Economy
C & I Leasing to Recapitalise Capital Base, Raise Fresh Funds
By Dipo Olowookere
Managing Director/CEO of C & I Leasing Plc, Mr Andrew Otike-Odibi, has expressed the determination of the company to raise its capital base to a higher level from its present.
Mr Otike-Odibi made this disclosure while reacting to the performance of the firm in the first six months of this year. He said this is one of the main targets the company hopes to achieve in the 2019 financial year.
“We remain focused on our key priorities for 2019, including validation of our business expansion, growth objectives of meeting and exceeding client’s expectation, increasing demand for our products and services and recapitalising the company’s capital base,” Mr Otike-Odibi said.
Business Post reports that the company disclosed that it “plans to raise equity via a Rights Issue for the purpose of business expansion, loan refinancing and working capital need.”
In the first half of 2019, C & I Leasing improved its gross earnings by 27.2 percent to N16.3 billion from N12.8 billion in H1 2018. This was mainly driven by the growth in the firm’s lease rental income by 70.6 percent of total gross earnings.
The growth in lease rental income was attributed to the expansion of the company’s lease rental portfolio, both in the marine and fleet management services respectively. Lease rental income comprising Fleet Management earnings and Marine earnings was up 30.9 percent to N11.5 billion in H1 2019 versus N8.8 billion in H1 2018.
According to the company, the growth in earnings from the lease rental business was the result of reduced vehicle downtime and new contracts signed during the period.
Marine provided ‘operate and maintain services’ on vessels owned by third parties, while Fleet Management saw an increase in earnings from the open rental business.
Personnel outsourcing earnings rose by 22.6 percent to N4.0 billion in H1 2019 (H1 2018: N3.2 billion) and represents 24 percent of total gross earnings. This was driven by increasing demand for professional services especially by the International Oil Companies, which resulted in higher volumes on existing contracts through the provision of expanded services such as enhanced logistics and trainings.
Tracking income was up by 16.6 percent to N115.8 million in H1 2019 (H1 2018: N99.3 million) due to increase in demand for tracking services reflected in increased customer uptake of its devices.
Net operating income increased by 24.7 percent to N4.6 billion in H1 2019 (H1 2018: N3.7 billion), underscoring the growth in gross earnings across the various business units.
Interest income, other operating income and share of gain from marine joint venture grew 3.4 percent to N704.6 million in H1 2019 (H1 2018: N681.5 million), largely driven by returns from the company’s marine business.
Interest expenses were up by 17.5 percent y-o-y to N2.5 billion in H1 2019 due to an increase in term loans to drive business expansion and to support the purchase of operating assets for the Fleet Management Business, while direct operating expenses were up by 31.7 percent y-o-y to N9.1 billion in H1 2019, reflecting the increase in gross earnings of the group, with indirect operating expenses increasing by 23.9 percent to N3.7 billion in H1 2019 (H1 2018: N3.0 billion).
The firm said its personnel costs rose 49.5 percent from N508.3 million in H1 2018 to N760.0 million in H1 2019 as a result of an ongoing welfare packages and performance incentives, while other administrative and general expenses grew by 26.6 percent from N794.7 million in H1 2018 to N1.0 billion in H1 2019, reflecting an increase in legal and professional fees, on business entered in by the company during the period as well as insurance expenses.
Profit before tax went up 25.8 percent year-on-year to N909.2 million from N723.0 million, while the profit after tax increased by 27.1 percent year-on-year to N866.9 million from N682.2 million.
Recall that in April 2019 the company entered into a Joint Venture arrangement with OCS Integrated Services Nigeria Limited, an Integrated Local Service Company, established to provide comprehensive operations and maintenance solutions for offshore oil and gas fields. It is a complete asset management which involves offshore asset maintenance and manpower solution.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 143 companies that successfully passed the technical and prequalification stages of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing Round will, today, compete for 50 oil and gas blocks at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, the final stage in the allocation process for the assets.
The commission said only the prequalified companies have been invited to attend the event, which will hold at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, stressing that participation is strictly by invitation.
The commercial bid conference will determine the successful bidders for oil and gas assets located across Nigeria’s producing and frontier basins.
The 50 blocks comprise 16 onshore blocks and 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, the winning bids will be determined through a transparent evaluation process based on clearly defined commercial parameters. These include the signature bonus offered by bidders, the proposed work programme commitment and the level of performance security provided. The final selection will be based on a weighted technical and commercial score.
The licensing round is being conducted under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which requires a transparent and competitive process for the award of petroleum assets.
NUPRC had announced the commencement of the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening the online bid portal on December 1, 2025, to enable interested companies to register and participate in the exercise.
To ensure prospective investors fully understood the requirements, the commission organised a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. The event provided detailed explanations on the licensing guidelines and bidding procedures to registered participants and other stakeholders.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification evaluation was completed on March 16, 2026.
NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially submitted applications for prequalification.
Following the evaluation process, 196 companies were cleared to participate in the technical and commercial bid stages.
The prequalified 143 companies eventually submitted a total of 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks. These companies are now set to compete at the commercial bid conference, where the financial offers will be opened and evaluated to determine the eventual winners.
The licensing round is expected to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, boost exploration activities across both producing and frontier basins, increase crude oil and gas reserves, and support the country’s drive to grow production and government revenue.
It also underscores the regulator’s commitment to implementing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly licensing regime under the Petroleum Industry Act.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shareholders of Unilever Nigeria Plc will receive an interim dividend of N2 per share, the board of the organisation has said.
The cash reward was announced after the company released its financial statements for the first half of the year ended June 30, 2026.
The payment will be made on Friday, August 14, 2026, only to investors whose names appear on the Register of Members at the close of business on Friday, July 31, 2026.
A quick look at the financial performance of the firm in the first six months of this year showed that revenue improved by 22.22 per cent to N119.9 billion from the N98.1 billion achieved in the corresponding period of last year.
A rise in earnings also resulted in a 16.43 per cent surge in cost of sales, though this did not shrink the gross profit, which rose by 29.93 per cent to N54.7 billion from N42.1 billion. The operating profit stood at N24.4 billion in the period under review, higher than N18.8 billion in the same period of 2025, while the net finance income contracted by 9.43 per cent to N4.8 billion from N5.3 billion due to elevated borrowing costs.
Business Post reports that despite higher taxes paid in the first six months of 2026, the net profit grew by 8.33 per cent to N15.6 billion from N14.4 billion, enabling the board to pass on value to shareholders for their faith in the firm.
