Archives April 2016

By rainbow Market Update

N2.7tn TSA funds not for sharing, says AGF

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, has said that the over N2.7tn in the Treasury Single Account will not be shared by the three tiers of government.

Idris said in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday that the funds belonged to agencies of the government for their operations and not for sharing as was being insinuated in some quarters.

The statement read in part, "The Accountant-General of the Federation has put the amount so far collected in the Treasury Single Account platform to be slightly above N2.7tn.

He further stated that the money belonged to the Federal Government's Ministries, Department and Agencies, and meant for their operations and not for sharing or for any other purposes as being reported in some media.

"Idris said that the TSA had helped the government to have a firm and full control of its resources, blocking leakages, helping it to reduce the cost of borrowing and to monitor spending in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government."

The AGF called on all organisations that had issues with the operations of the TSA to come forward with their problems, and assured them that his office was committed to resolving whatever challenges they might have in line with best practices.

On delay in paying workers' salaries, Idris gave an assurance that the Federal Government was working out modalities to ensure that the Federal Government workers were paid early, in line with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari.

"There is a standing instruction from Mr. President for workers to be paid on or before 24th or 25th of every month," he said.

While stating that the compliance might be hampered by the limited resources available to the government, which could only be determined after the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting, he said the government had taken steps to make a provision that would accommodate salary payment even before the FAAC meeting.

Source:© Copyright Punch Online

By rainbow Market Update

MTN’s Subscriber Base Falls 1.4% in First Quarter

MTN Group Limited's subscriber numbers fell during the first quarter as disconnections ordered by the government in Nigeria, its biggest market, curbed the growth of Africa's largest wireless operator.

MTN's customer base decreased by 1.4 per cent to about 229 million across 22 countries in the three months through March, compared with the previous quarter, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Thursday. The company cut its guidance for the full year to 11.95 million net additions from 12.5 million.

"In order to mitigate any future regulatory challenges, the group took an exceptionally conservative stance by disconnecting all subscribers who could possibly be deemed to be non-compliant," Bloomberg quoted its Executive Chairman, Phuthuma Nhleko to have said in the statement.

"This has had a significant unfavourable impact on total subscriber growth and revenue" in the first quarter.

MTN was fined a record $5.2 billion in Nigeria last year for missing a deadline to disconnect subscribers, whom the government had deemed unregistered amid a crackdown on security. The company is still in negotiations about settling the penalty, which was later reduced to $3.9 billion. Nhleko returned to the company he used to run in November to handle the dispute after Chief Executive Officer Sifiso Dabengwa resigned.

The shares declined as much as 2.7 per cent before reversing to trade 2.2 percent higher at 151.11 rand by 9:29 a.m. in Johannesburg, valuing the company at 277 billion rand ($19 billion). The stock has lost about 21 percent of its value since the Nigeria penalty was announced in October,

"We expected a drop in subscribers in Nigeria during the first quarter, even though the drop was bigger than expected," Arqaam Capital analyst Tibor Bokor said by phone from Dubai. "We expect that numbers in Nigeria will improve during the second quarter, as the political landscape has changed in the country."

MTN Nigeria subscribers decreased by 6.9 percent after 4.5 million customers were disconnected in February. In South Africa, the company's second-largest market, customer numbers fell by 1.7 percent.

Source:© Copyright Thisday Online

By rainbow Market Update

Shareholders laud Dangote cement over 33.3% rise in 2015 dividend

Shareholders of Dangote Cement Plc, yesterday, commended the company for increasing the dividend by 33.3 per cent from N6.0 dividend payout in 2014 to N8.0 in 2015.

The shareholders, who spoke during the company's seventh yearly general meeting in Lagos yesterday, lauded the company on its backward integration in the cement sector of the construction industry, especially the commencement of the construction of a $1billion cement plant in Okpella, Edo state.

Specifically, the National Coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Boniface Okezie commended the management of Dangote on a 33 per cent appreciation in shareholders dividend from N6 in 2014 to N8 for the financial year ended 31st December 2015.

