Economy
NASD Generates N139m as Transaction Fees in 2019
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Plc said it generated a total of N139 million as transaction fees in the 2019 financial year, lower than the N169 million raked in 2018.
This information was contained in the company’s annual report and financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2019.
An analysis of the company’s results by Business Post showed that the macroeconomic challenges had a huge effect on NASD in the accounting year.
This resulted in the 100.4 percent decline in the profit after tax of the coy for the 2019 financial year to N45.01 million from N90.4 million in the prior year.
In addition, NASD Plc further disclosed that its profit before tax went down by 41.9 percent to N36.1 million from the N62 million of the previous year.
Also, during the period under review, the exchange said the total market turnover dropped by 65.8 percent to N10.5 billion from N30.7 billion in the previous year, while the revenue generated by the firm went down by 3 percent to N162 million from N167 million earned in 2018.
It explained that the decrease in market activity experienced in 2019 was a sharp change in trend from what was witnessed in 2018 and was a direct result of a downturn in market activity as well as a reduction in the number of new securities admitted to the market.
The continued decline in the country’s risk profile coupled with the sustained dominance of the fixed income sector of the market also contributed to investor apathy, the coy said.
Despite the problems, the company recorded a 13.5 percent increase in investment income, which closed at N65.5 million compared with the N57.7 million recorded in 2018.
The first over-the-counter bourse in the country said it generated listing fees of N2.62 million, while total expenses amounted to N196.7 million compared to the N163 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2018.
The company said it recorded an operating loss of N30.6 million compared to an operating profit of N4.3 million recorded in the year 2018.
Total assets rose during the period under review by 7 percent to N660.8 million from N617.9 million, while total liabilities dropped 9.1 percent to 19.9 million from N21.9 million in 2018.
In terms of overall market activity, the overall NASD Securities Index (NSI) depreciated by 5.49 percent between January 2019 and December 2019, while the market capitalisation declined by 2.6 percent from N514.77 billion in January 2019 to N501.14 billion as of December 31, 2019.
Speaking on the outlook for the market, Chairman of NASD Plc, Mr Olutola Mobolurin, said, “The early passage of the 2020 budget promised to create a more enabling environment for economic growth.
“The coronavirus pandemic, however, has created a total disruption of global trade, capital flows and universal business practices.
“As the global business becomes less physically driven and more digital–human remote, we see an opportunity for us to exploit our nimbleness and unique position as an over-the-counter securities exchange.
“Fortuitously, in 2019 NASD had reassessed the company’s strategy and redefined its focus to facilitate it, becoming the hub of first call for capital formation in West Africa.
“We are expanding our product offerings and services to cater to the new business and capital raising environment. We have embarked on a material technology overhaul that will improve our scope, efficiency and effectiveness as an over-the-counter market.
“We shall continue to deliver our objectives to all stakeholders in NASD Plc,” he said.
The 7th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of NASD PLC will hold on Thursday, June 25 at NASD Plc, 9th Floor, UBA House, 57 Marina, Lagos at 11.00am.
Meanwhile, the board of directors of the company declared no dividend payment to shareholders for the year.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
