Economy
Data Consumption Buoys Airtel Africa’s Q1 2021 Revenue as PAT Sheds 56.9%
By Dipo Olowookere
The board of Airtel Africa Plc has released the financial statements of the company for the first quarter ended June 30, 2020.
The firm, which has already commenced its 2021 fiscal year, recorded a 6.9 per cent growth in the revenue generated in the period. This rose to $851 million from $796 million of the corresponding period of last year.
Business Post observed that this increase in turnover was influenced by the data consumed by its customers, who relied on the network during the lockdown imposed on its operating markets, including Nigeria.
The revenue generated from data increased by 28.0 per cent to N$265 million from $207 million, while revenue from voice calls dropped 3.2 per cent to $454 million from $469 million.
Also, mobile money revenue increased in the first quarter by 20.0 per cent to $81 million from $68 million.
However, Airtel Africa attributed its revenue growth largely to an increase in its customer base, which went up by 11.8 per cent to 111.5 million and ARPU growth of 1.6 per cent in constant currency.
Further analysis showed that revenue growth was recorded across all the regions, with Nigeria up by 17.1 per cent, East Africa up by 17.5 per cent and Francophone Africa up by 2.2 per cent.
During the period under consideration, the expenses incurred by the company increased by 6.0 per cent to $479 million from $452 million, while the operating profit grew by 12.9 per cent to $210 million from $186 million, with the net finance costs rising by 21.0 per cent to $99 million from $82 million as a result of higher other finance costs, which more than offset reduced interest costs of $5.5 million due to lower debt.
The increase in other finance costs was primarily driven by the higher impact of devaluation on foreign exchange denominated liabilities and borrowings largely as a result of devaluation in Zambian kwacha, Madagascar Ariary and Seychelles Rupee.
The underlying EBITDA stood at $375 million in Q1 2021 versus $348 million in Q1 2020, while the EBITDA margin increased to 44.1 per cent from 43.7 per cent.
In the first quarter of the year, the pre-tax profit of Airtel Africa went down by 33.4 per cent to $111 million from $167 per cent, while the profit after tax (PAT) shed 56.9 per cent to $57 million from $132 million.
According to the firm, the post-tax profit was down because of a one-off gain of $72 million related to the expired indemnity to certain pre-IPO investors in the same period last year, higher finance costs and tax.
Excluding one-off benefits in the previous quarter, profit after tax for the quarter reduced mainly due to higher derivative and exchange loss of $19.4 million in Q1 2021, the company said.
In addition, the earnings per share (EPS) depreciated by 72.8 per cent to $1.1 cents, due to an increase in shares issued.
Airtel Africa said if all the shares as of June 30, 2020, had been issued on April 1, 2019, the restated basic EPS for June 2019 would have been $3.3 cents. Restated EPS reduced as a result of higher finance costs and tax.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.
In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.
To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”
“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.
It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”
“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.
“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.
“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.
“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
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