Economy
Ardova to Fund Enyo Acquisition With Debt, Equity
By Dipo Olowookere
In the first month of 2021, the board of Ardova Plc announced that the company was planning to acquire a retail downstream player, Enyo, as part of its efforts to capture the retail segment of the oil business.
Enyo is an energy firm with about 93 outlets spread across the country and while addressing an analyst call last week, the management said the “deal fits nicely into our strategic plan” and would complement its retail base because of the access to the retail outlets.
It further said the integration of the 93 retail outlets of Enyo into the over 450 outlets of Ardova would allow the organisation to “deliver more through the channels” and provide “opportunities around digitalisation.”
At the conference call attended by Business Post, the management explained that the transaction is purely an acquisition and not a merger and would be funded through debt and equity.
“Let me make this clarification that the Enyo deal is an acquisition, not a merger as we are buying the company 100 per cent.
“We intend to fund the transaction via debt and equity and the deal fits nicely into our strategic plan,” a member of the management informed participants.
In January 2021, when Ardova informed the investing public about the development, it said the transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of the year. However, it is still not certain if this timeline would be met.
Some days ago, Ardova released its financial statements for the 2020 accounting year and in the period, it reported an increase in revenue, N181.9 billion versus N176.6 billion in 2019 and a profit after tax of N1.9 billion.
The board then recommended a dividend of 19 kobo, which did not go down well with shareholders and shares of the company were punished, declining significantly within a few days.
While commenting on this at the analyst call, the chief executive of Ardova, Mr Olumide Adeosun, explained that the board was aware of the resentment that followed the cash reward, but emphasised that the payment was a mere reward for investors’ loyalty.
He expressed optimism that in the coming years when the company fully settles down, shareholders would be given an encouraging cash reward.
“The payment for the year was to reward the loyalty of shareholders, we are still in the foundational stage of our acquisition. We expect to pay our shareholders with less disappointing dividend in the future,” Mr Adeosun explained.
In 2019, a company known as Ignite Investments and Commodities Limited owned by Mr Abdulwasiu Sowami acquired a 74.02 per cent equity stake in Forte Oil Plc from Mr Femi Otedola.
Last year, which was the first full year after the transaction, the operations of Ardova were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the firm managed to grow its earnings by 2.9 per cent year-on-year on the back of a 3.4 per cent growth in the fuels business (constituting 90 per cent of revenue), high margins on lubes sales (9 per cent of revenue) as well as the transport and logistics business (constituting 0.2 per cent of the group revenue).
Also, the gross profit margin improved to 6.7 per cent compared to 6.4 per cent in the prior period, reflecting the increased earnings-generating capacity of the business.
In the year, operating expense declined by 13.4 per cent amidst inflationary pressure and an inflation rate of 15.75 per cent in December 2020.
But in the 2021 fiscal year, Ardova said “Our focus will be to capitalise on the milestones achieved in 2020.
“We will further improve operational efficiency across our key strategic transformational themes of future-proofing our business, connecting with our people, engaging with customers and stakeholders while enhancing value for investors.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed higher by 1.41 per cent on Friday, May 15, supported by four securities on the platform.
During the session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc added N14.24 to its share price to sell for N159.00 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s N144.76 per unit.
Further, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.34 to N72.34 per share from N71.00 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc improved its price by 4 Kobo to N2.94 per unit from N2.90 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to trade at 61 Kobo per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of 60 Kobo per share.
As a result, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 58.20 points to 4,188.41 points from 4,130.21 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N34.82 billion to N2.506 trillion from N2.471 trillion on Thursday.
During the session, the volume of trades went up by 180.8 per cent to 1.2 million units from 417,349 units, and the value of transactions increased by 29.8 per cent to N29.8 million from N23.2 million, while the number of deals fell by 22.6 per cent to 24 deals from 31 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units valued at N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bears overpowered the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, sinking it further by 0.76 per cent when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm.
The nation’s flagship equity market was under selling pressure during the session, as investors booked profits after the shares witnessed price appreciation in the past trading sessions.
The energy sector was the most impacted, as it shed 4.43 per cent. The consumer goods index declined by 0.90 per cent, the banking counter decreased by 0.15 per cent, and the industrial goods sector lost 0.08 per cent, while the insurance counter gained 2.42 per cent, which was not enough to salvage the situation.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,912.19 points to 250,330.92 points from 252,243.11 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by 1.225 trillion to N160.444 trillion from N161.669 trillion.
Zichis was the worst-performing stock for the session after it gave up 9.97 per cent to close at N29.43, FTN Cocoa slipped by 9.95 per cent to N8.96, The Initiates slumped by 9.90 per cent to N32.30, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank tumbled by 9.88 per cent to N3.83, and International Energy Insurance dropped 9.71 per cent to trade at N2.79.
The best-performing stock was ABC Transport, which grew by 10.00 per cent to N6.27. May and Baker also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N47.30, SCOA Nigeria surged by 9.98 per cent to N33.05, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.97 per cent to N7.06, and DAAR Communications jumped 9.76 per cent to N2.25.
Yesterday, investors traded 1.1 billion shares worth N44.3 billion in 65,744 deals compared with the 1.0 billion shares valued at N41.6 billion transacted in 74,822 deals a day earlier. This indicated a dip in the number of deals by 12.13 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 10.00 per cent and 6.49 per cent, respectively.
Chams was the busiest equity for the day, with 328.5 million units sold for N1.1 billion. UBA traded 61.6 million units worth N2.7 billion, First Holdco transacted 58.7 million units valued at N4.2 billion, Secure Electronic Technology exchanged 51.9 million units worth N45.0 million, and Access Holdings traded 51.8 million units valued at N1.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The last trading session of the week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) ended on a negative note for the Naira on Friday, May 15, as it lost N15 Kobo or 0.1 per cent against the Dollar to trade at N1,371.04/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,370.89/$1.
However, it further appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N20.77 to close at N1,830.61/£1 versus Thursday’s value of N1,851.38/£1, and gained N7.91 against the Euro to settle at N1,595.07/€1 versus N1,602.98/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N2 against the US Dollar during the session to sell at N1,383/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,381/$1, and at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.
The Naira is forecast to be broadly stable, supported by Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid steady, higher oil receipts, with the market settling into a balance.
Policy direction is also expected to give the market some boost as the CBN said the new edition of the FX market guidelines will deepen liquidity, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in the country’s foreign exchange market.
According to the Governor of the CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso, the update is due to changing global economic realities, domestic reforms and the need for a more coherent and forward-looking regulatory framework. According to him, the last edition of the FX manual was issued in 2018, making the latest review both timely and necessary.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market plunged into the red zone as rising bond yields hit risk assets across markets, while traders are increasingly betting the Federal Reserve may need to raise rates again. Rising energy prices and resurging inflation could force central banks back into tightening mode.
Cardano (ADA) shrank by 4.4 per cent to $0.2557, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 3.7 per cent to $0.1104, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 3.5 per cent to $1.41, Solana (SOL) crashed by 3.5 per cent to $87.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 3.4 per cent to $659.64.
Further, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 2.6 per cent to $78,547.49, Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.1 per cent to quote at $2,209.19, and TRON (TRX) tumbled by 0.7 per cent to $0.3509, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn