Economy
Odu’a Investment Company Shareholders to Share N320m Dividend
By Adedapo Adesanya
Shareholders of Odu’a Investment Company Limited will take their share of N320 million in dividends payable for the financial year ended December 31, 2019, after granting approval at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, October 7.
This happened at the 38th AGM of the company which took place at the company’s head office, Cocoa House, Ibadan under strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols of the Nigerian government.
The shareholders also approved, among other resolutions, the group and holding company consolidated financial statements for the financial year ended December 31, 2019.
According to the group chairman, Odu’a Investment Company, Mr Segun Aina, the company’s profit before tax rose by 5 per cent to N889.71 million in the year under review from N849.34 million reported in 2018.
He explained that this came from the company’s budget monitoring processes, coupled with increased productivity and reduced operating costs.
“The prudence of management and its budget monitoring processes coupled with increased efficiency and productivity reduced operating costs and boosted profitability of the company in the year under review,” the chairman said.
He also said with substantial investment, it has paid N1.53 billion cumulative dividends since 2015 and also rolls out an ambitious five-year Strategic Plan 2021-2025.
The company, as part of its corporate governance reforms, also got shareholders’ approval for the appointment of two each Independent Directors and Group Executive Directors to strengthen the Board which now has 11 members.
Mr Aina added the board remained positive about the company’s future. He said, “the Board remains positive about the company’s future and will continue to work closely with the Management and provide the needed oversight, guidance and strategic direction.”
The company’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr Adewale Raji, backed up Mr Aina noting that despite the global and domestic economic challenges during the financial year that affected our revenue trajectory, the company managed to increase its PBT by 5 per cent compared to 2018.
He assured shareholders of better performance in ensuing years as the new board and the management team had at a recent strategy retreat mapped out a new course to deliver the audacious 5-year growth plan.
This entails consolidating on existing businesses and diversifying into high growth and profitable sectors of the economy to realize our strategic objectives of creating value for our shareholders and delivering social impact to the South West States.
The GMD spoke on some of the company’s new foray into the oil and gas upstream sector and agriculture with processing component. These include the group’s mechanized farm at Imeko, Ogun State, where 1,200 hectares of cassava is currently under cultivation with a technical partner that will feed into two 50 tonnes per day modular processing plants for the conversion of cassava tubers into High-Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) and High-Quality Cassava Starch (HQCS).
He also added that there are also renewed organic growth efforts at our Wemabod Limited (Real Estate) and Glanvill Enthoven Insurance Brokers & Pensions Consultants Ltd (Insurance Brokerage).
He emphasized on the group’s commitment to agricultural transformation to address food security, export earnings, job creation, accelerating industrialization and lifting the rural economy.
He disclosed that the group had recently incorporated South West Agriculture Company Limited (SWAgCo) to mid-wife the agriculture transformation of the South West strictly on sound private-sector principles and strategic partnerships.
This agric investment company has already identified focused food crops, cash crops, livestock and agriculture processing that will guide its investment decisions. SWAgCo will spin-off SPVs that will bring about profitable economic growth and social impact of job creation and lifting the rural economy of their locations.
Mr Raji concluded in his outlook for the future that the group will focus its strategy in critical essential sectors of the economy like food and manufacturing, healthcare & pharmaceuticals, logistics, ICT/digital, etc which are all well covered in the new 2021-2025 strategic plan.
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.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn