Fidson Healthcare Plc says its N6bn capital raising recently approved by shareholders will aid the expansion of its production capacity.
Shareholders have approved the capital raise at the firm’s 18th Annual General Meeting held in Lagos for the purpose of enhancing business operation.
The company’s audited accounts for the year ended December 31, 2016, was also presented to shareholders.
The meeting also led to the re-election of Mr. Felix Ohiwerei and other directors who are due for re-election, and election of members of the Audit Committee in accordance with Section 359 (4) (5) of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts, CAP C20 LFN 2004.
Ohiwerei was thereby re-elected as chairman of the company, while Mrs.Oluwafunmilola Ayebae and Mr. Emmanuel Imoagene were both re-elected into the company’s board.
Ohiwerei, at the meeting, discussed the industry’s microeconomic environment and highlighted the company’s growth performance and operating result for the last financial year as well as future outlook.
He said the economic decline which started towards the end of 2015 and became apparent in 2016 when the economy was declared to be in recession, affected businesses in the country.
However, the firm’s turnover for the year ended December 31, 2014 was N9.7bn, representing an increase of 5.24 per cent when compared with N9.2bn recorded in 2013. Gross profit stood at N5.4bn compared with N5.1bn made in the year before, showing an increase of 6.5 per cent.
Its operating profit also increased by 4.65 per cent from N1.3bn in 2013 to N1.4bn in 2014. Profit after tax was N631m, against N154m recorded in 2013.
He noted that the significant increase in profit was due to the impact of impairment on investment in associate company on 2013 profit. Net asset had grown by 10 per cent from N5.2bn in 2013 to N5.7bn in 2014.
Ohiwerei further emphasised that with the biotech plant reaching its final stage of completion and expected to be operational soon, the board was confident of the continued growth and success of the company.
Financial advisers, other parties to the N58.851 billion Rights Issue of Unilever Nigeria Plc and directors of the company have held a signing ceremony for a successful issue. This followed the receipt of clearance documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in respect of the Rights Issue.
Unilever Nigeria wants to raise N58.851 billion by way of rights to existing shareholders on the basis of 14 new shares for every 27 shares held by shareholders at an issue price of N30 per share.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the ManagingDirector of Unilever Nigeria, Mr. Yaw Nsarkoh said: “Through this Rights Issue, we will be able to reinforce our financial flexibility to support our growth initiative and also give shareholders an opportunity to consolidate their shareholding position. The proceeds of the Rights Issue will be used to repay our outstanding foreign currency denominated liabilities, purchase additional raw materials required for our products and to meet other working capital requirements in other to build long term value for all stakeholders.”
Also, the Chairman, Unilever Nigeria, His Royal Majesty Nnaemeka Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha commented: “The Rights Issue reiterates our confidence in Unilever Nigeria’s robust future and commitment to building a more enduring business in the Nigerian market. We acknowledge with deep appreciation the unwavering support we have received from our stakeholders and shareholders even in trying times which has enabled us deliver positive result. We implore you to participate in the Rights Issues as you will be re-confirming your support for the Company.”
According to him, Unilever Nigeria remains committed to purpose driven growth underpinned by the ‘Unilever Sustainable Living Plan’ which is the blueprint for achieving their vision to make sustainable living commonplace and grow its business.
On his part, the Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, Funso Akere, commended the management of Unilever Nigeria for the commitment they have shown towards executing the rights issue and for giving Stanbic IBTC Capital a free hand to guide the process. Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited is acting as the issuing house for the rights issue.
Unilever last week reported a revenue of N45.105 billion for the half year ended June 30, 2017, showing an increase of 39 per cent from N32.278 billion in the corresponding period of 2016. Profit after tax rose by 236 per cent from N1.093 billion to N3.676 billion in 2017.
The fixed income and currency over-the-counter (OTC) market enjoyed high patronage in June as the value of transactions rose by 32.89 per cent from the previous month’s level.
Specifically, turnover recorded in the market in June stood at N12.62 trillion, up from N9.49 trillion recorded in May. This implies that between January and June, the market, which is facilitated by FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, has recorded a turnover of N67.37 trillion.
A breakdown of the N12.62 trillion traded in June, showed that the Treasury Bills (T.bills) segment continued to dominate, accounting for 43.22 per cent (40.73 per cent in May) while FGN bonds recorded 6.22 per cent (5.23 per cent in May) of total turnover in June. Turnover in the Fixed Income market in the month under review settled at N6.24trn, transactions in the T.bills market accounted for 87.41 per cent of the fixed income market, from 88.67 per cent the previous month. Outstanding T.bills at the end of the month stood at N8.51 trillion, a decrease of 3.98 per cent N8.87 trillion in May whilst FGN bonds’ outstanding value increased by 1.44 per cent to close at N7.03 trillion in the period under review.
