Economy
Merger News Triggers 32.20% Rise in Portland Paints Stocks
By Dipo Olowookere
The news last Monday of a merger between Chemical and Allied Products (CAP) Plc and Portland Paints and Products Nigeria Plc pushed the stocks of the latter higher by 32.20 per cent last week.
In the four-day trading week, shares of the paint maker moved from N2.05 per unit to N2.71 per unit, closer to the N2.90 CAP is offering holders of Portland Paints equities.
The proposed consideration represents a 45 per cent premium to the last traded share price of Portland Paints on October 16, 2020, being the last business day prior to the date on which CAP sent its merger proposal to the board of Portland Paints and a 41 per cent premium on the trading price as at close of trading on October 23, 2020.
This news triggered investors to buy the company’s stocks and resulted in the price appreciation it achieved last week at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
In the week also, FCMB grew by 28.28 per cent to settle at N3.13 per share, Tripple Gee and Company gained 27.78 per cent to end at 46 kobo per share, Sterling Bank appreciated by 26.43 per cent to close at N1.77 per share, while Fidelity Bank rose by 24.26 per cent to finish at N2.51 per unit.
At the close of the trading week, 68 equities appreciated in price, higher than 28 equities in the previous week.
However, there were six price losers, lower than 35 of the previous week and they were led by Morison Industries and Prestige Assurance, which went down by 10 per cent each to close at 54 kobo apiece.
Cutix depreciated by 8.95 per cent to settle at N1.73 per share, NASCON reduced by 8.39 per cent to N13.10 per share, Omatex Ventures lost 7.69 per cent to trade at 24 kobo per unit, while Cornerstone Insurance dropped 3.33 per cent to 58 kobo per unit.
In the week, prices of 94 stocks remained flat, lower than 99 recorded in the previous week.
On the activity chart, 1.9 billion shares worth N23.6 billion were traded in 23,578 deals as against the 1.5 billion shares valued at N19.7 billion transacted the previous week in 20,552 deals, Business Post learnt.
About 1.5 billion shares worth N15. 6 billion of these transactions executed in 12,546 deals were from the financial services sector, which contributed 77.41 per cent and 65.97 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The consumer goods industry followed with 131.8 million shares worth N2.6 billion in 4,112 deals, while the third place was the industrial goods space, with a turnover of 83.5 million units worth N3.6 billion carried out in 1,818 deals.
FBN Holding, Zenith Bank and Access Bank accounted for 576.5 million units worth N6.791 billion in 4,652 deals, contributing 30.19 per cent and 28.76 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
These increase in the level of activity contributed to the 6.39 per cent growth recorded by both the All-Share Index (ASI) and market capitalisation, which closed the week at 30,530.69 points and N15.958 trillion respectively. Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the exception of the NSE ASeM index that closed flat.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The price of Brent crude futures rose by 1.3 per cent or 99 cents to $79.27 per barrel on Thursday as banking crisis fears further eased and no resolution in sight yet for the cut-off of the flow of Iraqi Kurdistan oil to Turkey.
Also, the US West Texas Intermediate crude rose by 1.9 per cent or $1.40 to $74.37 per barrel as producers shut in or reduced output at several oilfields in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq following a halt to the northern export pipeline.
About 400,000 barrels per day have been cut off with the pipeline shutdown over an international arbitration ruling in favour of Iraq against Turkey, and this continues to put upward pressure on oil prices.
Likewise, fears that may linger about the potential broader economic impact in the aftermath of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, as well as the share crash and rescue bid for giant Credit Suisse, and pressure on other regional banks in the US appear to be easing.
Also supporting prices was a Wednesday report from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) that crude oil stockpiles in the world’s largest producer fell unexpectedly in the week of March 24 to a two-year low.
Crude inventories dropped by 7.5 million barrels, compared with expectations for a rise of 100,000 barrels.
