Economy
Bulls, Bears Share Spoils on Nigerian Exchange
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading day of the week at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended in stalemate on Monday, though the key performance indicators were slightly up.
The All-Share Index (ASI) inched higher by 1.39 points to 149,437.88 points from last Friday’s 149,436.48 points and the market capitalisation was up by N3 billion to finish at N95.267 trillion compared with the previous trading session’s N95.264 trillion.
The financial services space was upbeat yesterday, with the banking index gaining 0.89 per cent and the insurance counter rising by 0.87 per cent.
However, the consumer goods segment performance badly, losing 0.79 per cent as the energy sector declined by 0.05 per cent, while the commodity and the industrial goods indices closed flat.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment was bullish during the session as there were 28 appreciating stocks and 23 depreciating stocks, representing a positive market breadth index.
Sovereign Trust Insurance led the gainers’ gang after it chalked up 10.00 per cent to sell for N3.74, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N239.50, Mecure Industries rose by 9.88 per cent to N41.70, First Holdco improved by 9.86 per cent to N34.55, and AIICO Insurance also expanded by 9.86 per cent to N3.79.
The losers’ group was led by Prestige Assurance after it gave up 10.00 per cent to finish at N1.53, FTN Cocoa lost 8.16 per cent to trade at N4.50, Guinea Insurance depreciated by 7.69 per cent to N1.08, Royal Exchange crashed by 7.25 per cent to N1.79, and Nigerian Breweries slipped by 6.86 per cent to N76.75.
A total of 553.2 million shares valued at N13.3 billion were transacted in 28,907 deals on Monday versus the 602.8 million shares worth N30.7 billion traded in 20,550 deals last Friday, indicating a shortfall in the trading volume and value by 8.23 per cent and 56.68 per cent apiece, and an improvement in the number of deals by 40.67 per cent.
FCMB was the most active stock with a turnover of 92.0 million equities valued at N964.0 million, Access Holdings sold 67.9 million shares for N1.4 billion, Consolidated Hallmark transacted 50.8 million equities worth N208.8 million, Fidelity Bank exchanged 35.8 million shares valued at N672.4 million, and Jaiz Bank traded 29.7 million stocks worth N134.1 million.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
HBM Nigeria Plc, formerly Lafarge Africa Plc, recorded a 31 per cent surge in revenue in the first half of 2026 by 31 per cent as a result of an 11 per cent jump in volume growth, enhanced operational stability and improvement in distribution efficiency.
Also, in the first six months of this year, the cement maker grew its operating profit by 51 per cent to N291 billion after sustained efficiency gains across the business, while operating margin soared to 43 per cent from 37 per cent in H1 2025, with the net profit increasing by 57 per cent to N208 billion.
HBM Nigeria is a leading provider of innovative building solutions and manufacturer of a wide range of cement, ready mix, mortar and Plaster of Paris brands.
“Our H1 2026 performance demonstrates the continued strength of our business and the successful execution of our strategic priorities. These results reflect disciplined cost management, operational excellence, and prudent financial stewardship.
“We are focused on further improving supply reliability, advancing our cost leadership agenda, driving innovation, accelerating our sustainability initiatives, and maintaining the highest standards of health and safety,” the chief executive of HBM Nigeria, Mr Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, disclosed.
He assured that the cement firm would remain focused on building on a strong operational momentum by leveraging the industrial and technical expertise of Huaxin Building Materials Ltd to drive operational excellence and improve efficiency across the business.
In light of this, HBM Nigeria has commenced the engineering design for its third production line at Calabar, a state-of-the-art 3-million-ton integrated cement facility. The project is progressing through the requisite development processes, with completion expected within 12 months following commencement of construction.
On HBM Nigeria’s business outlook for the rest of the year, Mr Alade-Akinyemi said, “Nigeria’s demand outlook for cement remains positive, supported by ongoing infrastructure development, urbanisation, and resilient activity across the construction sector, despite a dynamic global operating environment.”
“As macroeconomic conditions continue to improve, we expect demand across our key market segments to remain supportive of sustainable growth.
“We plan to continue focusing on capturing volume growth opportunities while maintaining disciplined cost management and operational excellence to strengthen profitability and preserve margins.
“The company remains well positioned to create sustainable long-term value for its shareholders and all stakeholders by leveraging its resilient operating platform, a strong balance sheet, and disciplined execution of strategic priorities,” he stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The management of Africa Prudential Plc has charted five strategic priorities to drive the company’s growth through the second half of 2026.
These goals were announced by the organisation at its investor call, attended by various stakeholders in the capital market.
Addressing participants at the call on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, the chief executive of Africa Prudential, Ms Catherine Nwosu, said one of these priorities is delivering sustainable business growth through core registrar and new business lines.
She listed others as accelerating product and service innovation leveraging technology, strengthening Africa Prudential’s brand equity and market leadership, investing in talent development and organisational capability, and deepening corporate governance and institutional excellence.
At the event, a key question from investors focused on the company’s ability to sustain earnings growth in an environment where interest rates may begin to moderate.
In her response, Ms Nwosu said, “Interest rates influence our treasury income positively, but that is why we are deliberately diversifying our revenue streams. Our strategy is to grow recurring fee-based business lines such as our digital solutions, KYC services, AGM technology, Probate services, and the SabiVest mobile app. Over time, this will reduce our reliance on interest income and create a more balanced and resilient earnings mix.”
“With capital market activity nearly doubling over the past year, demand for seamless digital investor experiences, improved market efficiency, and stronger compliance standards continues to grow.
“We are investing in technology-enabled solutions that position us to capitalise on these opportunities while delivering sustainable value to our shareholders,” she added.
In the first half of 2026, Africa Prudential, a leading provider of share registration services and capital market solutions, reported another strong performance, demonstrating strong corporate governance and resilience, and the effectiveness of its growth strategy despite an evolving macroeconomic environment.
Its gross earnings grew by 27 per cent to N4.28 billion from N3.34 billion in the same period of the previous year, while net operating income rose by 27 per cent to N4.21 billion.
In H1 2026, profit before tax soared by 22 per cent to N2.41 billion, while the profit after tax surged by 18 per cent to N1.59 billion, with total assets expanding by 13 per cent to N46.53 billion, and shareholders’ fund also up by 13 per cent to N12.52 billion.
It was observed that the impressive results were driven by sustained growth in the company’s core registrar business, increased corporate action activities across the Nigerian capital market, stronger treasury performance supported by the prevailing interest rate environment, and increasing adoption of Africa Prudential’s technology-enabled solutions.
Beyond the numbers, management reaffirmed Africa Prudential’s strategic evolution from a traditional registrar into a diversified technology and business solutions company serving the broader capital market ecosystem.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 7th Africa Emerging Markets Forum has commenced in Abuja, Nigeria, with critical stakeholders in the financial services and other industries in attendance.
The programme commenced today, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, and will end tomorrow, Thursday, July 30, 2026.
It is taking place at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Abuja.
The hybrid forum is themed Building Resilience Amidst Geoeconomic Uncertainties. It brings together distinguished policymakers, economists and development leaders to explore practical solutions for strengthening Africa’s resilience in an increasingly complex global economy.
Speaking at the conference are the CBN Governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso; the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele; and the chief executive of Emerging Markets Forum, Mr Harinder S. Kohli.
The organisers have provided an avenue for those unable to attend the programme physically to catch up with it via their social media platforms, including on the YouTube channel of the central bank.