He pointed out that the dividend payout is the highest so far in the industry, urging him to continue to enhance its local capacity in the country,

Another shareholder, Mrs Bisi Bakare lauded the company for creating direct jobs through its various projects in the country and impacting positively on the host communities, its people and the state.

"I want to use this opportunity to thank our chairman and the board for their generosity towards the nation's development. As a giant of Africa, the financial support given to our subsidiaries by the company will go a long way in developing other countries we have interest.

"This is a total eradication of poverty and creation of more job opportunities all over. Our performance during the year is a successive growth and transformative, as our capacity increased by 24 per cent to 43.6 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa). Similarly, our sales volume also increased by 35 percent to 18.9 mtpa from 14.0 mtpa.

"From seven sites in 2014, we have grown to 11 sites, and we are projecting a growth of 24 sites by year 2020. In Employment, we have currently employed 14,289 people with a projected growth to 29,000 by year 2020.

"If we have five of you in the nation it will go along way in the total transformation of the continent. We commend you, may you live long to enjoy the fruit of your labour." She added.

The Chairman of the company, Alhaji Aliko Dangote assured the shareholders that the company would continue to deploy strategies that would increase profitability in spite of the prevailing harsh operating climate.

He pointed out that with the measures put in place, the foreign exchange volatility would not affect the operations of the company significantly more so when its other African plants are operating maximally and yielding positive results to cushion the effect of the scarce foreign exchange at home.

Dangote added that the company produces 44 million mtpa in eight countries with 14, 289 staff, and N491.7 billion in sales. "We have invested billions of dollar in building new capacity across Africa, creating thousands of jobs in factories, logistics, sales and support. We have single handily helped Nigeria become self-sufficient in cement.

"We have good strategy in place, the volatility of the foreign exchange will not affect our operations. I am not an advocate of devaluation of our currency, even if that had happened, it would not have affected your company "Looking back at 2015, we have shown that that our core Nigerian businesses is adaptable and robust in the face of serious external challenges. We have proved that we can enter new territories successfully and quickly achieve excellent market share. "We reduced the level of business risk we faced and reduce our overall net debt, while at the same time increasing our revenue and profitability. I think few of this great continent's major companies can claim to have matched these achievements.

"I hope our success in 2015 has rewarded the confidence you have placed in us over the past few years and trust you will continue to share our successes as we continue our expansion to become a global force in cement," he added.

The company declared a profit after tax of N181.3 billion for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2015, against the N151.5 billion posted in 2014. The profit represented a growth of 13.67 per cent when compared with figure for 2014.

The company's profit before tax stood at N188.3 billion compared with N184.7 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2014.Further breakdown of the result indicated that the company declared a revenue of N491.7 billion compared with N391.6 recorded in 2014, an increase of 26 per cent.

The board of directors recommended a dividend of N8 per share against N6 paid in 2014, a growth of 33 per cent. The company in 2015 announced plans to increase its capacity by 25 million metric tonnes across African countries including Ethiopia, Kenya and Zambia, as well as a new plant in Nepal.

Source:© Copyright Guardian Online

By rainbow Market Update

Unilever Nigeria grows sales by 12.5% in Q1

Unilever Nigeria Plc grew its sales by 12.5 per cent in the first quarter of this year to N16.78 billion.

Unaudited report and accounts for the first quarter ended March 31, this year showed that the company grew by 12.5 per cent from N14.9 billion in first quarter of last year to N16.78 billion in first quarter of this year. Cost of sales increased by 9.1 per cent to N10.7 billion for the period ended March 2016 from N9.8 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2015. Net finance cost reduced by 35 per cent to N488 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016 compared to N757 million reported for the corresponding period in 2015.

The report showed that net finance cost as a function of operating profit improved significantly to 26 per cent as against 47 per cent in first quarter 2015, reflecting sustained improvements in cash management. Profit after tax for the period increased significantly by 76 per cent from N590 million in first quarter 2015 to N1.04 billion in first quarter 2016.

Unilever Nigeria assured stakeholders of continued focus on key business drivers to ensure sustained growth in the company’s operations to improve returns on investments.

