Economy
Ardova Unsure of Paying Dividend to Shareholders in FY2020
By Dipo Olowookere
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ardova Plc, Mr Olumide Adeosun, has hinted that shareholders of the company may not receive a dividend in the current 2020 financial year.
Mr Adeosun made this disclosure last Thursday when he engaged members of the investing community at a virtual Facts Behind the Figures (FBF) hosted by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The event was put in place by the exchange to allow companies on its trading platform present their financial performance, strategic and operational developments, and future plans to the capital market community.
During the event, which had Business Post as one of the participants, Mr Adeosun said the board and management were still monitoring events and would review the company’s overall performance at the end of the year before taking a decision on the cash reward to investors.
However, he pointed out that last year, the company, while still operating as Forte Oil, paid a dividend to its shareholders and this was an interim dividend of N1.15 for the period ended March 31, 2019.
In June 2019, business mogul, Mr Femi Otedola, completed the sale of Forte Oil to another businessman, Mr Abdulwasiu Sowami, who is the Chairman of Ignite and Chief Executive of Prudent Energy Services Limited. The deal was worth about N65 billion.
After the sale of his entire 982,971,950 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to the new owners, Ignite Investments and Commodities Limited, at N66.01 per unit, shareholders, at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on Tuesday, December 17, 2019, in Lagos, approved the name change of the company to Ardova Plc.
At last Thursday’s event, the CEO said, for now, the firm was making efforts to deliver more value to investors by moving from being an oil company to becoming an integrated energy company.
“In line with our vision of being the most reputable African energy solution brand, committed to driving the continent’s growth, we will leverage innovative technology and commit strongly to delivering superior customer experience.
“In the second half of 2020, our focus will be on: operational efficiency, building a superior customer experience, innovation, and partnerships,” he said.
In his presentation, the Executive Director, Finance and Risk Management, Ardova Plc, Mr Moshood Olajide, stated that in the second quarter of this year, the company grew its gross margin significantly to 7.3 per cent from 5.4 per cent in Q1:2020 and from 6.3 per cent in the corresponding period in 2019.
“This sterling performance in gross margins reflects our resolve to maximise our core earnings and minimize cost.
“Shareholders’ funds also grew by 5.8 per cent YTD to N17.5 billion in H1:2020 (N18.6 billion FY: 2018) as a result of an 11.5 per cent growth in retained earnings.
“Our gearing ratio also improved to 37.8 per cent in H1:2020 compared to 88.6 per cent while our earnings-generating capacity remained sufficient to cover existing debt/borrowing with normalised interest cover printing at 4.3x in H1:2020 relative to 0.7x in H1:2019,” Mr Olajide said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.
Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.
Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.
The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.
At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.
“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.
“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.
The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.
FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).
On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.
Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.
Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.
During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.
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