Transactions in the FX market settled at $8.52 billion in June, an increase of 29.87 per cent when compared with the $6.65 billion recorded in May.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold a total of $1.476 billion through various interventions conducted during the period under review. The apex bank also maintained its marginal rate for the Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) –Wholesale Forwards intervention at $/3N320; and $/N357 .
In the same period, Money Market and Foreign Exchange market activities accounted for 28.91 per cent and 21.60 per cent of total turnover respectively.
The value of transactions in the FX Market increased by 29.87 per cent ($1.96 billion), as the supply of FX into the market by the CBN also increased by 50.15 per cent to settle at $1.476 billion in the month under review.
The twelfth Naira-settled OTC FX Futures contract NGUS June 21 2017, with a total open contract worth $657.67 million, matured and settled within the reporting month.
According to the FMDQ OTC, this also marked the first time the settlement amount was paid in favour of the contract seller, the CBN, as the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Fixing (NAFEX) on the settlement date closed lower the contract rate.
“Liquidity flows via I&E FX Window continued to improve as total volumes traded for the month settled at $1.81 billion, an increase of 37.73 per cent from the previous month,” it said.
The Managing Director/CEO of FMDQ, Mr. Bola Onadele. Koko, last week said that apart from facilitating currency trading, the OTC Exchange was working hard, in collaboration with other key stakeholders, to facilitate the development of a sustainable finance strategy for the country.
Skye Bank Plc says it has appointed a reputable investment bank as its financial adviser for its proposed recapitalisation programme.
A joint statement, signed by the bank’s Chairman, M. K Ahmad, and the Group Managing Director, Mr. Tokunbo Abiru, indicated that the financial adviser had identified the various options open to the bank for recapitalisation and proposals were being considered by the CBN accordingly.
The statement also noted that Skye Bank had submitted its 2016 financial accounts to the CBN for approval.
According to the statement, since the change in leadership in July 2016, efforts have been made to reposition the institution and put it back on the path of sustainable growth.
Those efforts had stabilised the bank and restored customer confidence through uninterrupted banking services, it stated.
The bank, it added, had recorded significant loan recoveries and improved security documentation, giving the lender the needed leverage to recover its delinquent loans.
The statement quoted the management of Skye Bank as thanking the CBN for the guarantees, waivers and other forbearances over the course of the last one year.
These have also been extended for another year, according to the lender.
Restating its commitment to chart a sustainable future for the bank, the bank also noted that it had reached settlement and restructuring agreements with many of the chronic bad debtors, resulting in substantially improved payments and prospects of future recoveries.
Commenting on the vicious social media campaigns against the bank, the statement berated the sponsors of such messages whom it noted were acting in the hope of escaping lawful debt obligations or accountability for past misdeeds.
The bank further restated its commitment towards ensuring that all those found to have committed economic crimes and infractions were brought to justice.
The statement noted that the bank, working closely with the CBN and its financial advisers, had identified clear and viable options for recapitalising the bank and repositioning it for future growth.
It assured its stakeholders-customers, employees, shareholders, institutional partners and regulators of its continuing commitment to the success and sustainability of the institution.
Skye Bank, designed by the CBN as a Systemically Important Bank, is one of the country’s retail banks with a wide range of electronic solutions and services.
THE Central Bank of Nige-ria (CBN) recorded foreign exchange inflow of $14.53 billion from January to May this year. This represents 121 per cent increase when compared with $6.57 billion recorded from January to May in 2016. Vanguard analysis of the monthly economic reports of the apex bank revealed that foreign exchange outflow through the CBN, however, increased marginally by 5.8 per cent to $9.09 billion within same period this year, compared to the $8.59 billion recorded as outflow same period last year. Consequently, the apex bank recorded net foreign exchange inflow of $5.4 billion in the first five months of this year, up by 367 per cent per cent from net outflow of $2.02 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2016. Further details, however, revealed that foreign exchange inflow into the CBN has been fluctuating since February when it peaked at $5.1 billion.
In March it dropped to $1.63 billion, rose to $2.87 billion in April but dropped again to $2.26 billion in May. On the other hand, foreign exchange outflow from the apex bank has been on the upward trend since the beginning of the year. In January 2017 foreign exchange outflow from the apex bank rose to $1.18 billion, in February, $1.67 billion in March, $2.16 billion in April, and $3.02 billion in May. Consequently CBN recorded the first net foreign exchange outflow of $761 million in May. This, according to the CBN, was due to decline on crude oil prices. Also it indicated the bullish interventions in the supply side of the interbank foreign exchange market since March this year was taking a toll on the forex resources. Providing details of foreign exchange inflow and outflow in May, CBN said: “The external sector weakened in May 2017 due to the decline in crude oil prices from an average of US$52.90 per barrel in April 2017 to $51.04 per barrel.
