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 Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, August 5, as the market witnessed weaker trading activity with only two deals executed.
In the midweek session, the volume of securities exchanged by investors dropped 99.9 per cent to 802 units from the 1.6 million units recorded on Tuesday. The value of securities further decreased by 99.6 per cent to N208,240 from the preceding session’s N47.6 million, and the number of deals significantly went down by 93.9 per cent to two deals from the 33 deals recorded a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained 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 sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 76.9 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for 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.
There were no price gainers or losers yesterday.
As a result, the market capitalisation stood unmoving at N2.739 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) remained unchanged at 4,563.96 points.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira slid against the US Dollar by N2.28 or 0.17 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, August 5, to N1,363.85/$1 from N1,362.55/$1.
The local currency also declined against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N5.97 to close at N1,837.38/£1 compared with Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,831.41/£1, and against the Euro, it crashed by N6.54 to quote at N1,575.25/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,568.71/€1.
But at the black market, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the greenback yesterday at N1,400/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank FX desk at N1,373/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says rates have narrowed to below two per cent, while the country’s external reserves have risen above $52.5 billion, reflecting the impact of its ongoing monetary and foreign exchange reforms.
CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso, represented by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed this on Tuesday during the CBN Fair in Gombe. He noted that reforms introduced since 2023 had significantly reduced the disparity between the official FX market and the parallel market.
“The Naira continues to strengthen, with the spread between official and Bureau de Change rates now below two per cent,” he said, adding that reserves at $52.5 billion were supported by sustained inflows and renewed investor confidence in the economy.
Interbank FX transactions slid as weaker market activities dropped total Dollar volume exchanged to $75.35 million, a 51.8 per cent decline from $156.23 million in turnover quoted at the previous close.
The deals at the NFEM window also fell as data from the central bank put Wednesday’s quote at 82 from 139.
In the cryptocurrency market, major were down as global risk sentiment softened as a key world equity index slipped and chipmakers fell.
The MSCI All Country World Index snapped a five-day run to fall 0.2 per cent as chipmakers retreated on both sides of the Pacific. South Korea’s Kospi, a bellwether for the AI trade, dropped 4.4 per cent.
Ripple (XRP) depleted by 1.7 per cent to $1.05, Binance Coin (BNB) decreased by 1.0 per cent to $594.87, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $0.1884, TRON (TRX) shrank by 0.2 per cent to $0.3261, Solana (SOL) crumbled by 0.1 per cent to $74.00, and Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.1 per cent to $0.0697.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.3 per cent to trade at $1,911.41, and Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.8 per cent to $64,759.28, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The domestic stock exchange rebounded by 0.05 per cent on Wednesday on the back of renewed bargain-hunting by investors, though the level of activity waned.
After bleeding for a few days, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited heaved a sigh of relief yesterday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 109.41 points to close at 244,912.24 points compared with the previous day’s 244,802.83 points, and the market capitalisation garnered N71 billion to settle at N158.087 trillion versus Tuesday’s N158.016 trillion.
Business Post reports that despite the rebound recorded by Customs Street at midweek, the market breadth index remained negative, as there were 20 price advancers and 29 price decliners, implying bearish investor sentiment.
Linkage Assurance appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, AVA Capital rose by 9.55 per cent to N10.90, Fortis Global Insurance advanced by 7.69 per cent to N2.80, McNichols gained 7.34 per cent to finish at N5.85, and Coronation Insurance surged by 5.51 per cent to N2.49.
Conversely, Honeywell Flour depreciated by 9.94 per cent to N16.30, PZ Cussons gave up 9.94 per cent to trade at N74.75, Zichis crashed by 9.74 per cent to N20.76, Learn Africa slipped by 9.62 per cent to N9.40, and Neimeth tumbled by 8.33 per cent to N8.25.
The busiest equity was FCMB, with a turnover of 369.2 million units valued at N4.1 billion. Chams transacted 46.7 million units worth N201.8 million, First Holdco transacted 43.5 million units for N5.7 billion, Access Holdings sold 29.8 million units worth N778.0 million, and Linkage Assurance exchanged 19.6 million units valued at N33.5 million.
At the close of transactions, market participants bought and sold 824.1 million units worth N25.5 billion in 48,114 deals, in contrast to the 1.6 billion units sold for N28.7 billion in 54,160 deals a day earlier, showing a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 48.49 per cent, 11.15 per cent, and 11.16 per cent, respectively.