“Although the challenges in the operating environment are yet to ease, we have continued to see momentum behind recent initiatives taken by Management. We will continue to focus on driving cost efficiencies, growing market share across key categories and reinvesting behind our brands,” the company stated.

The management of the company said they were addressing the issue of finance costs through a number of initiatives and efforts are on-going to sustain the improvements coming through in first quarter.

Unilever Nigeria noted that the consistency in performance over the last two quarters demonstrates strong resilience and resolution to win despite the various economic challenges in the operating environment.

Source:© Copyright The Nation Online

By rainbow Market Update

NSE market indices appreciate by 0.51%

The market indices of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) appreciated by 0.51 per cent on Wednesday due to gains posted by some blue chips.
The market capitalisation rose by N43 billion or 0.51 per cent to close at N8.525 trillion from the N8.482 trillion recorded on Tuesday.
The All-Share Index, which opened at 24,659.17, grew by 125.78 points or 0.51 per cent to close at 24,784.95.
Analysts attributed the growth to capital appreciation by Flour Mills, GTBank, Zenith Bank, Seplat and Nigerian Breweries.
Seplat led the price gainers’ table with N2.85 to close at N335 per share.
Nigerian Breweries followed with 64k to close at N103.14, while Flour Mill also appreciated by 64k to close at N20 per share.
GTBank gained 46k to close at N16.16, while National Salt increased by 34k to close at N7.74 per share.
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On the other hand, Mobil Oil topped the price losers’ chart, shedding N2.25 to close at N149 per share.
Okomu Oil Palm trailed with a drop of 48k to close at N30, while Custodian and Allied Insurance lost 19k to close at N3.71 per share.
Portland Paint and Product depreciated by 13k to close at N2.75 and Air Service shed 10k to close at N1.90 per share.
The volume of shares traded closed lower with 159.26 million shares valued at N1.11 billion transacted in 2,698 deals.
This was against the 228.29 million shares worth N1.44 billion traded in 3,239 deals on Tuesday.
FBN Holdings was most active for the day, trading 19.18 million shares valued at N64.23 million.
GTBank followed with 19.13 million shares worth N305.39 million, while Zenith Bank traded 15.98 million shares valued at N187.24 million.

Source:© Copyright today Online

By rainbow Market Update

More Nigerian Oil Firms Opts For Dual Listing

The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Osacr Onyema has said that more indigenous oil companies are opting for Dual Listing at the Exchange.

Onyema said that after the successful listing of shares of Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2014, more companies in the downstream oil & gas Exploration and Production (E&P) sector have indicated interest to be listed.

The CEO who made the disclosure at NSE/LSEG dual listing conference in Lagos, said there has also been expression of interest from companies with less representation on the Exchange, especially the telcos and utility firms.

Seplat was the first indigenous Nigerian company to dual list its ordinary shares in London and Nigeria after an Initial Public Offering (IPO) that raised as much as $500 million, an equivalent of N82.5 billion, thereby valuing the company at $1.9 billion.

Onyema stated that many more companies are eager to replicate the success story, saying that announcements would have been to that effect if not for the commodity shocks expressed globally in the last couple of months.

“We have done a lot of works with a number of E&P companies and if it wasn’t commodity shocks we have witnessed in the last set of months, you probably would have seen a public announcement. Unfortunately, the way we work, we can’t announce anything until the deal is done. Yes there is a lot of interest; there is a strong pipeline and everybody wants to replicate the success of Seplat.

On the next wave of listing expected in the market, he said: “On a standalone basis, there is still great opportunity for companies and sectors that are not well represented in the market like the telecom companies, a number of utility companies and a lot of government companies that we are putting a lot of efforts into seeing that they are privatized. So, are the areas that we think that we could see more action in the mid-term.

Source:© Copyright leadership Online

By rainbow Market Update

NDIC Puts Total Bank Depositors’ Funds at N17.3tn in 2015

The Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim has disclosed that the total deposit liabilities of all the deposit money banks (DMBs) in the country amounted to N17.3 trillion as at December 2015.

He also stated that of the total amount, which had 67 million depositors tied to it, the corporation had provided over 90 percent of insurance coverage.

