Economy
Africa Prudential Considers New Ventures to Improve Earnings
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Managing Director/CEO of Africa Prudential, Mr Obong Idiong, has attributed the poor performance of the company to some challenges, including the operating environment.
However, he said efforts are being made by the management to ensure things improve in the second quarter of the year. He said part of the strategies mapped out is planned foray into new ventures with high growth prospect, which he said should boost the company’s earnings.
In the unaudited financial statements of Africa Prudential for the period ended March 31, 2019, released yesterday, the company closed with a gross earnings of N869.4 million against N957.8 million a year ago, representing a decline of 9 percent.
Business Post, which analysed the results, found out that the Registrar’s interest income depleted by 19 percent to 595.5 million from N734.3 million as a result of the reduction in debt instrument coupled
with a decline in yield environment during the quarter under review, which saw a 51 percent drop in interest on T-Bills and 64 percent decline in interest on bonds.
For the company’s finance cost in Q1 2019, it significantly went down by 46 percent to N101 million from N186.3 million due to the full settlement of the outstanding bank loans which led to a reduction in interest paid within the quarter compared to the same period last year.
In the period under review, operating expenses increased by 25 percent owing to the growth experienced in personnel expenses and other operating expenses, both line items appreciated as a result of the formal establishment of some of the strategic business units (SBUs) to be launched later in the year with a view to ensuring efficiency in operation while obtaining superior returns from its operations.
It was revealed in the results that profit before tax dropped 16 percent to close at N453.7 million from N541.7 million, while the profit after tax fell to N381.5 million from N460.9 million, with the earnings per share staying at 19 kobo in contrast to 23 kobo of the same time of last year.
In his reaction to the company’s performance, Mr Idiong said, “While we were faced with some challenges which impeded our performance this past quarter, one of which was the declining yield environment thus mildly impacting one of our income line item- Interest Income.
“On the other hand, we saw a 23% increase in our revenue from contracts with customers which was as a result of the several corporate actions undertaken by many of our clients in view of their full year Annual General Meetings, dividend declaration etc. The management is however committed to improving upon our performance in the coming quarter following the launch of our strategic business units (SBUs), namely; Digital Technology, EasyCoop Mart and Cooperative business.
“To complement the traditional Registrar business, the benefits of the new business segments are expected to be felt from Q2 2019 going forward.”
He said further that, “The various strategic steps we have been taking is towards establishing us as the registrar of choice, while making foray into new ventures with high growth prospect, to do this we would be leveraging on technology, research & development as well as capacity building to ensure we achieve the aforesaid goals.
“We would continue to bring to bear, our doggedness whilst taking pragmatic steps towards tackling the arrays of issues plaguing us and our industry for a long time now.
“Going into the second quarter of 2019, we would not be resting on our oars as we would ensure we keep to our promise of delivering unique customer experience to our wide clientele base.”
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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