Economy
Nigerian Breweries, Shareholders at War over N21b Dividend
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
All seems not to be too well between Nigerian Breweries and its shareholders if a report by Vanguard is anything to take serious.
The journal reports that shareholders of the brewery firm not in agreement with the Board of Directors over the plan to convert the N21 billion cash dividend earlier proposed by the directors to ordinary shares.
According to those spoken to by Vanguard, the shareholders have resolved to vote against the motion when it comes up for approval at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) today.
At the moment, the matter has been reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for their prompt interventions.
Vanguard investigations show that the directors would still push the proposal successfully given their majority stake in the event the face off leads to a poll. It is not yet clear if the regulatory authorities are stepping in to douse the tension.
The NB’s Board of Directors had proposed N20.5 billion as final dividend, amounting to cash dividend of N2.58 per share, for the year ended December 2016.
But the company later said it will seek shareholders’ approval at the AGM tomorrow to convert the cash dividend to scrip issue.
According to the company, the conversion will help it to consolidate on its balance sheet.
But speaking exclusively to Vanguard, the shareholders insisted that dividend payment is their right and must be paid once it is declared.
Sir Sunny Nwosu, former National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) opined that the move is a ploy by the directors to increase their stake in the company as a first step towards eventual exit from the NSE.
“We are totally against it because it is taking undue advantage of Nigerians. We are all aware that we are in recession and everybody needs every kobo; the directors do not need the dividend and, therefore, they want to use the scrip issue to increase their holding in the company.
“Whether it is one percent or 001 percent that the scrip issue will add to us as shareholders, it is not desirable to us.
“What they are saying is that they could not transfer their dividend. But they have been transferring their dividend for 70 years, so, why don’t they bear with us at this time of difficulty.
“It would have been better if they had not declared the dividend and allow the interim dividend to remain as the final dividend than declaring dividend and at the same time complaining that they want to plough back the money. It then means that the dividend declared can be classified as fake dividend,” Mr Nwosu said.
Echoing Mr Nwosu’s view, Chairman of Ibadan Zone Shareholders Association, Mr Heric Akinduro, said shareholders should be allowed to make a choice between converting their dividend to ordinary shares and going home with their dividend.
“For those that have excess money, they can increase their holding, but for those that do not have, they should give them cash,” he declared.
Agreeing with others, National Chairman of New Dimension Shareholders Association (NDSA), Mr Patrick Ajudua, argued that, “We are totally against it. Once a company has declared dividend, it should keep to it. We are after our dividend because most of us have reduction in our purchasing power and the cash dividend will enhance our financial position and enable us to meet our obligations. This plan is not the best for us and that is why we are against it.”
Source: Vanguard
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange weakened by 0.22 per cent on Tuesday, April 28, with the market capitalisation down by N4.8 billion to N2.420 trillion from N2.425 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) down by 9.01 points to 4,044.96 points from 4,053.97 points.
During the session, the price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N1.82 to N767.05 per share from N78.87 per share, while FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N100.00 per unit from N98.10 per unit.
According to data, the value of trades increased by 265.7 per cent to N27.1 million from N7.4 million units, and the volume of transactions surged by 305.2 per cent to 1.3 million units from 319,831 units, while the number of deals decreased by 6.9 per cent to 27 deals from 29 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.8 million units exchanged for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also finished as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Pressure is beginning to mount on the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market despite an oil windfall triggered by the Middle East crisis.
On Monday, April 27, the domestic currency further weakened against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by N16.47 or 1.2 per cent to N1,380.71/$1 from the previous day’s N1,364.24/$1.
It was not different against the Pound Sterling in the same market window, as it lost N16.04 to trade at N1,863.76/£1 versus Monday’s closing rate of N1,847.72/£1, and against the Euro, it slipped by N12.72 to close at N1,615.01/€1 versus N1,602.29/€1.
The Naira also depreciated against the Dollar at the black market yesterday by N5 to quote at N1,390/$1 compared with the previous price of N1,385, and at the GTBank forex counter, it further crashed by N9 to settle at N1,379/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,370/$1.
The continued decline of the Naira comes as traders increasingly seek other safe-haven currencies amid continued global disruptions.
The benefit awash in the global market is making foreign portfolio investors stay short in Nigerian markets. Despite this, the daily FX publication released showed that interbank turnover rose to $98.829 million across 78 deals, up from $76.65 million.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market remained cautious, with Bitcoin (BTC) trading at $77,216.66 despite surging oil prices and geopolitical tensions over a potential extended US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Analysts say the supply overhang has finally dried up, and the sellers who were spooked by macro shifts or quantum fears have already exited, leaving the market much thinner on the sell-side.
Investors will await decisions made by central banks this week. The US Federal Reserve will announce its rate decision later on Wednesday, while the European Central Bank (ECB) follows on Thursday.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 1.5 per cent to trade at $2,324.59, Dogecoin (DOGE) chalked up 1.4 per cent to sell for $0.1016, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 0.6 per cent to $84.85, Cardano (ADA) grew by 0.5 per cent to $0.2483, and Binance Coin (BNB) advanced by 0.2 per cent to $627.15.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.6 per cent to $0.3224, and Ripple (XRP) lost 0.03 per cent to sell at $1.39, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil was up by nearly 3 per cent on Tuesday as persistent worries about supply constraints from the closed Strait of Hormuz continued, with Brent futures for June rising by $3.03 or 2.8 per cent to $111.26 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures growing by $3.56 or 3.7 per cent to $99.93 a barrel.
An earlier round of negotiations between the United States and Iran collapsed last week after face-to-face talks failed.
Ship-tracking data showed significant disruptions in the region, with six Iranian oil tankers forced to turn back due to the US blockade, but some traffic is still moving.
Prices trimmed some of the advances after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the fourth-largest producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Tuesday it would exit the group on this Friday, May 1, 2026.
This dealt a blow to the oil-exporting group and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia.
The UAE could quickly add between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels per day of output. However, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, analysts said that there’s nowhere for that supply to go.
The UAE joined OPEC in 1967, but tension with Saudi Arabia over production quotas has been building for years.
Under the OPEC+ deal, the country has been held to roughly 3 million barrels per day while sitting on capacity above 4 million. It has been pushing toward 5 million barrels per day by 2027, and that target is hard to achieve with quotas built around someone else’s view of the market.
The war in Yemen broke whatever was left of diplomatic patience.
President Donald Trump said he was unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal to end the war. The proposal would avoid addressing the nuclear programme until hostilities cease and Gulf shipping disputes are resolved.
The Idemitsu Maru, a Panama-flagged tanker carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi oil, and an LNG tanker managed by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) crossed the Strait on Tuesday, shipping data showed.
Vortexa data showed that the amount of crude oil held around the world on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days rose to 153.11 million barrels as of April 24.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 1.79 million barrels in the week ending April 24. The official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.
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