Speaking in Jos, during a lecture titled: "NDIC and Engendering Confidence in the Financial Services Sector for Poverty Reduction and Economic empowerment" which was organised for participants of Executive Course No 38, 2016 at National Institute for Policy & Strategic Studies Kuru, he also said a total of N165.5 billion which belonged to 8.4 million depositors of microfinance banks (MFBs) as well as N73.71 billion linked to 0.73 million depositors of primary mortgage banks (PMBs) were further covered by over 95 percent.

He noted that by these interventions, among others, the corporation had contributed to poverty reduction as it focused on deposit guarantee and protection of depositors' interest.

Furthermore, the NDIC boss has hinted that the corporation is currently considering the introduction of electronic deposit payment system to facilitate depositor pay-out within the shortest possible time.

The NDIC boss also suggested the re-establishment of Nigeria Savings Bank to expand the frontiers banking system in the country.

He said the desire to effectively use post offices and leveraging information and communication technology (ICT) to facilitate financial intermediation would not only mobilise savings but also give access to credits.

He drew the attention to Britain which in the last decade transformed its post offices into elegant avenues of harnessing savings and credits creation, adding: "Since we are talking of poverty alleviation, we can revisit the issue of National Savings Bank."

Ibrahim however, noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Ministry of Communication had been discussing modalities for effective transformation of post offices so as to serve as banks' agents.

In a statement signed by Head, Communication and Public Affairs Department, NDIC, Alhaji Hadi Birchi, the NDIC chief executive reminded the participants that Deposit Insurance Scheme (DIS) was one of the critical components of Financial System Safety-Net arrangement and financial guarantee to depositors, particularly the small depositors in the event of a bank failure. He pointed out that any financial system that did not have a DIS could not be said to have a complete Financial Safety-Net arrangement.

Source:© Copyright Thisday Online

By rainbow Market Update

Dangote Sugar Refinery Shareholders Approve N6bn Dividend

Shareholders of Dangote Refinery Plc. on Wednesday approved the N6 billion dividend proposed by the board for the year ended December 31, 2015. The dividend, which translated to 50 kobo per share, was approved at the 10th annual general meeting (AGM) held in Lagos.

The dividend is 48 per cent of the profit after tax (PAT) recorded for the year. The shareholders commended DSR for the performance and dividend payment despite the challenges in the operating environment.

For instance, the Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN) Boniface Okezie described the management of the company as having foresight and making giant strides in back integration. According to him, DSR has remained the foremost sugar refinery in Nigeria and continued to add value to shareholders.

Speaking in the same vein, another shareholder, Mr. Patrick Ajudua, noted that DSR has continued to sustain its production despite economic challenges in the country.

Addressing the shareholders, Chairman of DSR, Alhaji Aliko Dangote said 2015 was a very challenging year as the political transition and economic slowdown impacted consumer spending and the global oversupply of crude oil weakened the naira, leaving an average Nigerian consumer with less purchasing power than in the past three to four years.

"In spite of this we achieved a Group turnover of N101 billion in 2015, seven per cent higher than the turnover of N95 billion in 2014. Profit before tax NPBT) stood at N16 billion and Profit after tax at N15 billion. Our earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to N21 billion compared to N18 billion in the previous year," he said.

According to him, DSR remains committed to delivering superior returns to its shareholders hence the board recommended a total dividend pay-out of N6 billion.

Speaking on the future prospects, the acting Managing Director of DSR, Abdullahi Sule said 2016 commenced on a good footing as the company continued to increase its market share and implementing various initiatives and projects towards the actualisation of its target within the next five years.

"Achievement of the backward integration projects (BIP) targets remains our priority, and this will eliminate our reliance on foreign exchange as well as volatility of raw sugar prices, the highest single driver of our production cost," Sule said.

Source:© Copyright Thisday Online

By rainbow Market Update

FSDH Merchant Bank Rewards Shareholders with N2.6bn Dividend

The Board of Directors of FSDH Merchant Bank has recommended the sum of N2.6 billion as dividend payment for the year ended December 31 2015 for its shareholders.

