Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc recorded gains on the floor of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Wednesday, February 19, lifting the unlisted securities market by 0.39 percent.
The milk producer ended the day as the bourse’s sole gainer and pushed both the market capitalisation and unlisted securities index upward at the end of the day’s session after consecutive sessions of stagnancy.
Friesland saw its share price gain N2 to close at N122.00 per share in contrast to N120 per share it previously traded.
At the close of transactions, this growth helped the market capitalisation move up by by N1.96 billion to N503.55 billion from the previous session’s N501.59 billion.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) also moved up by 2.27 units from 697.67 points to 700.39 points.
Business Post reports that Friesland was among the six companies that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) exempted from the forex ban on milk importation so it can help boost local production of the commodity in the country through the backward integration programme.
Earlier this week, Business Post also reported that CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, led the company and two others to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Mr Muhammad Musa Bello, to fast-track processes of approving plots of land to them for the establishment of dairy processing plants in the nation’s capital city.
At the midweek trading session, investors latched onto this information to mop up the company’s stocks at the NASD Exchange, resulting in the 1.6 percent it recorded today.
At the market today, activity level waned as the total volume of shares transacted by investors plummeted by 46 percent or 41,554 units from 90,625 units to 49,071 units.
Also, the total value of stocks exchanged at the midweek session slowed by 43 percent equivalent to N8 million from N18.8 million recorded on Tuesday to N10.8 million.
Furthermore, the number of deals executed at the market reduced by 12.50 percent or one deal as only seven deals were on record today compared with eight deals executed at the previous session.
ARM Life Plc still maintained its position as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 29 million units worth N18.3 million, while Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc traded 4.3 million units worth N1.4 billion, with Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc selling 4.2 million units valued at N49.7 million.
In terms of the most traded stock by value (year-to-date). NDEP Plc occupied the top position on the chart with 4.3 million units of its securities worth N1.4 billion exchanged by investors, while the day’s only advancer, Friesland, remained in second place with 788,783 units transacted for N98.8 million, with CSCS Plc in third spot with 4.2 million units worth N49.7 million.
