Economy
NGX Hails Flour Mills, Dangote Cement’s Leadership in Sustainability Reporting
By Dipo Olowookere
The quintet of Lafarge Africa, Dangote Cement, Seplat Energy, Flour Mills of Nigeria and Courteville Business Solutions has been commended by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited for demonstrating leadership in sustainability reporting.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the exchange, Mr Temi Popoola, the fivesome has made use of the Facts Behind the Sustainability Report platform of the bourse to promote transparency in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures by showcasing the sustainability performance and reporting.
Speaking on Thursday at the digital closing gong ceremony organised by NGX in celebration of the 2022 World Environment Day themed Only One Earth, Mr Popoola called on businesses to adopt sustainable business practices and report sustainability performance to stakeholders to promote inclusivity in transformational initiatives for the economy and society.
In his opening remarks, he noted that the critical roles required of the private sector in actualising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement now enjoy some clarity and as such businesses would need to incorporate environmental and social factors into their operations and activities.
He stated that the Facts Behind the Sustainability Report platform was designed to “mainstream the adoption of sustainability reporting amongst listed companies so as to increase the availability of decision-useful ESG data that investors can utilize in making investment decisions.”
The NGX chief said to encourage others, it was necessary to “celebrate companies that have demonstrated leadership in sustainability reporting by leveraging the NGX Facts Behind Sustainability Report platform for good reason.”
“Our commendation goes to the Boards and Executive Management of Courteville Business Solutions Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc and Seplat Energy Plc who have leveraged the Facts Behind the Sustainability Report platform since the platform was launched in 2019”, he added.
Mr Popoola reaffirmed NGX’s commitment to fostering the growth of long-term sustainable finance, toward combatting climate change and environmental concerns across Africa as well as upscaling its platforms to advance sustainable development in new ways that reflect the risks and opportunities presented by climate change and the SDGs.
In his remarks, the Country CEO, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr Khaled El Dokani, who was represented by Lolu Akinyemi, Chief Finance Officer and Executive Director, highlighted some strategies deployed by Lafarge Africa towards providing sustainable building solutions, creating a zero-waste initiative, implementing sustainable manufacturing, utilizing renewable energy and deploying rail transportation for distribution of products to end-users, thereby reducing carbon emissions.
“We are at the forefront of demonstrating sustainable behaviour at Lafarge Africa Plc,” he said.
On his part, the CEO of Dangote Cement, Mr Michel Puchercos, also represented by Mr Guillaume Moyen, Group Financial Officer, stressed the need for collective efforts in prioritising the environment.
As for the Group Managing Director of Courteville Business Solutions, Dr Adebola Akindele, he discussed initiatives embarked on to align his organisation with the SDG goals, such as setting up a social capital management team that trains stakeholders on sustainable business practices, workplace diversity, and cultural background and language. He further suggested the introduction of active carbon trading equipment for motorists to regulate vehicular carbon emissions.
Additionally, Mr Omoboyede Olusanya, GMD/CEO of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, represented by Mr Sadiq Usman, Director, Group Strategy & Stakeholder Relations, identified initiatives embarked on by his company that promote sustainable supply chain management, where operations have been aligned with product sustainability themes.
“Beyond installing capacity banks, sustainability initiatives around recycling to save N250 million in product packaging have been introduced to our operations,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.65 per cent gain on Friday, December 13, boosted by three equities admitted on the trading platform.
On the last trading session of the week, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N2.70 to settle at N29.74 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N27.04 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N2.49 to end the session at N42.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s N40.36 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 50 Kobo to close at N16.30 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N15.80 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation added N6.89 billion to settle at N1.062 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.055 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 19.66 points to wrap the session at 3,032.16 points compared with 3,012.50 points recorded in the previous session.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 171.6 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 447,905 units recorded a day earlier, but the value of shares traded by the market participants declined by 19.3 per cent to N2.4 million from the N3.02 million achieved a day earlier, and the number of deals went down by 14.3 per cent to 18 deals from 21 deals.
At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 1.7 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 million.
In the same vein, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 108.7 million units for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with a turnover of 297.3 million units worth N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.
The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.
Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.
In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
For the fourth consecutive trading session, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed higher on Friday by 0.63 per cent on sustained renewed buying pressure.
Apart from the energy and industrial goods sectors which closed flat, every other sector ended in the green territory, according to data obtained from the bourse.
Business Post reports that the insurance index appreciated by 1.52 per cent, the banking space improved by 0.63 per cent, and the consumer goods counter expanded by 0.46 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 617.47 points to settle at 99,378.06 points compared with the preceding day’s 98,760.59 points and the market capitalisation went up by 375 billion to close at N60.242 trillion, in contrast to Thursday’s closing value of N59.867 trillion.
The volume of transactions on Customs Street yesterday grew by 11.13 per cent to 544.2 million shares from the 489.7 million shares transacted a day earlier.
The value of transactions increased during the session by 49.30 per cent to N10.6 billion from N7.1 billion and the number of deals went up by 1.93 per cent to 8,464 deals from the 8,304 deals posted in the previous trading session.
The busiest equity for the trading day was Japaul with the sale of 71.7 million units valued at N158.0 million, eTranzact exchanged 70.7 million units worth N477.5 million, Tantalizers sold 57.3 million units for N101.2 million, FCMB traded 33.0 million units worth N297.3 million, and Universal Insurance transacted 27.1 million units valued at N9.6 million.
A total of 36 stocks ended on the gainers’ chart, while 15 stocks finished on the losers’ table, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The trio of Aradel Holdings, Ikeja Hotel and Caverton gained 10.00 per cent each to trade at N550.00, N8.80, and N1.98, respectively, as Africa Prudential rose by 9.87 per cent to N17.25 and Golden Guinea Breweries soared by 9.64 per cent to N8.64.
On the flip side, Austin Laz lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1.62, ABC Transport crashed by 8.00 per cent to N1.15, Royal Exchange slumped by 7.69 per cent to 60 Kobo, Secure Electronic Technology plunged by 5.26 per cent to 54 Kobo, and The Initiates crumbled by 4.26 per cent to N2.25.
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