Economy
Global Spectrum Energy Services Quits Stock Exchange After Five Years
By Dipo Olowookere
An integrated oil & gas offshore support vessel services company, Global Spectrum Energy Services Plc, has decided to call it quits with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
In November 2017, the firm joined the local stock exchange by listing 800 million ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N5 per share on the NGX’s trading platform, boosting the value of the market by N4 billion.
But after five years of being in the kitchen, it could no longer withstand the heat and has opted to leave the scene for others.
In a regulatory document, it was observed that Global Spectrum Energy Services exited the stock market of its volition.
Its application to voluntarily delist its entire 800 million ordinary shares from the daily official list of the Nigerian bourse was approved on December 29, 2022.
Business Post reports that the request for the company to part ways with the Nigerian exchange was filed by its stockbroker, Compass Investments and Securities Limited.
Five years ago, when it joined the exchange, its Managing Director, Mr Colm Doyle, stated that the company planned to increase its profit over a five-year period from N847.87 million in 2018 to N2.62 billion by 2022.
According to him, as the company continues to implement its expansion plan that will ensure a year-on-year increase in profit, the firm has decided to give out a minimum of 30 per cent of its profit as dividends to its shareholders.
A look at the performance of the company on the stock market showed that as of January 5, 2023, when it recorded the last transactions, its share price closed flat at N2.48 per unit, which is 50.4 per cent or N2.52 lower than its listing price of N5.00.
The audited results of Global Spectrum Energy Services for 2021 showed that revenue went down by 11.96 per cent to N1.954 billion from N2.220 billion, as profit-after-tax dropped 39.46 per cent to N127.0 million from N209.8 million.
In the first quarter of 2022, the firm grew its revenue to N670.8 million from N346.4 million, while the net profit jumped to N89.9 million from N15.2 million.
In the second quarter of the year, this feat was repeated as revenue rose to N699.2 million from N445.7 million, leaving the half-year earnings at N1.4 billion versus N786.3 million in H1 of 2021, while the post-tax profit dropped to N56.5 million in Q2 from N65.7 million in Q2 of 2021, though the HY of 2022 jumped to N146.4 million from N90.9 million in HY of 2021.
In the third quarter of last year, its earnings rose to N861.2 million from N506.1 million, with the nine months at N2.2 billion versus N1.3 billion in the corresponding period of the preceding year, while the net profit from July to September 2022 stood at N54.4 million, in contrast to N37.5 million in the same months of 2021, leaving the nine-month profit at N200.7 million versus N128.3 million.
In 2017, the organisation made a projection that by 2022, its turnover was expected to grow from N3.88 billion in 2018 to N8.1 billion.
A five-year review of the company’s performance before joining the bourse showed that turnover declined from N986.45 million in 2013 to N934.62 million in 2017, while profit before tax grew from N165.31 million in 2013 to N347.13 million by October 2017.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 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 worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
