Economy
Shareholders Express Confidence in GTCO to Deliver Sustainable Returns
By Dipo Olowookere
Shareholders of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc have expressed confidence in the board and management of the organisation to deliver long-term growth and sustainable returns.
The investors expressed this optimism at the first Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the financial institution held last week in Lagos.
At the gathering, the shareholders approved the payment of a total dividend of N3 per share for the financial year ended December 31, 2021.
The group had proposed a final dividend of N2.70 per unit of ordinary share held by shareholders in addition to the interim dividend of 30 kobo interim dividend paid in June.
They agreed that the future looks bright for the company because of the steps taken by the team at the moment as well as the crop of talents in the organisation piloting its affairs.
According to the shareholders, the transition into a holding company and the financial performance achieved during the period under review despite the operating environment are commendable.
Speaking on behalf of shareholders, the patron, Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA), Mr Timothy Adesiyan, appreciated the progress that the bank has made in its transition to a holding company.
He said that the shareholders have great expectations from the company and with the good corporate governance principle with which the company is run, the future is bright.
The chairman of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr Boniface Okezie, commended the board of GTCO for being proactive in becoming a holding company.
In his address to participants of the AGM, the chairman of GTCO, Mr Hezekiah Adesola Oyinlola, stated that 2021 was a pivotal year in the history of the firm, noting that “we successfully reorganized into a holding company to harness the potential within our operating environment and consolidate our position as a leading financial services provider in Africa.”
He said the company’s progress in its drive to diversify its income streams and ensure long-term value creation for all stakeholders, saying it is “a privilege to serve as the chairman of the board of GTCO and I am conscious of our business environment and the many challenges to our profitability.”
“However, I have complete confidence in the ability of our leadership team to unlock new and exciting opportunities that will unleash the potential of our diversification for long-term growth and sustainable returns.
“When I look at the future-proofing of every part of our organisation; from our talent base to our business models and digital capabilities, I am reminded of just how forward-thinking our management team continues to be in our company’s constant push to be ahead of the curve in creating innovative financial solutions, delivering service excellence and ensuring long-term value creation,” he added.
On the outlook of the company, Mr Oyinlola said, “I am excited by the potential of our new holding company structure. I see the immense opportunities opened by our strategic investments in building up diverse lines of business. The future of financial services belongs to the institutions that will seamlessly integrate the full range of cutting-edge solutions in a people-centric digitally enabled ecosystem.”
The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of GTCO, Mr Segun Agbaje, in his speech, said that the company started 2021 with its corporate reorganisation and finished the year more robust and dynamic to consolidate its lead across the ever-extending breadth of financial services, saying that “Following the shareholders’ approval of our transition to a holding company structure in December 2020, we worked with regulators, the broad spectrum of our stakeholders and some of the most experienced advisory institutions in the world, to ensure that we have, not only a smooth transition but also the best people and the right structures to drive our vision of becoming Africa’s leading financial services groups.”
Speaking on the performance of the firm last year, Mr Agbaje said 2021 results show resilient performance across all financial indices, reaffirming the bank’s position as one of the best managed financial institutions in Africa.
“The Group closed the year 2021 with total assets of N5.436 trillion, up by 9.9 per cent from N4.945 trillion the full year 2020 position.
“Across all its banking subsidiaries in West Africa, East Africa and the United Kingdom, the group continues to maintain a diversified balance sheet.
“The group closed 2021 with a profit before tax of N221.5 billion, this is despite the challenges and headwinds presented by the operating and regulatory environments in 2021.”
Also at the meeting, shareholders approved the appointment of some persons to the board and they were Mr Hezekiah Oyinlola, Chairman; Mr Segun Agbaje, GCEO; Mr Suleiman Barau, Independent Non-Executive Director; Mrs Helen Lee Bouygues, Independent Non-Executive Director; Mrs. Catherine Echeozo, Non-Executive Director and Mr. Adebanji Adeniyi, Executive Director.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira rallied against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 23 by N6.57 or 0.45 per cent to N1,449.99/$1 from the previous day’s N1,456.56/$1.
The domestic currency also improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N1.30 to sell for N1,956.03/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,957.33/£1 and gained N2.94 on the Euro to close at N1,707.65/€1, in contrast to the previous session’s closing price of N1,710.59/€1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the US Dollar by N5 at the GTBank FX counter to sell for N1,465/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,470/$1 but remained unchanged at N1,485/$1 in the black market window.
Sentiment in the FX market continued to improve with market operators attributing the appreciation to increased supply in the official market, supported by sustained interventions from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the impact of recent reforms.
Improved liquidity from exporters and foreign portfolio investors has also contributed to easing pressure on the local currency, helping to stabilise trading conditions during the festivities.
Analysts noted that the Naira’s performance has helped narrow the spread between the official and parallel market rates, a development seen as supportive of investor confidence and business planning. This relative stability has reduced short-term volatility risks and encouraged more orderly price discovery in the FX market.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was down yesterday as analysts suggest tax-loss harvesting and low liquidity are contributing to the action in crypto as the year ends. That means investors selling their underwater positions to realize losses, lowering their tax liabilities.
Some analysts remain cautiously optimistic about a potential rally, though significant recovery is not expected until liquidity returns in January.
Dogecoin (DOGE) crumbled by 3.1 per cent to $0.1281, Solana (SOL) slumped by 2.9 per cent to $121.92, Cardano (ADA) fell by 2.7 per cent to $0.3582, Ethereum (ETH) slid by 2.2 per cent to $2,926.25, and Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 2.1 per cent to $1.85.
Further, Binance Coin (BNB) lost 2.0 per cent to sell for $838.21, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 1.4 per cent to $86,933.97, and Litecoin (LTC) went down by 0.2 per cent to $76.33, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded at $1.00 apiece.
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