Economy
CAP, Portland Paints to Conclude Merger in Q1 2021
By Dipo Olowookere
The proposed merger between Chemical and Allied Products (CAP) Plc and Portlands Paints and Products Nigeria Plc is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021.
This was confirmed by the Managing Director of CAP Plc, Mr David Wright, when he was commenting on the financial performance of his firm in the 2020 fiscal year.
In a statement issued by the Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications at CAP Plc, Ms Chinwe Okpala, the MD expressed confidence that the final regulatory approval would be secured by that time.
“We announced the proposed merger between CAP and Portland Paints and Products Nigeria Plc in the fourth quarter of 2020.
“We have received preliminary regulatory approvals and an order from the Federal High Court to hold a Court-Ordered Meeting.
“[The] merger completion is subject to shareholder approval and final regulatory approvals and we expect to conclude the merger in the first quarter of 2021,” Mr Wright was quoted as saying in the statement.
During the 2020 accounting year, CAP grew its revenue by 3.9 per cent to N8.7 billion from N8.4 billion in 2019, according to the analysis of the results by Business Post.
This rise in revenue was as a result of the strong volume growth achieved by the firm despite the disruptions in April and May by the national lockdown and the #EndSARS protest in October.
Unfortunately, due to input cost pressures on account of currency devaluation and supply chain disruptions, the gross profit weakened by 5.5 per cent to N3.8 billion from N4.0 billion recorded a year ago.
Also, the other operating income reduced to N90 million from N98 million, while the selling & marketing expenses decreased to N564 million from N584 million, with the administrative costs rising by 19.7 per cent to N1.6 billion from N1.4 billion.
In the year, the operating costs, according to the results, stood at N2.2 billion as against N2.0 billion of the preceding year.
Furthermore, the earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) stood at N1.7 billion in FY20 versus N2.1 billion in FY19 as the net finance income dropped to N251 million from N426 million.
At the close of business on December 31, 2020, the profit before tax of CAP Plc declined to N1.9 billion from N2.6 billion as at December 31, 2019, while the profit after tax went down to N1.3 billion from N1.7 billion.
For Mr Wright, this performance was modest, especially the top-line, when the disruptions of last year are put into consideration.
“We are encouraged by the growth in revenue which has been solely driven by underlying volume growth in line with our strategy,” he said.
“Alongside the rest of the world, we experienced supply chain disruptions which impacted our raw material sourcing and resulted in input costs pressures,” the MD explained.
However, he assured that things would be better this year because the company has “embarked on initiatives focused on mitigating these disruptions.”
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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