These factors offset bearish sentiment after a lower-than-expected cut to Russian crude oil production in the first three weeks of March, as numbers showed that there was a 300,000 barrels per day production decline compared with targeted cuts of 500,000 barrels per day, or about 5 per cent of Russian output.
Markets are now waiting for the US spending and inflation data due on Friday and the resulting impact on the value of the US Dollar, which impacts oil prices.
Also driving oil prices Thursday have been statements ahead of a planned meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Monday, where delegates have indicated that the 23-man cartel will likely stick to its current production cut plan.
Despite the low prices prompted in part by the banking crisis fears, analysts noted that OPEC+ would stay the course and not react by reducing output further.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited witnessed the listing of N318.52 billion worth of securities in the first quarter of 2023, data from the X-Compliance report of the bourse has revealed.
This cut across equities, fixed income, mutual funds and derivatives categories.
The X-Compliance report is a transparency initiative of NGX designed to maintain market integrity and protect investors by providing compliance-related information on all listed companies.
Through the report, NGX ensures that it provides timely information to investors to aid their capital allocation decisions and enable a properly functioning capital market.
According to the report, NGX saw N11.23 billion in Federal Government of Nigeria bond listings which constituted FGN Savings Bonds with maturities ranging between 2024 and 2026.
Lagos State Government issued the only bond by a sub-sovereign entity with its N137.33 billion series 1V, 10-year 13%, Fixed Rate Bonds due 2031 under its N500 billion debt issuance program.
The corporate bond segment recorded N112.42 billion senior unsecured bond listing from Dangote Industries Funding Plc and N31.36 billion in Sukuk Issuances from Taj Bank and Family Homes under their respective Sukuk Issuance programmes.
FTN Cocoa Processors Plc and Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc both did supplementary listings of N850 million and N3.68 billion of shares, respectively.
Africa Plus Partners Nigeria Limited also listed its mutual fund, Africa Infra Plus 1, the first Carbon Plus naira-denominated fund to be listed on the Exchange, at a market value of N21.65 billion.
NGX also continued to drive participation in its derivatives market with the listing of the NGX Pension index Futures Contract and NGX30 Index Futures Contract.
Recall that the Chief Executive Officer of NGX, Mr Temi Popoola, had noted that the Exchange had a renewed focus on listings for the year 2023.
“We will be using listings as a vehicle for meeting strategic aspirations as the new dispensation comes in through increased advocacy and engagements,” he had said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s total public debt stock increased by 17 per cent to N46.25 trillion or $103.11 billion as of December 2022 from N39.56 trillion or $95.77 billion in 2021.
This information was revealed by the Debt Management Office (DMO) on Thursday.
This means that the country’s debt profile precisely increased by 16.9 per cent or N6.69 trillion or $7.34 billion within one year, as the government borrow funds from various quarters for its budget deficits.
The agency said the new figures comprise the domestic and external total debt stocks of the federal government and the sub-national governments (36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory).
The DMO statement partly read, “As of December 31, 2022, the total public debt stock was N46.25 trillion or $103.11 billion.
“In terms of composition, total domestic debt stock was N27.55 trillion ($61.42 billion) while total external debt stock was N18.70 trillion ($41.69 billion).
“Amongst the reasons for the increase in the total public debt stock were new borrowings by the FGN and sub-national governments, primarily to fund budget deficits and execute projects. The issuance of promissory notes by the FGN to settle some liabilities also contributed to the growth in the debt stock.
“On-going efforts by the government to increase revenues from oil and non-oil sources through initiatives such as the Finance Acts and the Strategic Revenue Mobilization initiative are expected to support debt sustainability.”
“The total public debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio for December 31, 2022, was 23.20 per cent and indicates a slight increase from the figure for December 31, 2022, at 22.47 per cent.
“The ratio of 23.20 per cent is within the 40 per cent limit self-imposed by Nigeria, the 55 per cent limit recommended by the World Bank/International Monetary Fund, and the 70 per cent limit recommended by the Economic Community of West African States,” the debt office said.
