Economy
Nigeria’s Manufacturing Output Rises 1.7% to N7.78trn Amid Challenges
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has revealed that real manufacturing output in the country increased modestly by 1.7 per cent year-on-year to N7.78 trillion amid prevailing challenges.
The Director-General of MAN, Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, in a report titled MAN Economic Review- Second Half 2024, said the focus manufacturing indicators included capacity utilisation, production value, inventory, local raw materials utilisation levels, investment, expenditure on alternative energy sources among others.
MAN also said capacity utilisation improved marginally to 57.0 per cent in the second half of 2024, up from 55.1 per cent in the same period of 2023.
A half-on-half analysis showed a 1.2 percentage point increase in H2 2024 compared to H1 2024.
According to him, the development is buoyed by increased activity in motor vehicles and miscellaneous assembly, non-metallic mineral products, and electrical and electronics.
He, however, noted a half-on-half decline of 3.1 per cent in real production reflected rising costs and weak consumer demand.
“Nominal manufacturing output rose sharply by 34.9 per cent to N33.43 trillion, primarily due to inflationary pressures and rising domestic prices,” he said.
The MAN DG said the manufacturing sector’s local raw material sourcing increased to 57.1 per cent in 2024, up from 52.0 per cent in 2023.
This shift, he stated, was largely driven by foreign exchange scarcity, high import costs, and government incentives promoting local content.
Mr Ajayi-Kadir declared improvements observed in wood and wood products, textiles, apparel and footwear, and chemical and pharmaceuticals.
He said the electrical and electronics sector continued to lag due to dependency on imported components.
On the downside, the manufacturing expert noted that inventory of unsold finished goods surged by 87.5 per cent to N2.14 trillion in 2024.
He attributed the drive to weakened consumer demand, escalating production costs, and declining purchasing power.
He, however, said that a half-on-half decrease of 27.9 per cent in H2 2024 suggested improved clearance efforts and price adjustments.
He added that the country’s real manufacturing investment fell by 35.3 per cent year-on-year to N658.81 billion in 2024, reflecting economic uncertainty and reduced expansion plans.
“However, H2 2024 witnessed a 19.4 per cent increase compared to H1 2024, as manufacturers cautiously resumed capital expenditures.
“The employment situation in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector remained relatively stable in 2024, with 34,769 jobs added, a 1.8 per cent increase from 34,163 jobs in 2023.
“However, the number of employees leaving manufacturing companies also increased from 17,364 in 2023 to 17,949 in 2024, indicating ongoing labour mobility due to economic uncertainties, skill migration, and company restructuring,” he said.
Mr Ajayi-Kadir also said that electricity supply situation for industries improved in 2024, with the average daily supply increasing to 13.3 hours per day, up from 10.6 hours in 2023.
He stated that on a half-on-half basis, electricity supply rose from 11.4 hours per day in H1 2024 to 15.2 hours in H2 2024.
The MAN DG, however, noted that electricity tariffs surged by over 200 per cent for Band A consumers, significantly increasing manufacturing costs.
“In response to unreliable grid power and increases in prices of diesel and fuel manufacturers’ total expenditure on alternative energy sources surged to N1.11 trillion, a 42.3 per cent increase from N781.68 billion in 2023.
“On a half-on-half basis, manufacturers spent N404.80 billion in H1 2024, which increased by 75.0 per cent to N708.07 billion in H2 2024,” he said.
Mr Ajayi-Kadir added that rising interest rates posed a major financial burden, with commercial bank lending rates to manufacturers surging to 35.5 per cent in 2024 from 28.06 per cent in 2023.
“Consequently, manufacturers’ finance costs totalled N1.3 trillion, constraining investment and expansion plans,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is preparing to raise about $5 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) expected to conclude in October, in what could become the largest stock market listing in Africa’s history.
The company has already submitted an initial application to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with approval expected in the coming weeks. Once authorised, the refinery is expected to release its prospectus in September ahead of the public offer.
The primary listing will be on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, although investors across Africa are expected to participate through structured investment instruments rather than a dual listing.
The proceeds will be used to expand the capacity of the 700,000-barrels-per-day refinery in Lagos and possibly support plans to replicate the project in Kenya as Dangote seeks to deepen Africa’s energy independence.
The proposed IPO comes after the refinery benefited from increased demand for refined products during the recent Iran conflict, supplying jet fuel across Africa and into Western Europe as global shortages disrupted markets.
As per Reuters, stock exchanges in South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana and Rwanda have held discussions with advisers to the transaction as interest in the offering continues to build across the continent.
