Economy
NNPC to Pay First Dividends in Decades in FY 2020—Kyari
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said it was working diligently to ensure that for the first time in decades, its shareholders would be paid dividends by the end of 2020.
This was disclosed by the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr Mele Kyari, at a media parley over the weekend, adding that the organisation was now more open to public scrutiny with its decision to publish its audited financial reports for the first time in 43 years.
He added that although the pandemic had prevented the corporation and its partners from attaining the three million barrels per day crude oil production target, NNPC was determined to cut its losses and become a profit-making entity.
Mr Kyari noted that other transparency initiatives taken by the corporation included its monthly financial reports and joining as a supporting organisation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
The NNPC boss said the national oil corporation had been able to cut its losses by over N800 billion between 2018 and 2019, stressing that based on its projections, it would declare dividends in 2020.
The helmsman noted that the crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect on its activities, commencing and continuing new oil and gas projects, have been seriously stalled by the liquidity challenges in the oil sector.
He stated that the crisis in the global oil market had forced companies, including NNPC, to further cut down losses, rework project costs, as well as review the production cost per unit of crude oil to remain competitive.
The GMD declared that in the recent past, only the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had not interfered in the operations of NNPC. He said this had given the corporation the free hand to take decisions based on facts and figures.
According to him, “There is no company in the country which has cut its losses within one financial year by N800 billion. We have improved efficiency by cutting 97 per cent of our losses.
“NNPC has never published its audited financial statement in 43 years. We came and started doing that and released the 2018 financial statement. We were not afraid of doing that and there were a lot of criticisms that we lost money in refinery operations and pipeline business.
“Our vision is that NNPC will become a company of excellence and declare dividends to Nigerians and shareholders. We are optimistic that at the end of 2020, NNPC should be able to declare dividends to Nigerians, in spite of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Mr Kyari reiterated that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a net industry loss of about $1 trillion this year.
He said, “According to industry analysis carried out in quarter one, 2020, Exploration and Production (E&P) companies are at risk of losing about $1 trillion in revenue by the end of 2020.
“With new lockdown orders due to resurgence of COVID-19 in Europe and other industrial nations, the estimated revenue shrinkage may likely grow above Rystad Energy estimates by the close of 2020.
“This financial impact and the resultant poor liquidity position is making funding of both existing and new projects more difficult as companies cut spending and defer projects.”
On the issue of political meddling in the operations of NNPC, Mr Kyari explained that having worked for the corporation for almost three decades, it was under the Mr Buhari administration that all forms of interferences stopped.
He stated, “I can confirm that the privilege we have today in NNPC of having unfettered control without any distraction or interference to make decisions and be accountable and responsible for our decisions has never happened until this government.
“I can tell you this because I have been around for 29 years and have worked closely with the top management of the NNPC for about 15 years. This is the only president who has never asked NNPC to do something.
“The president only wants to know and be sure that what we are doing is in the best interest of the country.”
The GMD stated that Nigeria remained more of a gas country than oil, disclosing that the corporation’s new focus is on gas development, as it is the most resilient source of energy in the energy transition process.
He explained, “The only hydrocarbons that survived during the COVID-19 with minimal negative change was gas. Gas will help the country out of its major challenge of electricity. The biggest challenge we have here is to take electricity to homes and industries and to use the resources we have to create that energy this country needs.
“Today, the two reasons we are not getting electricity are because the production is low and we are not able to transmit it to those who need it. That means there is a bottleneck in transmission and distribution system.”
Mr Kyari said despite the difficult times in the industry, NNPC was able to maintain its obligations to the Federation Account for seven months without failure.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.
This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.
It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.
MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.
Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.
GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.
Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.
Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.
This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.
The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.
Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.
Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.
Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.
Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.
On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.
The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.
Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.
Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.
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