Economy
FTN Cocoa Loss Deepens Despite Improvement in Q3 Revenue
By Dipo Olowookere
In the third quarter of 2021, FTN Cocoa Processors Plc recorded an expansion in its loss before and after taxes despite recording an improvement in revenue.
According to the financial statements of the company released on Monday, the revenue generated in the first nine months of this year was N278.2 million in contrast to the N227.3 million raked in the same period of last year.
A critical look into this by Business Post showed that this increase in revenue was boosted by local sales of cocoa powder, cocoa liquor and cocoa cake, which all accounted for N144.8 million versus N66.6 million in the first nine months of 2020.
In the period under review, export sales slightly decline as the firm generated N133.4 million from cocoa butter compared with N160.7 million achieved in the same period of last year.
However, it was observed that FTN Cocoa could not trim its cost of sales as this rose to N519.8 million from N475.0 million as the value of its raw materials jumped to N265.7 million from N178.0 million, personnel expenses lept to N52.7 million from N50.9 million, repairs and maintenance of factory building and plant/machinery went up to N7.5 million from N1.4 million, while other direct costs gulped N21.0 million versus N11.5 million a year ago.
As a result of its inability to cut down its cost of sales and operate optimally, the company posted a gross loss of N241.6 million compared with N247.7 million in Q3 of 2020.
It is important to note that FTN Cocoa has been producing below of 5 per cent of installed capacity due to the lingering working capital inadequacy. This impacted on the gross margin as a result of huge fixed cost that has to be borne.
Furthermore, the firm recorded operating expenses of N107.2 million as against N171.0 million in the corresponding period of last year, while the selling and distribution costs stood at N9.0 million in contrast to N11.9 million and with an other operating income of N28.3 million versus N47.0 million a year ago, FTN Cocoa closed September 30, 2021, with an operating loss of N329.6 million compared with an operating loss of N383.6 million.
It also declared a finance loss of N302.0 million compared with the finance income of N33.1 million, while the finance cost jumped to N216.5 million from N1.3 million, leaving it with a net finance loss of N518.5 million as against the net finance loss of N31.8 million in the corresponding period of 2020.
Consequently, it declared a loss before and after taxes of N848.1 million as against the pre-tax and post-tax losses of N351.7 million in Q3 of last year.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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