By Dipo Olowookere
Shares of Daar Communications Plc traded flat on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday despite the trouble facing the company at the moment.
On Thursday, its industry regulator, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), suspended the operating licence of its flagship broadcast stations, African Independent Television (AIT) and RayPower FM. As a result, the stations are presently not on air.
The NBC accused the media platforms of breaking the nation’s broadcasting codes by airing inciting materials despite being warned severally.
At the stock market on Friday, shares of the parent company of AIT and RayPower, Daar Communications, closed unchanged at 40 kobo per share.
Business Post observed that during the trading session, apart from not witnessing any price movement, there were no trading acting activities carried out on the stock.
The last activity recorded on Daar Communications’ shares was the day the operational licence of the company was suspended by the regulator.
On Thursday, June 6, 2019, investors exchanged a total unit of 1,300 shares of Daar Communications at the market.
Before then, the company recorded the trading of 10,000 units of its equities on May 31, 2019 at the market and the share price went for 40 kobo each.
Daar Communications Plc is a firm in the business of broadcasting, multimedia and allied services in Nigeria and it is owned by Mr Raymond Dokpesi.
Mr Dokpesi is a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and on the day his company’s licence was suspended, he staged a protest in Abuja, accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of using government agencies to intimidate members of the opposition.
At the stock market, Daar Communications has not been faring well lately and its share price has found it very difficult to go above or stay around the N5 per share of its IPO about 10 years ago.
The company has not paid dividends to its shareholders for years now, while financial results of the firm have always been delayed.
At the moment, the company is worth N4.8 billion on the stock market with 12 billion share outstanding.
