Economy
Flour Mills Posts Strong Q1 Results as PAT Grows 17%
By Dipo Olowookere
The strategies put in place by the board and management of Flour Mills yielded the expected results going by the first quarter performance of the company.
In the financial statements of the flour miller released on Thursday, the profit before tax improved year-on-year by 6 percent to N5.5 billion in Q1 2019 ended June 30, 2019, compared with N5.2 billion in Q1 2018 ended June 30, 2018. This was buoyed mainly by the significant improvement in Premier Feeds and robust growths recorded in Golden Fertilizer.
In the same vein, the profit after tax recorded a double-digit growth of 17 percent in the period under review, closing at N4.2 billion versus N3.6 billion in the same period of last year.
Though the revenue generated in the first three month of the firm’s financial year by one percent to N134.8 billion from N133 billion, the gross profit went down to N16.5 billion from N17.3 billion.
In Q1 2019, the company said its cost of sales rose to N118.3 billion from N115.8 billion, while the selling and distribution expenses was flat at N2 billion, with the administrative expenses marginally going up to N4.67 billion from N4.69 billion.
Though operating profit reduced in the period under review to N9.9 billion from N11.2 billion, the finance costs were trimmed to N4.6 billion from N6.2 billion, indicating a 27 percent reduction, which the management attributed to the firm’s deleveraging strategies.
Flour Mills said its performance in Q1 2019 indicated its strategy to improve operational efficiency and implementing cost control measures across its operations.
It said despite the strong economic headwinds in the country and depressed consumer demand, its sales volumes rose by 7 percent, while the gross margins remained largely in line with figures from the previous year at 12.2 percent.
While commenting on the results, the Group Managing Director of Flour Mills, Mr Paul Gbadebo, said, “The first quarter result is a good start to the year and a great reflection of the direction that the business is headed as we continue to push our strategy of operational efficiency and substainable growth.
“We envisiage even more organic growth across the food segments, with anticipated moderations in cost of sales, as global wheat prices reduce and our improved investments in aligning marketing, sales and distribution activities boost earnings and increase market gains.”
By Dipo Olowookere
The last trading session of the week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a positive note, as it rallied by 0.08 per cent on Friday.
This was buoyed by strong investor sentiment due to renewed buying pressure, which left 35 stocks on the gainers’ chart, as 33 stocks ended on the losers’ log, indicating a positive market breadth index.
According to data, Eterna gained 10.00 per cent to close at N42.35, Union Dicon appreciated by 9.70 per cent to N16.40, John Holt grew by 9.25 per cent to N9.45, Tantalizers rose by 8.41 per cent to N4.64, and Fidson expanded by 7.27 per cent to N88.50.
Conversely, RT Briscoe lost 10.00 per cent to finish at N12.06, SCOA Nigeria retreated by 9.96 per cent to N34.35, ABC Transport receded by 9.96 per cent to N6.25, Mecure crashed by 9.96 per cent to N61.50, and Berger Paints declined by 9.93 per cent to N66.65.
Business Post observed that the industrial goods space appreciated by 1.20 per cent yesterday, while the energy index improved by 0.19 per cent.
However, the insurance counter fell by 0.61 per cent, the consumer goods segment shed 0.56 per cent, and the banking industry depreciated by 0.11 per cent.
The All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 161.00 points on Friday to 196,968.15 points from 196,807.15 points on Thursday, while the market capitalisation went down by N119 billion to N126.437 trillion from N126.318 trillion.
A total of 586.2 million units of shares worth N30.6 billion were transacted in 62,699 deals during the trading day versus the 634.0 million shares valued at N29.1 billion traded in 66,286 deals a day earlier, showing a jump in the trading value by 5.16 per cent, and a decline in the trading volume and number of deals by 7.54 per cent and 5.41 per cent, respectively.
The activity chart was led by First Holdco with 43.9 million units worth N2.3 billion, Access Holdings exchange 43.2 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 40.0 million units for N3.7 billion, GTCO sold 38.9 million units worth N4.6 billion, and Jaiz Bank traded 31.5 million units valued at N323.4 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange went up by 0.22 per cent on Friday, March 6, as a result of the rise in the share prices of five securities on the platform.
During the session, the market capitalisation of the bourse added N5.60 billion to close at N2.519 trillion versus the preceding session’s N2.513 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) appreciated by 9.35 points to 4,256.41 points from 4,256.41 points.
The five price gainers were led by 11 Plc, which gained N29.02 to close at N319.25 per unit versus Thursday’s closing value of N290.23 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.19 to N81.35 per share from N80.16 per share, Nipco Plc increased by N1.00 to N285.00 per unit from N284.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc rose by 72 Kobo to N125.20 per share from N124.48 per share, and UBN Property Plc improved by 19 Kobo to N2.17 per unit from N1.98 per unit.
On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc lost N20.00 to settle at N230.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N250.00 per share, NASD Plc declined by N5.21 to N51.00 per unit from N56.21 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc declined by 21 Kobo to N1.90 per share from N2.11 per share.
The volume of securities traded by market participants went down by 10.6 per cent yesterday to 3.4 million units from 3.8 million units, and the value of securities dropped 85.3 per cent to close at N62.4 million versus N423.3 million, while the number of deals jumped 4.8 per cent to 44 deals from 42 deals.
CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 37.2 million units valued at N2.3 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units worth N1.1 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 3.4 million units sold for N506.8 million.
Resourcery Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units traded for N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 123.1 million units transacted for N481.6 million, and CSCS Plc with 37.2 million units worth N2.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
For another week, the Naira closed without recording a gain against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), as FX demand pressure continues to mount.
On Friday, the country’s legal tender further depreciated against the greenback by N5.82 or 0.42 per cent to trade at N1,393.26/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,387.45/$1.
Also, the local currency tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the official market segment yesterday by N7.61 to close at N1,859.99/£1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,852.38/£1, and crashed against the Euro by N1.58 to settle at N1,611.49/€1, in contrast to the N1,609.86/€1 it was traded a day earlier.
In the same vein, the Naira declined against the Dollar at the GTBank forex desk by N12 during the session to quote at N1,410/$1 versus the previous session’s rate of N1,398/$1, and at the parallel market, it lost N10 to sell for N1,415/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,405/$1.
The domestic currency continued its decline despite $300 million in FX intervention sales to banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), indicating that the rising demand for foreign payments is outpacing supply. However, worries have heightened as the Naira is entering a threshold that has not previously created panic.
In the international market, the US Dollar held broadly steady and saw its steepest weekly gain in more than a year as the escalating conflict in the Middle East drove demand for safe-haven assets. This creates pressure on other currencies.
This also affected the cryptocurrency market. As tensions escalated in the Middle East last week, investors moved quickly to the safety of the US Dollar, which strengthened as markets began pricing in higher energy prices and reignited inflation fears, potentially delaying Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Ethereum (ETH) dipped by 4.9 per cent to $1,975.54, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 4.8 per cent to $84.08, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 4.3 per cent to sell for $67,725.27, Cardano (ADA) slumped 4.2 per cent to $0.2527, and Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.4 per cent to $53.55.
Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 3.2 per cent to $0.0906, Binance Coin (BNB) slipped 2.9 per cent to $626.32, and Ripple (XRP) went down by 2.6 per cent to $1.36, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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