Economy
GCR Upgrades Presco Ratings on Improved Financial Profile
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The national scale long-term and short-term issuer ratings of Presco Plc have been upgraded by GCR Ratings, with a stable outlook.
In a statement by the rating agency, it was disclosed that the long-term issuer rating was moved up to A+(NG) from A-(NG) and the short-term issuer rating was raised to A1(NG) from A2(NG).
Concurrently, GCR has upgraded the national scale long-term issue ratings on each of the company’s N34.5Bn Series 1 Senior Unsecured Bond and N82.9Bn Programme 2 Series 1 Senior Unsecured Bond to A+(NG) from A-(NG) previously, with the outlook on the bonds ratings remaining stable.
Explaining the rationale behind the upgrade, GCR stated Presco has witnessed considerable improvements in its financial profile, with consistent reduction in debt over the past four years, coupled with improvements in earnings and free cash flows over the same period.
“We have maintained the analytical approach as group credit analysis using the consolidated financial statements of SIAT N.V., which owns 60 per cent interest in Presco and wholly owns other subsidiaries.
“The group credit analysis reflects Presco’s sustained position as the largest contributor to SIAT N.V. group earnings, with 72.9 per cent of revenue in financial year 2024 (2023: 60 per cent) following its acquisition of Ghana Palm Oil Development Company Limited (GOPDC),” parts of the statement read.
The group returned to turnover growth in 2024 and half year 2025 (H1 2025), reflecting a combination of factors including volumes growth, increased crude oil processing and refining activity, premium pricing and stability of the Naira in 2025.
Earnings concentration to Nigeria would be further accentuated by the proposed acquisition of Saro Oil Palm Limited (SOP), with future growth to be driven by additional inflows from enlarged mature plantations post consolidation, coupled with planned investments in oil milling and refining.
Earnings margins have also rebounded, with EBITDA margin reaching a high of 32 per cent in 2024, compared to a five-year historical average of 28 per cent.
In addition to the positive effect of the spinoff of loss-making subsidiaries in 2023, the recent earnings improvements reflect higher traded volume of higher margin refined palm oil and other processed palm oil products.
“We expect the sound topline growth of 23 per cent reported in H1 2025 to be largely sustained into the full year especially given the stable Naira, while margins would normalise to the 32 per cent-35 per cent range (management accounts: 68 per cent),” GCR stated.
“We consider the liquidity fundamentals to show signs of stress even though the coverage is relatively strong at 1.5x for the 18-month period to 31 December 2026. Maturing debt obligations and expected capital spending over the outlook period are minimal and could be sufficiently settled with operating cash flows and cash on hand of EUR82 million as of 30 June 2025.
“This notwithstanding, significant outflows are expected in respect of dividend distribution, which is now well above the historical levels.
“This is however balanced against the anticipated proceeds from a rights issue of N250 billion (c.EUR140 million), which will be used to repay portions of outstanding debt and fund the proposed acquisition of SOP and the settlement of outstanding purchase consideration on the acquisition of GOPDC.
“We have, however, haircut the expected proceeds of the rights issue. In addition, given the group’s plan to pursue further acquisitions in Nigeria, liquidity could be pressured if these are funded with large debt issuances,” it disclosed.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shares of First Holdco Plc worth N45.0 billion issued through a private placement have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
A circular issued by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of the NGX Regulation Limited, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, disclosed that the equities were admitted for trading at the stock market on Monday.
According to the notice, the additional shares brought for listing to rank pari passu with existing shares of the organisation were 1,021,334,544 units.
These stocks were sold to one of the company’s major shareholders at a unit price of N44.06, amounting to N45.0 billion.
The total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco, as a result of this listing, are now 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of First Holdco Plc were on Monday, June 22, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s private placement of 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N44.06 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco Plc have now increased to 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 44,453,693,133 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the disclosure stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has approved fresh import licences for petrol and diesel for the third quarter of 2026 (July – September) to prevent potential supply shortages in the domestic market.
According to a report by global energy intelligence firm, Argus Media, the latest approvals were issued to major downstream operators amid declining fuel stock levels and concerns over reduced petrol production at the 700,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.
The move comes as Nigeria continues to balance increasing local refining capacity with the need to guarantee adequate supplies of petroleum products across the country.
According to the Argus report, domestic firms, including AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Bono Energy, Nipco, Matrix Energy and Pinnacle Oil, received permits to import Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, during the July-September period.
The publication further reported that the same companies, with the exception of Nipco, were granted approvals to import Automotive Gas Oil, commonly known as diesel. The fresh approvals follow an earlier batch of petrol import permits issued by the regulator in May, covering about 720,000 metric tonnes.
Quoting a regulatory source, Argus noted that many of the companies granted the latest approvals were among those that had received permits in previous rounds. “These are some of the same ones that previously received the PMS permits,” the source was quoted as saying.
It was also claimed that AA Rano and Matrix Energy each received approvals to import 180,000 metric tonnes of petrol. AYM Shafa received approval for 120,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle Oil received a permit covering 150,000 metric tonnes.
For diesel imports, Argus reported that AYM Shafa obtained a permit for 60,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle secured approval for 45,000 metric tonnes. The report stated that the import approvals were issued only recently, after being delayed from an initial target date of June 15.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.01 per cent on Tuesday, June 23, dragging the market capitalisation down by N25.91 billion to N2.544 trillion from Monday’s N2.570 trillion. Also, the NASD Security Index (NSI) decreased by 43.17 points to 4,239.34 points from 4,282.51 points.
The triplet price losers were Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gave up N4.82 to trade at N75.00 per unit versus Monday’s closing price of N79.82 per unit. NASD Plc depreciated by N3.70 to close at N33.30 per share compared with the preceding day’s N37.00 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc marginally lost 1 Kobo to sell at N21.41 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N21.42 per unit.
Tuesday’s trading data showed that the volume of securities traded by investors retreated by 35.9 per cent to 211,671 units from 330,034 units, and the value of securities fell by 82.9 per cent to N5.6 million from N32.7 million, while the number of deals doubled to 38 deals from 19 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.1 million units transacted for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
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