By Adedapo Adesanya

Pressure was on the Nigerian Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday as it gave up 84 Kobo or 0.06 per cent to the US Dollar to close at N1,526.60/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of  N1,525.76/$1.

Similarly, it weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N3.14 to trade at N2,070.29/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N2,067.15/£1 and against the Euro, it lost N1.55 to settle at N1,783.26/€1 compared with the N1,781.71/€1 it was traded at midweek.

However, in the parallel market window, the Naira maintained stability against the greenback at the trading session, closing at N1,530/$1, the same rate it was exchanged a day earlier.

Despite its poor performance in the spot market, the Nigerian currency has endured intense pressure and it is projected to maintain relative stability within the range of N1,550 to N1,635 per Dollar for the rest of 2025, supported by improved investor confidence and planned external borrowings.

According to CardinalStone Research, Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves will close the year at around $41 billion based on external loans worth $3.2 billion, which the Federal Government aims to secure in the second half of 2025 to meet fiscal obligations.

Additional capital inflows from portfolio investors are expected to continue coming, having recently supported the balance and pushed reserves above the $37.27 billion recorded at the end of June.

However, reserves have faced pressure due to sizeable debt repayments and ongoing interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to keep the Naira stable in the face of external shocks.

Meanwhile, the crypto market buzzed on Thursday, with Bitcoin (BTC) reaching new all-time highs after it gained 6.1 per cent to close at $118,196.20, triggering a splendid rally and causing Ethereum price to surpass the $3,000 psychological level.

This come as traders await over $5 billion in crypto options to expire on Friday for cues on market direction in the coming days.

Cardano (ADA) jumped by 12.9 per cent to $0.7010, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 10.2 per cent to $0.1995, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 8.1 per cent to $3,017.95, Ripple (XRP) grew by 7.3 per cent to $2.59, Litecoin (LTC) rose by 6.1 per cent to $96.13, Solana (SOL) added 5.3 per cent to close at $165.60, and Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 3.0 per cent to $692.95, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Crude oil declined by more than 2 per cent on Thursday, as investors weighed the potential impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on global economic growth.

Brent crude was down by 2.21 per cent or $1.55 to $68.64 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $66.57 a barrel after losing 2.65 per cent or $1.81.

President Trump has returned to dangling tariffs, threatening Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, with a punitive 50 per cent tariff on exports to the US.

He is pressuring his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva over Brazil’s trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro over charges of plotting a coup to stop him from taking office in 2023. The Brazilian government has since hinted at reciprocal measures.

Oil is Brazil’s top export to the US, and until now it had been exempt from a 10% tariff already imposed on other Brazilian goods.

He has also announced plans for tariffs on copper, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. His administration sent tariff letters to the Philippines, Iraq and others, adding to over a dozen letters this week including to top suppliers like South Korea and Japan.

However, market analysts noted that recent pauses and walking back on threats has caused the market to become less reactive to such announcements.

Regardless, worries about inflation and the next step for interest rates continued to grip the market. Higher interest rates make borrowing more expensive and can slow demand for oil.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) are set to approve another big output boost for September, as they complete unwinding voluntary production cuts by eight members. Also, the United Arab Emirates’ will move to a larger quota.

It has since hiked output for May till August, but there are indicators it will pause for October after September due to peak demand. The market expects a bigger number around the 548,000 barrels per day for August.

The US remained worried and frustrated around a lack of progress in ending the war in Ukraine. President Trump said recently he was considering a bill that would impose tougher sanctions on Russia.

Also, the European Commission has proposed a major overhaul to its Russian oil price cap regime, introducing a floating benchmark tied to global crude prices in an effort to regain control over a sanctions tool that has lost impact as oil markets decline.

By Dipo Olowookere

The outlook of a company listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, MeCure Industries Plc, has been lowered to negative from positive by GCR Ratings.

The rating firm also downgraded the Mecure Industries’ national scale long-term and short-term issuer ratings to BBB(NG) and A3(NG) from BBB+(NG) and A2(NG), respectively.

In the same vein, the long-term issue rating of Mecure Industries Funding SPV’s N3 billion Series 1 Senior Secured Bond has been demoted to BBB(NG)(EL) from BBB+(NG)(EL).

In a statement sighted by Business Post, GCR explained that the negative outlook on Mecure Industries “reflects our expectation that the ratings could face further downward pressure if operating cash flows (OCF) remains negative from intense working capital absorption, and liquidity coverage stays below 1x due to increased reliance on short-term debt funding, especially if the proposed equity raise does not materialise or meet expectations.”

It was noted that the use of high short-term debt to finance expanded working capital requirements has weakened the liquidity profile of the company, with rising finance costs and the elevated operational needs.

GCR said it adjusted Mecure Industries’ liquidity profile to reflect the persistently weak coverage resulting from elevated working capital financing, with short-term debt rising to N28.3 billion against a low cash balance of N1.5 billion as of the first quarter of 2025.

Despite factoring in projected improvements in OCF of about N5.8 billion, a portion of inventory holdings (haircut at 40 per cent), and committed revolving credit facilities amounting to N8.9 billion as of May 2025, the uses versus sources liquidity metric remained below 1.0x over a nine to 21 months period.

However, it was noted that capital investment is expected to remain modest over the medium term considering the recent completion of production plant renovations and expansion.

It was stated that plans by the healthcare firm to raise N30 billion from an initial public offering in 2026, aimed at improving the capital structure, should cut down the high near-maturing debt and support working capital funding.

The company’s business profile remains a positive rating factor because of its diversified portfolio of over 140 product offerings across nine therapeutic classes, with a strategic focus on the margin-enhancing ethical medicine segment.

Its competitive position is further underpinned by its nationwide network of about 100 distributors, as well as long-standing relationships with suppliers and foreign technical partners, which facilitates supply chain security, product development, and modern manufacturing practices.

Bolstered by expanding scale, Mecure Industries aims to increase market penetration through new product introductions, competitive pricing strategy, contract manufacturing arrangements, and growing export activity, which are expected to strengthen its competitive stance over the review period.

In the 2024 fiscal year, Mecure Industries grew its earnings by 44.9 per cent to N46.0 billion due to volume growth, inflation-driven price adjustments, the introduction of new formulations, and expanded production capacity.

This was sustained into the first quarter of this year and GCR projects that the firm could improve its revenue by 40 per cent due to increased capacity utilisation, rising sales volumes, and incremental contributions from export sales and new contract manufacturing arrangements.

Further, the EBITDA margin is projected to remain strong at around 27 per cent over the next 21 months, supported by increased contributions of margin-safe ethical medicines, sustained cost management, improved scale efficiency and cost savings from removal of VAT and import duties on drugs.