Economy
Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Earnings Rise 53.2% in August
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s earnings from the petroleum industry rose by 53.2 per cent to N401.9 billion from N262.4 billion recorded in the previous month, according to the latest data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The amount is, however, 17.1 per cent lower than the N484.8 billion gross oil revenue recorded in August 2019.
The CBN, in its Economic Report for August 2020, further stated that oil revenue accounted for 52.4 per cent of total federation revenue compared to 35.1 per cent of total revenue in July 2020 and 52.9 per cent in August 2019.
The country earned N296.2 billion from Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) and Royalties, accounting for 73.7 per cent of total oil revenue, while domestic crude oil and gas sales accounted for 17.5 per cent of total oil revenue, with N70.2 billion.
Crude oil and gas exports fetched the country N24.3 billion, representing 6.0 per cent of total oil earnings, while other oil earnings stood at N11.4 billion.
In comparison, in July 2020, the country earned N40.1 billion from crude oil and gas exports; N145.2 billion and N68.4 billion from PPT and Royalties and domestic crude oil and gas sales, respectively, while other oil earnings stood at N8.6 billion.
In August 2019, the country earned N28.4 billion, N321.4 billion, N130.5 billion and N4.4 billion from crude oil and gas exports, PPT and Royalties, domestic crude oil and gas and other oil earnings, respectively.
In general, the CBN stated that total federally collected revenue in August 2020 rose by 2.7 per cent to N767.55 billion compared with its level in July 2020, but was below the budget benchmark by 9.4 per cent.
The CBN attributed the increase to improved receipts from oil revenue sources, noting that retained revenue of the federal government in August 2020 was N290.3 billion, while total expenditure stood at N699.7 billion, resulting in a deficit of N409.4 billion.
The CBN noted that total FGN debt outstanding at end-June 2020, stood at N31.01 trillion, with the domestic and external components accounting for 63.4 per cent and 36.6 per cent, respectively.
The CBN disclosed that the price of Nigeria’s reference crude, Bonny Light, averaged $45.06 per barrel in August 2020, compared with $44.10 per barrel in July 2020, as global energy demand inched up, due to the easing of lockdown measures across countries.
It said: “In the same vein, crude oil production increased to 1.75 million barrels per day, mbpd, in the review period, compared with 1.55 mbpd in July 2020. Gas exports, on the other hand, decreased by 2.0 per cent to US$0.30 billion in August 2020, relative to $0.31 billion in July 2020. The crude oil and gas component remained dominant and accounted for 85.1 per cent of total exports.”
In addition, the CBN projected that: “Considering the gradual easing of restrictions, improved revenue collection, due to an uptick in economic activities in some advanced economies, and a gradual recovery in oil price, oil exports are expected to rebound with an attendant boost in government revenue.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange remained in the negative territory after it further depreciated by 0.64 per cent on Friday, July 24, despite recording four price gainers.
The NASD Security Index (NSI) dropped 27.4 points at the close of business to settle at 4,294.75 points versus the previous day’s 4,383.48 points, while the market capitalisation gave up N16.49 billion to end at N2.577 trillion, in contrast to the N2.594 trillion it ended a day earlier.
The bourse was down during the session amid heavy sell-offs, with the volume of transactions skyrocketing by 693.9 per cent to 2.99 million units from Thursday’s 377,635 units.
Equally, the value of trades went up by 71.6 per cent to N69.4 million from N40.4 million, and the number of deals increased by 41.0 per cent to 55 deals from the preceding day’s 39 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.6 million units traded for N5.4 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
The market ended the session with four price gainers and two price losers, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which lost N7.44 to trade at N136.19 per share compared with the previous day’s N143.63 per share, and CSCS Plc, which declined by N1.64 to N93.63 per unit from N95.27 per unit.
But MRS Oil gained N13.50 to sell at N148.50 per share versus N135.00 per share, Afriland Properties Plc advanced by 56 Kobo to N17.41 per unit from N16.85 per unit, UBN Property Plc surged by 18 Kobo to N1.93 per share from N1.75 per share, and Food Concepts Plc climbed by 1 Kobo to N2.50 per unit from N2.49 per unit.
