Economy
NASD Plc Suffers 50.1% Decline in Profit in 2019
By Adedapo Adesanya
The profit after tax of NASD Plc recorded a 50.1 per cent plunge in the 2019 financial year, closing at N45.1 million as against N90.4 million it ended in the 2018 fiscal year.
This information was contained in the company’s annual report, which also showed that the company recorded a lower profit before tax (PBT) of N36.1 million versus N62.0 million a year earlier, indicating a decline of 41.8 per cent.
Business Post reports that during the period under review, the amount paid as tax was low at N8.9 million as against N28.3 million in the previous year.
The breakdown showed that the company had a ‘Nil’ company income tax for 2019 (2018: nil) due to its carried forward unrelieved losses situation. The minimum tax has been computed as the company is liable to be assessed under the minimum tax law.
It, however, explained that education tax is not included as a result of the assessable loss situation.
NASD’s profit per share also took a slide to N10.14 from N20.34 while the company’s total liabilities and equity stood at N660.8 million compared to N617.9 million, indicating a rise of 6.9 per cent.
It said in the year, there was a drop in fees and commission by 3.2 per cent to N161.95 million from N167.38 million in the preceding period.
In terms of the company’s employees benefits and compensation costs, it rose by 27.4 per cent to N90.1 million from N70.7 million in the previous year.
The company saw N510,000 made on write-back no longer required in the year while N102.9 million was expended on other operating expenses whereas N92.3 million was published in 2018.
These spurred NASD Plc to end the year with an operating loss of N30.6 million compared to a gain of N4.3 million marked in the 2018 financial period.
There was, however, a rise in the interest income made on treasury bills, money market placements and bonds during the period; N65.7 million versus N57.7 million in 2018.
Other income (gains from asset disposal) raked in N890,000 compared to N529,000 recorded in the same period in 2018.
Speaking on the result, the Managing Director of NASD, Mr Bola Ajomale, explained that “the decrease in market activity experienced in 2019 is a sharp change in trend from what was witnessed in 2018 and was a direct result of a downturn in market activity as well as a reduction in the number of new securities admitted to the market.
“The continued decline in the country’s risk profile coupled with the sustained dominance of the fixed income sector of the market also contributed to investor apathy.”
However, he assured that, “NASD will continue to build confidence in the OTC market by working with issuers to improve their reporting and information disclosure.”
“Consistent with this, in 2019, new rules and policies were developed to identify and appropriately treat market infractions and disputes. In 2019, we also successfully implemented our Trade Guarantee Fund and got approval with SEC to execute Negotiated Deals on our market.
“As the market continues to grow, we shall not relent in increasing stakeholder confidence by ensuring an organised, transparent and efficiently run market,” he added.
Looking forward, Mr Ajomale said despite the disruptions brought about by the novel coronavirus pandemic, “new opportunities that are arising out of this situation and intend to remain versatile and flexible to maintain market operations while providing capital raise services to enterprises that now have an even more pronounced need for the capital market.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed higher by 1.41 per cent on Friday, May 15, supported by four securities on the platform.
During the session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc added N14.24 to its share price to sell for N159.00 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s N144.76 per unit.
Further, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.34 to N72.34 per share from N71.00 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc improved its price by 4 Kobo to N2.94 per unit from N2.90 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to trade at 61 Kobo per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of 60 Kobo per share.
As a result, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 58.20 points to 4,188.41 points from 4,130.21 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N34.82 billion to N2.506 trillion from N2.471 trillion on Thursday.
During the session, the volume of trades went up by 180.8 per cent to 1.2 million units from 417,349 units, and the value of transactions increased by 29.8 per cent to N29.8 million from N23.2 million, while the number of deals fell by 22.6 per cent to 24 deals from 31 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units valued at N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bears overpowered the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, sinking it further by 0.76 per cent when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm.
The nation’s flagship equity market was under selling pressure during the session, as investors booked profits after the shares witnessed price appreciation in the past trading sessions.
The energy sector was the most impacted, as it shed 4.43 per cent. The consumer goods index declined by 0.90 per cent, the banking counter decreased by 0.15 per cent, and the industrial goods sector lost 0.08 per cent, while the insurance counter gained 2.42 per cent, which was not enough to salvage the situation.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,912.19 points to 250,330.92 points from 252,243.11 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by 1.225 trillion to N160.444 trillion from N161.669 trillion.
Zichis was the worst-performing stock for the session after it gave up 9.97 per cent to close at N29.43, FTN Cocoa slipped by 9.95 per cent to N8.96, The Initiates slumped by 9.90 per cent to N32.30, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank tumbled by 9.88 per cent to N3.83, and International Energy Insurance dropped 9.71 per cent to trade at N2.79.
The best-performing stock was ABC Transport, which grew by 10.00 per cent to N6.27. May and Baker also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N47.30, SCOA Nigeria surged by 9.98 per cent to N33.05, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.97 per cent to N7.06, and DAAR Communications jumped 9.76 per cent to N2.25.
Yesterday, investors traded 1.1 billion shares worth N44.3 billion in 65,744 deals compared with the 1.0 billion shares valued at N41.6 billion transacted in 74,822 deals a day earlier. This indicated a dip in the number of deals by 12.13 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 10.00 per cent and 6.49 per cent, respectively.
Chams was the busiest equity for the day, with 328.5 million units sold for N1.1 billion. UBA traded 61.6 million units worth N2.7 billion, First Holdco transacted 58.7 million units valued at N4.2 billion, Secure Electronic Technology exchanged 51.9 million units worth N45.0 million, and Access Holdings traded 51.8 million units valued at N1.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The last trading session of the week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) ended on a negative note for the Naira on Friday, May 15, as it lost N15 Kobo or 0.1 per cent against the Dollar to trade at N1,371.04/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,370.89/$1.
However, it further appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N20.77 to close at N1,830.61/£1 versus Thursday’s value of N1,851.38/£1, and gained N7.91 against the Euro to settle at N1,595.07/€1 versus N1,602.98/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N2 against the US Dollar during the session to sell at N1,383/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,381/$1, and at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.
The Naira is forecast to be broadly stable, supported by Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid steady, higher oil receipts, with the market settling into a balance.
Policy direction is also expected to give the market some boost as the CBN said the new edition of the FX market guidelines will deepen liquidity, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in the country’s foreign exchange market.
According to the Governor of the CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso, the update is due to changing global economic realities, domestic reforms and the need for a more coherent and forward-looking regulatory framework. According to him, the last edition of the FX manual was issued in 2018, making the latest review both timely and necessary.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market plunged into the red zone as rising bond yields hit risk assets across markets, while traders are increasingly betting the Federal Reserve may need to raise rates again. Rising energy prices and resurging inflation could force central banks back into tightening mode.
Cardano (ADA) shrank by 4.4 per cent to $0.2557, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 3.7 per cent to $0.1104, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 3.5 per cent to $1.41, Solana (SOL) crashed by 3.5 per cent to $87.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 3.4 per cent to $659.64.
Further, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 2.6 per cent to $78,547.49, Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.1 per cent to quote at $2,209.19, and TRON (TRX) tumbled by 0.7 per cent to $0.3509, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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