Economy
Alta Semper Quits Egypt’s Macro Group Pharmaceuticals
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
After the successful competition of its initial public offering (IPO), Alta Semper Capital has exited Macro Group Pharmaceuticals, a leading cosmeceuticals manufacturer in Egypt.
Since Macro Group became a portfolio holding of Alta Semper in 2017, the latter has supported the former in nearly doubling its market share.
Today, its diversified portfolio encompasses 112 products across a variety of high-growth therapeutic areas, with Alta Semper boosting Macro’s top line to $27 million by the end of 9 months of 2021, three times its 2017 revenues, while ensuring profitability and increasing its EBITDA and bottom-line to $11 million and $10 million respectively during the same period, nearly 3x its 2017 levels.
It was learned that shares of Macro Group began trading on February 10, 2022, in a Reg S, 144 A initial public offering under the symbol MCRO:CA on the Egyptian Exchange and the final offer price stood at EGP 4.85 per ordinary share or 2.8 bn EGP (equivalent to $178 million).
The co-founder and CEO of Alta Semper, Afsane Jetha, while commenting on the development, stated that, “We are proud of our successful journey with Macro Pharmaceuticals and its tremendous growth on the financial, operational, organizational and social impact level during the tenor of our partnership.
“It has been a pleasure working alongside such a skilled and motivated management team as they established a leadership position in Egypt’s burgeoning cosmeceutical space, and we congratulate them on their continued success.”
On his part, the Managing Director and Head of North Africa for Alta Semper, Mr Ahmed Rady, who also serves as Vice Chairman of Macro Group, disclosed that, “Since our investment in 2017, we have worked alongside Macro’s relentless management team to supercharge sustainable growth, expand operating margins, and lay the foundations for a more impressive future.
“We have successfully grown gross profit margin from 63% in 2018 to 80% in 9M 2021, grown EBITDA margin from 21% in 2018 to 41% in 9M 2021, and have achieved an impressive EBITDA CAGR of 89% over the period of 2018 to 2020. In an industry that is witnessing transformational growth, we believe Macro Group will continue to shape what is a thriving and rapidly expanding market.”
Alta Semper’s shareholder base has played a strategic role in improving Macro Group’s financial capabilities, as well as its sustainability and governance practices.
The firm’s investors include institutions such as the International Finance Corporation, the investment arm of the World Bank, IDI Emerging Markets, and Mbuyu Capital Partners, in addition to expert individuals such as former Citigroup Chairman Richard Parsons and businessman and philanthropist Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics company.
“It is gratifying to see this positive investment outcome for a company dedicated to improving quality of life for millions of Egyptians,” said Richard Parsons, Founding Shareholder and Chairman of the Investment Committee of Alta Semper. “We have a longstanding commitment to investing on the African continent for positive change. The success of Macro Group is emblematic of the type of outcome we seek.”
Ronald Lauder, a Founding Shareholder of Alta Semper, added that “Our mission as investors is to advance entrepreneurial activity across Africa in a manner that serves as a catalyst for sustainable development and broadly improves the quality of life on the continent.”
Macro Chairman and Co-founder, Dr. Ahmed El Nayeb, concluded “I am extremely proud of the organization we have built over the last 18 years, from its humble beginnings to becoming the market leader in Egypt’s cosmeceutical space and the first of its kind to go public in Egypt. The IPO marks yet another significant milestone for our business and we will continue to deliver on our vision of regional leadership within the cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals space.”
Alta Semper has overseen Macro Group’s Environmental, Social and Governance enhancements, which has resulted in increased female workforce representation with women comprising 42% of total staffing and occupying 18% of senior management positions.
Community outreach through Medical Convoys in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Health has directly benefitted over 8,000 patients since 2017. With an eye on Sustainable Development Goals, the Company has been able to deploy training programs outside of the urban centre of Cairo, across more rural areas in Upper Egypt and the Delta.
In tandem, Environmental practices have been improved through energy efficiency initiatives, waste minimization and switching to raw materials with a lower environmental impact. Macro remains committed to enhancing its ESG practices as well as striving to contribute to the enhanced achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in the years to come.
Learn more at www.altasemper.com.
By Dipo Olowookere
The last trading session of the week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a positive note, as it rallied by 0.08 per cent on Friday.
This was buoyed by strong investor sentiment due to renewed buying pressure, which left 35 stocks on the gainers’ chart, as 33 stocks ended on the losers’ log, indicating a positive market breadth index.
According to data, Eterna gained 10.00 per cent to close at N42.35, Union Dicon appreciated by 9.70 per cent to N16.40, John Holt grew by 9.25 per cent to N9.45, Tantalizers rose by 8.41 per cent to N4.64, and Fidson expanded by 7.27 per cent to N88.50.
