Economy
Lafarge Africa Offers N1 Dividend as Net Sales Drop 2.2%
By Dipo Olowookere
The board of Lafarge Africa Plc said the cement firm reported net sales of N213.0 billion in the 2019 financial year compared with the N217.8 billion made in the prior year, indicating about 2.2 percent decline.
Also, in the year under review, the cost of sales increased to N157.1 billion from N150.7 billion, while selling and marketing expenses gulped N5.1 billion in contrast to N3.9 billion a year earlier.
In the financial statements of the company for the year ended December 31, 2019 released on Monday, it was stated that the management trimmed the administrative costs to N17.6 billion in FY19 from N25.0 billion just as the other operating expenses were cut to N764.3 million from N1.1 billion.
In the year under review, the company’s gross profit reduced to N56.0 billion from N67.1 billion, while other income increased to N2.4 billion from N1.4 billion, with operating profit going down to N34.9 billion from N38.5 billion.
According to Lafarge Africa, there was a rise in the finance income to N3.2 billion from N1.5 billion, while the finance costs reduced to N20.2 billion from N41.6 billion.
It was disclosed in the financial status of the organisation that in FY 2019, there was a profit before tax of N17.9 billion compared with the loss before tax of N1.6 billion in FY 2018, and a profit after tax of N115.1 billion in contrast to the loss after tax of N8.8 billion reported in FY 2018.
On the balance sheet, there was a decline in the total assets to N497.2 billion in the period under consideration from N540.7 billion achieved in the prior year, while the total liabilities dropped to N152.2 billion from N406.2 billion.
The major reason for the decline in the company’s total liabilities was the huge cut in the borrowings, which stood at N11.5 billion as against N93.8 billion in the 2018 financial year.
It was also revealed in the results that the retained earnings increased to N155.8 billion from N138.3 billion.
Meanwhile, the board has proposed the payment of N1 dividend to shareholders of the company. In the previous financial year, no cash reward was made to investors.
If approved by shareholders at the company’s forthcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM), the total amount of the dividend to be paid would be N16.1 billion.
The AGM has been fixed for Tuesday, May 26, 2020, which is also the dividend payment date, while the qualification date is Thursday, April 30, 2020, with the closure of the register of shareholders set for Monday, May 4, 2020 to Friday, May 8, 2020 (both dates inclusive.
Shareholders who are yet to complete the e-dividend registration have been advised to download the registrar’s E-dividend Mandate Activation Form available on www.cardinalstoneregistrars.com, complete and submit to the registrar or their respective banks.
Also, shareholders with dividend warrants and share certificates that have remained unclaimed or are yet to be presented for payment or returned for validation have been advised to complete the e-dividend registration or contact the registrar.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.
Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.
Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.
The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.
At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.
“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.
“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.
The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.
FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).
On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.
Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.
Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.
During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.
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