Author Archives: Mr. Peter Aro

The Nigerian stock market yesterday sustained its investors’ profit-taking momentum as  sell-off  activities in Oando Plc and 29 others undermined the overall market’s performance.

Specifically, the Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index (NGX) declined by 327.28 points or 0.34 per cent to close at 96,210.20 basis points or 96,537.48 basis points.

As a result, the NGX ASI Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled at -0.4per cent and +28.7per cent, respectively.

Also, market capitalisation dropped by N188 billion to close at N55.266 trillion from N55.454 trillion the stock market opened for trading.

Sectoral performance was mixed, as the NGX Banking Index (-0.8per cent) and NGX Consumer Goods Index (-0.4per cent) posted losses, while the NGX Insurance Index (+0.1per cent) and NGX Oil & Gas (+0.1per cent). The NGX Industrial Goods index closed flat.

Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth closed negative, as 20 stocks advanced, while 30 declined. Berger Paints Nigeria, Meyer and McNichols emerged the highest price gainer of 10 per cent each to close at N17.05, N5.83 and N1.43 respectively, per share.

Tantalizer followed with a gain of 7.81 per cent to close at 69 kobo, while DAAR Communications advanced by 7.58 per cent to close at 71 kobo, per share.

On the other side, R.T. Briscoe Nigeria led others on the losers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at N2.34, per share. FTN Cocoa Processors followed with a decline of 9.80 per cent to close at N1.38, while Oando shed 9.65 per cent to close at N74.00, per share.

Deap Capital Management & Trust lost 9.57 per cent to close at N1.04, while Guinea Insurance depreciated by 9.09 per cent to close at 50 kobo, per share.

Also, the total volume traded dipped slightly by 0.2 per cent to 388.617 million units, valued at N9.565 billion, and exchanged in 9,897 deals. Transactions in the shares of Zenith Bank led the activity with 45.955 million shares worth N1.7 billion.

Oando followed with account of 41.053 million shares valued at N3.045 billion, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 18.534 million shares valued at N432.031 million.

FTN Cocoa Processors traded 16.062 million shares worth N22.777 million, while Chams Holding Company traded 13.580 million shares worth N27.781 million.

-By Kayode Tokede

The downward slide of the local currency worsened yesterday as the naira exchanged for N1, 639.41 to a dollar at the official rate.

The figure yesterday indicated a whooping loss of N34 after the dollar exchanged for N1,606 the previous day, according to the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) rate.

Also the black market rate also dipped yesterday as the naira lost N5 against the dollar, exchanging at N1,645/$1, as against N1,640 the previous day.

 

 

 

Chellarams Plc reported an N3bn loss for the 2023/2024 financial year, which ended March 2024, a reversal from its N4.9bn profit in the previous year.

The company attributed the loss to rising costs and its substantial foreign exchange losses.

It recorded an exchange loss of N2.8bn, compared to N121m the previous year.

In the firm’s financial statement for the 2023/2024 financial year filed with the Nigeria Exchange Limited on Thursday, revenue grew 30 per cent to N13.8bn from N10.6bn in the previous year.

On the other hand, the company’s operating income declined by 97 per cent, from N6.4bn in 2023 to N217m, due to a drop in other operating income, which fell by 91 per cent to N612m from N6.6bn.

However, the revenue growth was overshadowed by a 36 per cent rise in the cost of sales, which went up from N9.4bn to N12.8bn.

The cost surge caused the gross profit to fall by 16 per cent to N982m in 2024 from N1.17bn in the prior year.

Administrative expenses decreased slightly by 6 per cent to N1.21bn from N1.29bn in the previous year.

In the period under review, the finance costs were another key contributor to the loss, declining by 46 per cent to N647m from N1.2bn in 2023.

Despite the company benefiting from a tax write-back of N212m in 2024, following a tax expense of N151m in 2023, it was not enough to offset the losses.

The loss attributable to the parent company was N2.5bn, a shift from the N5bn profit recorded in 2023.

Non-controlling interest also posted a loss of N495m compared to N54m in the previous year.

– By Temitope Aina

Stanbic IBTC’s half-year pre-tax profit has now risen to N147 billion, significantly higher than the N82.9 billion reported in the same period in 2023.

The bank holding company is now on track to hit the N200 billion pre-tax profit mark by the end of 2024.

Stanbic IBTC’s performance was largely driven by a surge in interest income earned from loans to customers and interest income from investments.

Interest on loan and advances to customers rose from N91.1 billion as of half year June 2023 to N183.1 billion half year June 2024.

Interest on investment also rose from N16.7 billion to N56.1 billion in the same period as the bank rode on a higher interest environment.

The bank also got a mega boost in commission and fees income which rose to N82.9 billion in the first half of the year compared to N51.1 billion.

Included in the income from commissions and fees is N47.2 billion earned from Asset Management fees and another N11.7 billion from brokerage and financial advisory fees.

Stanbic IBTC also reported N39.6 billion in “fixed income and currencies” compared to N44.7 billion reported a year earlier.

 

 

Its share price closed at N58.95 per share up 3.6% as of mid-day trading. The bank also declared an interim dividend of N2 per share.

-By Peter Moses

The MTN Group Limited has declared that it is looking into claims of favouritism made against its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Ralph Mupita.

Earlier this week, a South African-based newspaper, Sunday Times, reported that an unspecified number of executives threatened to quit after complaining about Mr Mupita’s leadership, favouritism, and under-performance of the group.

Mr Mupita joined MTN in 2018 as chief financial officer (CFO) and became CEO in September 2020 on a five-year contract.

The publication cited sources who claimed that the crux of the matter was Mr Mupita’s relationship with a senior female group official.

It was reported that he dishes out favours to her and has even tried to illegally usurp some of their executive responsibilities and hand them over to the executive. The paper refused to name the person in question.

Now, the telco board has stepped in to investigate the development.

Business Post also gathered that Mr Mupita has moved swiftly to allay employees’ concerns following the allegations.

He told staff in a note that the company had governance processes in place to address all employee matters, including those concerning senior leadership.

“Some of you may have seen the Sunday Times article yesterday in which various allegations were made about our company. I thought it was important that you hear directly from me about our position on the matters raised in the article.”

He said the board was going through the necessary processes to understand the matter.

“Again, we are committed to continuing working in the best interest of our stakeholders, including yourselves, our valued MTNers. As the group board works through its processes, I encourage all of us to remain focused on delivering on our operational strategic priorities,” he told the staff, as per this report.

The newspaper also alleged that Mr Mupita was on “borrowed time” due to the telco’s poor financial performance of the group.

-By Adedapo Adesanya