Economy
Flour Mills Posts N298b Revenue in H1, Donates N750m for Apapa Road
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Market leader in food and agro-allied products in Nigeria, Flour Mills Group, has continued to record significant growths, posting N298.44 billion for the six months ended September 30, 2017, an increase of 17 percent when compared with N255.30 billion of the same period last year.
In the unaudited 2017 half year results, the company recorded profit before tax of N13.48 billion as against N8.80 billion for the same period in 2016, while the profit after tax was N9.36 billion, compared to N6.46 billion for the same period in 2016.
Commenting on the result, the Group Managing Director, Mr Paul Gbededo, stated that, “Our half year results show continued growth through most segments of our businesses, especially in the food business, delivering strong top and bottom line financials in line with our objectives.
“The Group recorded growth from volume and product mix. This growth was despite what continued to be a challenging business environment.
“Overall, the business shows an impressive performance in the first half of the year. We are positive that we are on track to meet our growth targets for the remaining part of 2017/18 financial year.”
It was discovered that the food business value chain was responsible for an increase of N40 billion of the Group’s turnover.
The Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of the firm, Mr Jacques Vauthier, in his comment, said that the management of the company was confident that this sector will record even stronger performance as the year progresses.
He stated further, “To this end, we are enhancing our marketing activities to push the brand’s presence into newer outlets while strengthening present market share.”
On the part of the firm’s Head of Corporate Business Development, Mr Sadiq Usman, in the agro-allied division, the Group’s focus will remain on developing competences and improving execution capacity to backwardly integrate its core value chains; Sugar sweeteners, edible oils, feeds & proteins and cassava starches.
He further said, “The Group will leverage its significant resources and continue to build the capacity of local farmers and farming groups, who are an integral part of our strategy to develop sustainable, locally-focused supply chains.”
As part of a strategic measure to consolidate operations, create value for shareholders and enhance administrative and operating efficiencies, the company in Q2 2017, announced the completion of a merger and absorption of Golden Penny Rice Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary, into Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc.
It is expected that the restructuring will meaningfully improve the synergies of the Group, reduce costs and improve the competitiveness of the company’s products, with the aim of advancing the profitability of the Group.
The company is in the process of issuing the first tranche of the Shelf Registered Rights Issue fund raising program. The program which was registered in 2016 is to raise up to N40 billion in equity funds.
In addition, the CFO informed that the company has started the registration of a N70 billion Medium Term Notes program to refinance debts and lower the cost of borrowing.
According to the firm, as part of effort to combat the traffic challenges posed by the difficult road conditions in Apapa that have negatively impacted business logistics and, correspondingly, its performance, and to generally aid the ease of doing business in Apapa, it is partnering with other stakeholders with a contribution of about N750 million to rehabilitate Apapa Wharf Road and manage the traffic congestion in Apapa.
Economy
Four Securities Erase N51.17bn from NASD Exchange
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.
The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.
During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
Economy
Cautious Trading, Profit-taking Weaken Nigeria’s Stock Exchange by 0.66%
By Dipo Olowookere
The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.
This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.
Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.
Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.
The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.
As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.
Economy
Official FX Market Sees Naira Dip to N1,380.93/$1
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.
Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.
At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.
Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.
Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.
Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.
If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.
At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.
On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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