By Adedapo Adesanya
The unlisted securities exchange returned to the positive territory on Friday, recording a 1.32 per cent lift buoyed by gains in the equities of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc.
The company recorded a N7.19 or 5.5 per cent growth during the session as the securities of the fast-moving consumer goods company closed at N137.51 per unit i contrast to N130.31 per share it traded previously.
This came after PZ Cussons Plc held an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Thursday, September 24 to decide on a planned sale of the business and assets of Nutricima Limited to FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria PLC and FrieslandCampina Netherlands B.V.
The sale and transfer will see FrieslandCampina own all portion of land measuring approximately 67,733.235 square meters situated within Plot 20A Ikorodu Industrial Scheme in Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria. This will enable the milk producer to expand its operations in the country.
With the rise in the company’s equity value, the NASD Securities Index (NSI) moved up by 9.55 points or 1.32 per cent to 732.57 points from its previous 723.01 points.
Equally, the market capitalisation appreciated to N538.12 billion from N531.10 billion after adding N7.02 billion or 1.32 per cent.
On the activity chart, the total volume of trades made at the final session of the week declined by 99.5 per cent to 5,000 units from 1.03 million units on Thursday.
These transactions were completed in one single deal and it was on FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc. At the previous session, a total of five deals were executed by market participants, while the total value of stocks traded went down by 93.4 per cent from N10.3 million to N687,500.
ARM Life Plc closed the session as the company with the highest volume of shares transacted by investors on a year-to-date basis with 7.4 billion units worth N4.6 billion, while Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc was in second place for transacting 202.9 million units worth N2.7 billion, with Food Concept Plc in the third position for trading 128.1 million units of its shares worth N90.2 million.
ARM Life was also the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) at the close of business on Friday for trading 7.4 billion units of securities for N4.6 billion.
Oil and gas investment company, Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc, remained in the second spot with 8.8 million units of its securities valued at N2.7 billion, while CSCS Plc occupied the third spot with 202.9 million units valued at N2.7 billion.
Modupe Gbadeyanka