The amount translates to 93.20 kobo per share, 66.45 kobo more than the 26.75 kobo per share it paid at the end of the 2014 financial year.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FSDH Merchant Bank, Rilwan Belo-Osagie, who disclosed this at the bank's pre-AGM press briefing said all the banks subsidiaries performed well during the year under review.

As a result, he said profit after tax attributable to the group increased by 34.98 per cent to N4.09 billion from N3.03 billion for the previous year.
Analysis of the results showed that the group achieved a profit before tax (PBT) of N4.72 billion for the financial year ended December 31 2015. This represents an increase of 29.67 per cent over the profit of N3.64 billion for the year ended December 31 2014.

In the financial year under review, the FSDH Group had a total asset size of N116.23billion while the size of the group's shareholders' funds stood at N30.24 billion as at December 31, 2015; a 19.06 per cent increase from the position of N25.4 billion for the financial year ended 31 December,2014.
Earnings per share (EPS) for the group stood at 141 kobo, which is 37 kobo more than the 104 kobo that was earned in the previous financial year.

Analysis of contributions from the bank's subsidiaries showed that FSDH Asset Management (FSDH-AM) contributed a Profit after Tax of N307.93 million, while Pensions Alliance Limited (PAL) and FSDH Securities (FSDH-SEC), added N960.01million and N63.27 million respectively to the Profit After Tax of the group.

Speaking further, he said: "The new year 2016 marks the fourth year of our operations as a Merchant Bank. In spite of the challenges in the economy and in the financial markets, we intend to continue to harness the opportunities we identify in carefully selected industries while continuing with our conservative approach of building a portfolio of risk assets that will be enduring.

We will continue to maximise shareholder value by constantly realigning our operations and also harnessing business opportunities as they arise."

Source:© Copyright Thisday Online

By rainbow Market Update

Nigeria’s oil output drops further as Agip declares force majeure on Brass River

The pangs of the several production halts may have continued to assail Nigeria's economy, as the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) has shut crude oil production from its Brass River facility.

This is coming on the heels of Angola taking over from Nigeria as the highest oil producing nation in Africa.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) latest monthly report revealed that Nigeria's oil production fell by 67,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March.

The low production level being recorded by the country may not be unconnected with the production halts at Brass River coupled with the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC's) operated Forcados export terminal that was shut in February this year.

Forcados, which has the capacity to export about 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), was scheduled to export some 249,000 barrels bpd in February and March, but the constraints to repair works on the vandalised pipeline have dashed the hope of further export through the lines in the last few months.

However, there were indications that the repair works on the pipeline feeding Forcados crude oil to the export terminal may last till June.

Agip reportedly declared a force majeure on the Brass River grade of crude oil, after a fire was detected on the pipeline that lifts crude to the terminal.

About 142,000 bpd of Brass River was due to be exported in May according to a loading programme.

According to the OPEC report, Nigeria produced 1.677 million bpd in March, down from 1.744 million barrels in February, while Angola oil output rose from 1.767 million bpd to 1.782 million in the same period.

This is the second time in four months that Angola would overtake Nigeria's crude oil production level.

OPEC has reviewed the estimates for 2016 world oil demand lower by 50,000 bpd, to a total of 1.20 million bpd of projected oil demand growth for the year.

According to the report, the forecast for 2016 is subject to many uncertainties, mainly the pace of economic growth in major oil demand centres, the removal of subsidies in oil-producing countries, mild weather in the Northern Hemisphere and the diverse effects of oil prices in different regions.

Non-OPEC members' supply for 2016 was however forecast to contract by 0.73 million bpd, indicating downward revision by 30,000 bpd, compared with an average of 56.39 million bpd projected a month earlier.

The main reason for this downward revision was lower expectations for crude oil production from China's onshore mature fields in the year. Moreover, further declines are expected to come from the United States, United Kingdom, and Colombia.

"Deferring of major new projects due to reduced cash flow in 2016 following the fall in global oil prices has been the main reason for a contraction in the current year. Global upstream investments, particularly in high-cost regions, remain suspended until a sustained price recovery can be maintained," it stated.


Source:© Copyright Guardian Online