Increased shale oil production in the United States and supply by non-members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) both contributed to the fall in crude oil prices. Consequently, foreign exchange inflow through the CBN, at $2.26 billion, declined by 21.4 per cent below the level in the preceding month, but was 27.0 per cent above the level in the corresponding period of 2016. The decline relative to the level in the preceding month was driven by fall in both oil and non-oil proceeds. “Aggregate outflow of foreign exchange through the bank at $3.02 billion, increased by 39.6 percent and 78.7 per cent above $2.16 billion and $1.69 billion in the preceding month and the corresponding period of 2016, respectively. The development was driven by outflow through foreign exchange special payment, drawings on letters of credit, inter-bank utilization and external debt service. Overall, the net outflow through the bank in the month of May 2017 was $0.76 billion, in contrast to a net inflow of US$0.71 billion and $0.09 billion recorded in the preceding month and the corresponding period of 2016, respectively.”
ON Thursday, July 20, 2017, Vanguard published a story titled: “African Prudential Registrars Acquires 6% of UBA Shares” Vanguard Newspapers has since realised that the reported ‘acquisition of 6 percent of UBA Shares by Africa Prudential Registrars Plc’ is wrong. For clarity, United Bank for Africa Plc crossed 2,080,104,955 units of its ordinary shares from the Staff Share Investment Trust Scheme (SSIT) to the Group, at a price of N9.47 per share, through a non-cash transaction executed transparently on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
This non-cash transaction, which enables UBA to repossess the shares at no cost to the bank, is part of the process for implementing the Special Resolution of UBA’s shareholders, passed at the Annual General Meeting held on Friday, April 8, 2016, to cancel shares held under the SSIT. These shares which are now treasury shares in the bank will be subsequently cancelled from the shares outstanding of the bank to complete the implementation of the shareholders’ resolution. Upon cancellation of the 2,080,104,955 units of ordinary shares, the outstanding shares of UBA will be reduced from 36,279,526,321 units to 34,199,421,366 units. Implementation will increase the annualized 2017 First Quarter Earnings Per Share (EPS) of the Group by 6.1 per cent, from N2.46 to N2.61, translating to a Price to Earnings Ratio of 3.4x.
The process is value accretive to shareholders as it uniformly unlocks value for every shareholder of UBA, given that the enterprise value of UBA Plc remains unchanged. The unit holding of all shareholders remains the same, whilst their respective percentage holding in UBA Plc will increase. For example, a shareholder who owns 362.8 million units, which translates to one per cent of the bank’s equity before the cancellation of SSIT, will still own same number of units after the cancellation of SSIT, but the implied percentage holding will increase to 1.06 per cent of the bank’s equity, as the cancellation of SSIT shares reduces the outstanding shares and increases the percentage holding of all other shareholders on a pro rata basis. The cancellation of SSIT shares has no impact on the liquidity and capital adequacy ratio of the bank. UBA Plc continues to maintain strong liquidity and capital adequacy ratios, which stood at 41 per cent and 19.4 per cent respectively, as at March 31, 2017. We regret the inconveniences the report might have caused the bank, Africa Prudential Plc and their principal stakeholders.
IN a move to reap from diversification strategy, shareholders of Nigerian Aviation Company, NAHCO Plc, have called on the Board of Directors to reinstate the technical management service agreement with Rose Hill Group(RHG) Limited that was terminated last year. In expressing their confidence in the Board, the shareholders unanimously approved all resolutions tabled before them by the board and urged the new chairman, Architect Usman Bello to build on the success of his predecessor.
Speaking at the company’s Annual General Meeting, AGM in Abuja, the shareholders commended the board and management for the improved results despite the challenging operating environment. All the shareholders, who spoke at the meeting pledged their support for better future results and urged the board and management to sustain the performance. Revd Goodluck Akpore of Onitsha Zone Shareholders Association, who spoke the minds of shareholders present said “ NAHCO should restore the technical management service agreement with Rose Hill Group (RHG) Limited that was terminated last year.
RHG, which is a shareholder of NAHCO, had an agreement with the company to provide management service, but it was cancelled from the second quarter of 2016. However, Akpore said “diversification strategies currently being implemented by NAHCO are some of the benefits of the agreement, saying if RHG is left to go, it would impact negatively on the future performance of the company.”
