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Nigeria Gets First Bitumen Cargo From Puma Energy

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puma-energy-bitumen

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Puma Energy has announced the delivery of its first cargo of bitumen to its terminal located in Calabar, Cross River State, under a joint venture with WABECO Petroleum Ltd, registered as P.E. Bitumen Resources (Nigeria) Limited.

Puma Energy is a global mid and downstream energy company.

According to a weekend statement by Puma Energy, the cargo was delivered by MT Acacia Rubra, which completed discharge early this month.

The statement disclosed that the delivery comes at a critical time to assist the federal government’s effort in rebuilding its road infrastructure which is a catalyst for the country’s economic development.

Puma Energy’s Global Head of Bitumen, Olof Klintholm, said the feat was a very important milestone for Puma Energy Bitumen.

“Nigeria is a key focus market for us as we keep building our global presence and it shows we can deliver Bitumen on specification and on time anywhere across the world,” Klintholm added.

According to Klintholm, Puma Energy looks forward to working with construction companies in delivering high quality bitumen to their projects around Nigeria.

Puma Energy has the world’s largest system of Bitumen ships and terminals, offering customers globally a wide range of products that meet local specification requirements at a competitive price.

The company has also helped to deliver new and safer roads in many countries around the world by assisting governments, highway agencies and construction companies in sourcing and supplying the bitumen they need for major construction works.

The company recently announced results for the first quarter of 2016 where it recorded 21 per cent increase in sales volumes supporting gross profit growth, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, depletion, amortization and exploration expenses (EBITDAX) rose by 19 per cent, with contained operating expenses.

It also recorded solid operating cash flows of $ 487million, reflecting good performance and disciplined working capital management with capital expenditure (Capex) of $326 million, financed by operating cash flows.

Net debt decreased, reducing leverage multiple to 2.9 times, in line with stated capital structure, while in May 2016, refinanced and increased the revolving credit facility to $1.55 billion.

Other operational highlights include: $139 million in organic capex put toward expanding terminals in Angola and Ghana, and smaller projects across Americas, Asia Pacific and Africa, with number of service stations increasing to over 2,400, driven by growth across all regions.

“Puma Energy continues to perform into the second quarter, delivering strong gross profit and EBITDA while hitting yet another quarterly record in terms of sales. Despite global challenges and currency devaluations, our solid operating performance and working capital discipline has resulted in operating cash flows that fully financed our strategic capex and acquisitions. This stability will help us to seize on select opportunities and continue to invest in our key markets,” commented Chief Financial Officer, Denis Chazarain.

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

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Economy

Four Securities Erase N51.17bn from NASD Exchange

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NASD Exchange

By Adedapo Adesanya

Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.

In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.

The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.

During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.

GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.

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Economy

Cautious Trading, Profit-taking Weaken Nigeria’s Stock Exchange by 0.66%

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Nigeria's stock exchange

By Dipo Olowookere

The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.

This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.

Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.

Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.

The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.

As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.

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Economy

Official FX Market Sees Naira Dip to N1,380.93/$1

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.

Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.

At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.

Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.

Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.

Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.

If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.

At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.

On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.

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