on the reasons for the listing on the NSE, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Notore Plc, Mr. Onajite Okoloko, said it was to support the Nigerian government’s effort to deepen the capital markets, improve liquidity and tradability of the company’s shares. In addition, he said the move would increase the company’s visibility and credibility in the Nigerian market and beyond.
“The listing will also increase access to capital in order to fund the company’s future growth initiatives and grant Nigerians the opportunity to participate in the Notore’s growth history,” he said.
Giving a brief history of the company, Okoloko said, formerly O-Secul Fertilizer Company Limited, Notore was established in 2005 to acquire the core assets of the National Fertilizer Company of Nigeria (NAFCON).
“Our core business is the production and sale of fertilizer products, which is traded locally (within) Nigeria and exported to West Africa, Southern Africa and Europe. Our key strength lies in our huge potential to diversify our revenues due to our favourable location within a prolific gas hub and access to a jetty, which guarantees easy export of any products manufactured in the facility,” he said.
Disclosing the value proposition of the company, Okoloko said Notore remains the only urea producer in sub-Sahara Africa with control over gas supply and has vast distribution network in the local Nigerian market. According to him, it currently produces 1,000 metric tonnes of urea fertilizer on daily basis.
“Notore sells 75 per cent of its urea fertilizer locally and export 25 per cent to leading international traders such as Helm Ag, Ameropa and Yara. Notore is a licensed independent power producer, which generates electricity for use in the fertilizer plant and residential estate with excess capacity available for sale to nearby off-takers. Total capacity of 50 megawatts(MW) with own use requirements of between 8-13MW,” he said.
On the financial performance of the company, Okoloko said revenue grew from N21.285 billion in 2013 to N35.985 billion in 2017, while profit after tax rose from N1.694 billion to N8.652 billion the respective years.
Looking ahead, the GMD said Notore had secured approval for US37 million facility to fund its turnaround maintenance program, acquire and install back-up power supply and acquire critical plant spares.
“In the medium term, Notre will develop new compound fertilizer blends specifically for key growth crops, expand the company’s seed business and develop a crop protection business. We will also leverage the company’s free zone developer status to develop the proposed industrial complex into a gas hub and an integrated logistics service provider to the oil and gas sector,” he said.
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