THE Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, has launched a new market surveillance platform, Nasdaq SMARTS Market Surveillance Technology, to nip stock market manipulation in the bud. The technology will, among other things, enable NSE to pro-actively monitor market manipulation (including spoofing and layering), detect and deter manipulative tendencies, gather intelligence, carry out traders’ monitoring and analysis, conduct multi-asset and cross-market surveillance, and execute risk-based supervision of flagged participants. Commenting on the new technology, Ms. Tinuade Awe, General Counsel and Head of Regulation, NSE, said: “As we enter the growth phase of the development of our market, including the introduction of new asset classes such as derivatives, there will be the imperative of processing significant volumes of market information in real-time to detect anomalies. “The SMARTS technology, which we have successfully deployed, allows our team to pro-actively analyse patterns and trends to make sense of the vast amounts of data for investigative purposes and protection of investors, while strengthening the integrity of our market.
Through SMARTS, NSE is leveraging the latest in surveillance technology and demonstrating its commitment to fostering a strong marketplace,” said Tony Sio, Head, Exchange & Regulator Surveillance, Market Technology at Nasdaq. SMARTS performs universal surveillance of all asset classes and provides a strong platform for NSE to develop new products such as derivatives. We look forward to a long partnership with the NSE as the Nigerian markets evolve.”
UNILEVER West Africa’s Vice President, Supply Chain, Siddharth Ramaswamy, said the company has concluded plans to increase its investment portfolio in the country, thereby enhancing local manufacturing. This reiterates the company’s commitment to contribute to the growth of the Nigerian economy.
Ramaswamy said this during the courtesy visit and factory tour by the Minister for Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, to the manufacturing firm. According to him, the company which has been operating in Nigeria for almost 100 years, would continue to invest in the country, despite the prevailing economic challenges. “Nigeria is strategic to our business operations. This is why we remain committed to the country’s socio-economic development. We currently operate two manufacturing hubs in Nigeria, and we are already taking actions to increase our local manufacturing capacity.
There are ongoing investments which will not only provide additional employment opportunities for Nigerians, but will deliver further economic value through the development of a sustainable supply chain structure consisting of local manufacturers”, he said. Responding, the minister commended Unilever for its long serving history in Nigeria, and re-affirmed the government’s commitment to support Unilever in its operation.
According to him, the government is working hard to move the nation’s economy from a resource based to a knowledge based economy and the government is looking up to partner with organisations such as Unilever to achieve this, through synergy with several research institutions under the Ministry of Science and Technology. He said visits such as this, is to create an avenue to see how the government can assist organizations such as Unilever to overcome challenges by providing enabling environment to grow its business either through incentives or enabling legal framework. “We want companies to use more of local raw materials in production processes. Because when this happens, new jobs will be created, and our Gross Domestic product, GDP, will grow- thereby, reducing poverty. This can only happen if we work with you and other responsible companies”, he said. Onu urged Unilever to show more interest in local research in order to improve its production process. He charged Unilever to work more closely with FIIRO and other research center sunder the Ministry of Science and Technology.
UNILEVER West Africa’s Vice President, Supply Chain, Siddharth Ramaswamy, said the company has concluded plans to increase its investment portfolio in the country, thereby enhancing local manufacturing. This reiterates the company’s commitment to contribute to the growth of the Nigerian economy.
Ramaswamy said this during the courtesy visit and factory tour by the Minister for Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, to the manufacturing firm. According to him, the company which has been operating in Nigeria for almost 100 years, would continue to invest in the country, despite the prevailing economic challenges. “Nigeria is strategic to our business operations. This is why we remain committed to the country’s socio-economic development. We currently operate two manufacturing hubs in Nigeria, and we are already taking actions to increase our local manufacturing capacity.
There are ongoing investments which will not only provide additional employment opportunities for Nigerians, but will deliver further economic value through the development of a sustainable supply chain structure consisting of local manufacturers”, he said. Responding, the minister commended Unilever for its long serving history in Nigeria, and re-affirmed the government’s commitment to support Unilever in its operation.
According to him, the government is working hard to move the nation’s economy from a resource based to a knowledge based economy and the government is looking up to partner with organisations such as Unilever to achieve this, through synergy with several research institutions under the Ministry of Science and Technology. He said visits such as this, is to create an avenue to see how the government can assist organizations such as Unilever to overcome challenges by providing enabling environment to grow its business either through incentives or enabling legal framework. “We want companies to use more of local raw materials in production processes. Because when this happens, new jobs will be created, and our Gross Domestic product, GDP, will grow- thereby, reducing poverty. This can only happen if we work with you and other responsible companies”, he said. Onu urged Unilever to show more interest in local research in order to improve its production process. He charged Unilever to work more closely with FIIRO and other research center sunder the Ministry of Science and Technology.