Conversely, RT Briscoe lost 10.00 per cent to finish at N12.06, SCOA Nigeria retreated by 9.96 per cent to N34.35, ABC Transport receded by 9.96 per cent to N6.25, Mecure crashed by 9.96 per cent to N61.50, and Berger Paints declined by 9.93 per cent to N66.65.
Business Post observed that the industrial goods space appreciated by 1.20 per cent yesterday, while the energy index improved by 0.19 per cent.
However, the insurance counter fell by 0.61 per cent, the consumer goods segment shed 0.56 per cent, and the banking industry depreciated by 0.11 per cent.
The All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 161.00 points on Friday to 196,968.15 points from 196,807.15 points on Thursday, while the market capitalisation went down by N119 billion to N126.437 trillion from N126.318 trillion.
A total of 586.2 million units of shares worth N30.6 billion were transacted in 62,699 deals during the trading day versus the 634.0 million shares valued at N29.1 billion traded in 66,286 deals a day earlier, showing a jump in the trading value by 5.16 per cent, and a decline in the trading volume and number of deals by 7.54 per cent and 5.41 per cent, respectively.
The activity chart was led by First Holdco with 43.9 million units worth N2.3 billion, Access Holdings exchange 43.2 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 40.0 million units for N3.7 billion, GTCO sold 38.9 million units worth N4.6 billion, and Jaiz Bank traded 31.5 million units valued at N323.4 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange went up by 0.22 per cent on Friday, March 6, as a result of the rise in the share prices of five securities on the platform.
During the session, the market capitalisation of the bourse added N5.60 billion to close at N2.519 trillion versus the preceding session’s N2.513 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) appreciated by 9.35 points to 4,256.41 points from 4,256.41 points.
The five price gainers were led by 11 Plc, which gained N29.02 to close at N319.25 per unit versus Thursday’s closing value of N290.23 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.19 to N81.35 per share from N80.16 per share, Nipco Plc increased by N1.00 to N285.00 per unit from N284.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc rose by 72 Kobo to N125.20 per share from N124.48 per share, and UBN Property Plc improved by 19 Kobo to N2.17 per unit from N1.98 per unit.
On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc lost N20.00 to settle at N230.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N250.00 per share, NASD Plc declined by N5.21 to N51.00 per unit from N56.21 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc declined by 21 Kobo to N1.90 per share from N2.11 per share.
The volume of securities traded by market participants went down by 10.6 per cent yesterday to 3.4 million units from 3.8 million units, and the value of securities dropped 85.3 per cent to close at N62.4 million versus N423.3 million, while the number of deals jumped 4.8 per cent to 44 deals from 42 deals.
CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 37.2 million units valued at N2.3 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units worth N1.1 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 3.4 million units sold for N506.8 million.
Resourcery Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units traded for N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 123.1 million units transacted for N481.6 million, and CSCS Plc with 37.2 million units worth N2.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
For another week, the Naira closed without recording a gain against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), as FX demand pressure continues to mount.
On Friday, the country’s legal tender further depreciated against the greenback by N5.82 or 0.42 per cent to trade at N1,393.26/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,387.45/$1.
Also, the local currency tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the official market segment yesterday by N7.61 to close at N1,859.99/£1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,852.38/£1, and crashed against the Euro by N1.58 to settle at N1,611.49/€1, in contrast to the N1,609.86/€1 it was traded a day earlier.
In the same vein, the Naira declined against the Dollar at the GTBank forex desk by N12 during the session to quote at N1,410/$1 versus the previous session’s rate of N1,398/$1, and at the parallel market, it lost N10 to sell for N1,415/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,405/$1.
The domestic currency continued its decline despite $300 million in FX intervention sales to banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), indicating that the rising demand for foreign payments is outpacing supply. However, worries have heightened as the Naira is entering a threshold that has not previously created panic.
In the international market, the US Dollar held broadly steady and saw its steepest weekly gain in more than a year as the escalating conflict in the Middle East drove demand for safe-haven assets. This creates pressure on other currencies.
This also affected the cryptocurrency market. As tensions escalated in the Middle East last week, investors moved quickly to the safety of the US Dollar, which strengthened as markets began pricing in higher energy prices and reignited inflation fears, potentially delaying Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Ethereum (ETH) dipped by 4.9 per cent to $1,975.54, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 4.8 per cent to $84.08, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 4.3 per cent to sell for $67,725.27, Cardano (ADA) slumped 4.2 per cent to $0.2527, and Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.4 per cent to $53.55.
Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 3.2 per cent to $0.0906, Binance Coin (BNB) slipped 2.9 per cent to $626.32, and Ripple (XRP) went down by 2.6 per cent to $1.36, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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