Kenya alone could account for as much as $500 million of the targeted capital raise, driven largely by demand from institutional investors, including pension funds, the publication reported.
While the company is targeting a $5 billion raise, the final amount will depend on the outcome of the SEC’s review. If achieved, the offering would represent more than four per cent of the Nigerian Exchange’s current market capitalisation.
The IPO follows a $2.5 billion private placement completed last month, in which a six per cent stake in the refinery was sold, implying a valuation of about $40 billion.
That valuation, however, would place the refinery well above several listed global refining companies. Turkey’s Tupras, which operates a similar combined refining capacity across four facilities, has a market value of roughly $12 billion, while US-listed HF Sinclair, with a comparable processing capacity, is valued at around $16 billion.
Although the NGX generally requires companies on its main board to maintain a minimum free float of 20 per cent, there have been exceptions. Dangote Cement, for instance, currently has a free float of just over 12 per cent.
The publication also reported that investors outside Nigeria are likely to gain exposure through instruments such as global depositary receipts or exchange-traded products linked to the Nigerian-listed shares, rather than through a cross-listing on other African exchanges.
The founder of the 700,000-barrels-per-day capacity plant, Mr Aliko Dangote, said in April that the refinery aims to increase production capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day.
Mr Dangote is also pursuing plans to build another refinery in Lamu along Kenya’s coast in partnership with other East African governments, although it remains unclear whether part of the IPO proceeds will be allocated to that project valued at an estimated $17 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rallied by 0.89 per cent on Tuesday, August 4 amid renewed buying interest in unlisted stocks.
During the session, the market capitalisation added N24.07 billion to end at N2.739 trillion compared with Tuesday’s N2.715 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 40.11 points to quote at 4,563.96 points compared with the preceding day’s 4,523.85 points.
The NASD OTC Exchange ended the trading session with two price losers and three gainers, led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which chalked up N7.80 to close at N119.80 per unit versus the previous session’s N112.00 per unit. Afriland Properties Plc increased its value by N1.27 to N23.95 per share from N22.68 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc expanded by N1.15 to N21.15 per unit from N20.00 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc slid by N8.64 to sell at N144.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N152.64 per share, and 11 Plc dipped by 1 Kobo to end at N225.00 per unit, in contrast to Monday’s closing price of N225.01 per unit.
Tuesday’s trading data showed that the volume of securities rose by 9.0 per cent to 1.6 million units from 1.5 million units, and the number of deals climbed by 6.5 per cent to 33 deals from 31 deals, while the value of securities dropped by 26.9 per cent to N47.6 million from N65.2 million.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 76.9 million units exchanged for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.38 per cent loss was suffered by Nigerian stocks on Tuesday on the back of continued selling pressure from investors embarking on profit-taking.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the contraction was influenced by the 1.78 per cent decline recorded by the insurance sector, the 0.24 per cent slip printed by the consumer goods index, and the 0.09 per cent drop posted by the energy space, offsetting the 0.75 per cent growth achieved by the banking sector and the 0.21 per cent growth recorded by the industrial goods segment.
Investor sentiment was weak during the trading day, as the bourse ended with 13 price gainers and 40 price losers, representing a negative market breadth index.
LivingTrust Mortgage depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N3.42, Multiverse also shed 10.00 per cent to N22.95, McNichols dropped 9.92 per cent to N5.45, Thomas Wyatt dipped by 9.87 per cent to N3.56, and Eterna lost 8.57 per cent to trade at N33.00.
On the flip side, AVA Capital improved by 9.94 per cent to N9.95, Livestock Feeds expanded by 9.71 per cent to N8.65, Neimeth increased by 8.43 per cent to N9.00, AIICO gained 3.47 per cent to settle at N4.18, and Oando grew by 3.30 per cent to N36.00.
A total of 1.6 billion equities valued at N28.7 billion exchanged hands in 54,160 deals yesterday versus the 923.0 million equities worth N37.9 billion traded in 72,544 deals on Monday, indicating a 73.35 per cent surge in the trading volume, a 24.27 per cent decline in the trading value, and a 25.34 per cent slip in the number of deals.
The busiest stock was Japaul, which transacted 904.4 million units for N2.7 billion. Sterling Holdings sold 54.0 million units valued at N431.9 million, FCMB exchanged 49.5 million units worth N545.9 million, Chams traded 44.9 million units for N199.2 million, and Neimeth sold 42.4 million units worth N327.8 million.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) gave up 927.70 points to 244,802.83 points from 245,730.53 points, and the market capitalisation receded by N599 billion to N158.016 trillion from N158.615 trillion.