By Dipo Olowookere
Nigeria’s stock exchange succumbed to profit-taking on Friday, losing 0.19 per cent when the closing gong was hit at 4 pm.
Shares in the banking and energy sectors influenced the decline suffered by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited during the session, as they respectively closed lower by 0.40 per cent and 0.04 per cent.
The industrial goods index was flat yesterday, while the insurance counter gained 0.68 per cent and the consumer goods space chalked up 0.25 per cent. The gains by these two segments could not keep Customs Street in the green territory at the close of business.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) retreated by 474.00 points to 247,357.40 points from 247,831.40 points, and the market capitalisation decreased by N306 billion to N159.588 trillion from N159.894 trillion.
Presco dropped 10.00 per cent during the trading day to close at N2,070.00, Thomas Wyatt crumbled by 9.93 per cent to N3.63, Trans-Nationwide Express plunged by 8.44 per cent to N2.82, Royal Exchange slipped by 7.86 per cent to N1.29, and LivingTrust Mortgage Bank shrank by 7.32 per cent to N3.80.
On the flip side, C&I Leasing improved by 9.48 per cent to N6.35, Cornerstone Insurance rose by 9.09 per cent to N6.00, RT Briscoe jumped by 8.61 per cent to N13.25, Honeywell Flour expanded by 7.38 per cent to N17.45, and Africa Prudential increased by 6.98 per cent to N13.80.
Despite the poor performance, the local bourse recorded a positive market breadth index after finishing with 35 price gainers and 25 price losers, representing strong investor sentiment.
It was a relatively quiet market on Friday, as the activity level dropped, with the trading volume down by 27.72 per cent to 565.5 million units from 782.4 million units, and the trading value contracted by 46.89 per cent to N29.9 billion from N56.3 billion, while the number of deals executed by investors soared by 16.03 per cent to 53,688 deals from 46,273 deals.
Access Holdings was the busiest stock for the session, with a turnover of 128.0 million units sold for N3.8 billion, First Holdco transacted 35.4 million units worth N4.3 billion, Chams exchanged 34.8 million units valued at N154.3 million, Zenith Bank traded 30.4 million units for N3.9 billion, and UBA sold 30.4 million units worth N1.5 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marked a whole week of appreciation against the United States Dollar on Friday, July 24, further gaining N5.67 or 0.41 per cent to close at N1,362.09/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) compared with N1,367.76/$1 it ended on Thursday.
Equally, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N10.83 to trade at N1,813.62/£1 versus the preceding day’s N1,824.45/£1, and improved against the Euro by N7.68 to settle at N1,549.10/€1, in contrast to the N1,556.78/€1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
However, at the parallel market and GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian currency remained unchanged against the greenback during the session at N1,400/$1 and N1,379/$1, respectively.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) buffer has been strengthened with sustained foreign portfolio inflows and robust foreign reserves, which stand above $52 billion.
The apex bank’s policy signals that the Naira will be stronger in the near term, with Nigeria clearing hurdles with FX reforms and settlement of all backlogs.
However, some traders expect that pressure may come due to foreign-currency buying from fuel importers as they make Dollar purchases to build inventories.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC), in the digital currency landscape, trimmed recent gains as it fell by 2.3 per cent to $63,787.73.
The weak action in the AI momentum trade is feeding through to crypto as well.
Further, Cardano (ADA) dropped 3.7 per cent to close at $0.1615, Solana (SOL) dipped by 2.8 per cent to $73.71, Ripple (XRP) crashed by 2.3 per cent to $1.08, Ethereum (ETH) slid by 1.9 per cent to $1,851.58, Dogecoin (DOGE) retreated by 0.8 per cent to $0.0694, Binance Coin (BNB) contracted by 0.7 per cent to $564.18, and TRON (TRX) lost 0.5 per cent to trade at $0.3292, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
