Economy
Otedola Joins FBN Holdings Board, as Shareholders Okay N150bn Capital Raise
By Adedapo Adesanya
After much tussling, FBN Holdings Plc has held its 11th Annual General Meeting (AGM) with a considerable number of shareholders approving the payment of a 50 Kobo dividend and the raising of N150 billion in capital through a rights issue.
The yearly gathering was held virtually and coordinated by the Chairman of FBN Holdings Plc, Mr Ahmad Abdullahi.
At the meeting held on Tuesday, August 15, 2023, shareholders elected Mr Femi Otedola and Mr Samson Oyewale Ariyibi into the board of the group.
Speaking at the event, Mrs Bisi Bakare, a shareholder, commended the board and management of FBN Holdings Plc for paying a 50 Kobo dividend to shareholders.
She also welcomed the new board members, especially Mr Otedola, and made a case for an improvement in the gender diversity of the board and management.
She also lauded the Financial Holding Company for significantly increasing its gross earnings in the 2022 financial year.
The external auditor KPMG, represented by Mr Kabir Okunlola, stated that the financials of FBN Holdings Plc, as of December 31, 2022, represented a true and fair view of the company’s separate and consolidated financial position.
Mr Umar Farouk, the Chairman of the Statutory Audit Committee, in his statement, said the internal control mechanism was effectively monitored, and there was clear satisfaction with the level of insider-related parties’ compliance with the regulatory provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He also commended FBN Holdings Plc for its impressive H1, 2023 financial result and called for a hybrid format for future AGMs.
He also asked how the planned capital raising of N150 billion will reposition the financial holding company to be more viable and increase dividend payments in the future.
In his remarks, Mr Patrick Ajudua, a shareholder, expressed delight that First Bank, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, increased its customer base from 36 million to 41 million in the year 2022.
He also acknowledged that the bank’s non-performing loans dropped from 6.1 per cent to 4.3 per cent and commended the board for the dividend of 50 kobo.
Responding to observations and questions from the shareholders, Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo, the Group Managing Director of FBN Holdings Plc, said the Holdco had a track record in dividend payment and has been increasing it over the years.
He assured FBN Holdings Plc was committed to meeting the 35 per cent affirmative action for gender inclusion in the board and management. In the area of service delivery, he said the financial group has developed customer service improvement projects that will create value by leveraging innovation and technology.
Speaking on the N150 billion capital raise, the GMD said, “We are raising capital to brace up for the Basel III requirement, strengthen our balance sheet position, take advantage of business opportunities that can bring more profit and build a strong capital base.”
Business Post gathered that about 1,679 out of 1,700 shareholders voted to approve the N150 billion FBN Holdings Plc capital raising, which is 98.76 per cent of the votes counted.
Similarly, a total of 1,684 shareholders of the 1,702, which is 98.94 per cent, voted in favour of the resolution to approve the 50 Kobo dividend payment.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Pressure is beginning to mount on the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market despite an oil windfall triggered by the Middle East crisis.
On Monday, April 27, the domestic currency further weakened against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by N16.47 or 1.2 per cent to N1,380.71/$1 from the previous day’s N1,364.24/$1.
It was not different against the Pound Sterling in the same market window, as it lost N16.04 to trade at N1,863.76/£1 versus Monday’s closing rate of N1,847.72/£1, and against the Euro, it slipped by N12.72 to close at N1,615.01/€1 versus N1,602.29/€1.
The Naira also depreciated against the Dollar at the black market yesterday by N5 to quote at N1,390/$1 compared with the previous price of N1,385, and at the GTBank forex counter, it further crashed by N9 to settle at N1,379/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,370/$1.
The continued decline of the Naira comes as traders increasingly seek other safe-haven currencies amid continued global disruptions.
The benefit awash in the global market is making foreign portfolio investors stay short in Nigerian markets. Despite this, the daily FX publication released showed that interbank turnover rose to $98.829 million across 78 deals, up from $76.65 million.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market remained cautious, with Bitcoin (BTC) trading at $77,216.66 despite surging oil prices and geopolitical tensions over a potential extended US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Analysts say the supply overhang has finally dried up, and the sellers who were spooked by macro shifts or quantum fears have already exited, leaving the market much thinner on the sell-side.
Investors will await decisions made by central banks this week. The US Federal Reserve will announce its rate decision later on Wednesday, while the European Central Bank (ECB) follows on Thursday.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 1.5 per cent to trade at $2,324.59, Dogecoin (DOGE) chalked up 1.4 per cent to sell for $0.1016, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 0.6 per cent to $84.85, Cardano (ADA) grew by 0.5 per cent to $0.2483, and Binance Coin (BNB) advanced by 0.2 per cent to $627.15.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.6 per cent to $0.3224, and Ripple (XRP) lost 0.03 per cent to sell at $1.39, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil was up by nearly 3 per cent on Tuesday as persistent worries about supply constraints from the closed Strait of Hormuz continued, with Brent futures for June rising by $3.03 or 2.8 per cent to $111.26 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures growing by $3.56 or 3.7 per cent to $99.93 a barrel.
An earlier round of negotiations between the United States and Iran collapsed last week after face-to-face talks failed.
Ship-tracking data showed significant disruptions in the region, with six Iranian oil tankers forced to turn back due to the US blockade, but some traffic is still moving.
Prices trimmed some of the advances after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the fourth-largest producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Tuesday it would exit the group on this Friday, May 1, 2026.
This dealt a blow to the oil-exporting group and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia.
The UAE could quickly add between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels per day of output. However, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, analysts said that there’s nowhere for that supply to go.
The UAE joined OPEC in 1967, but tension with Saudi Arabia over production quotas has been building for years.
Under the OPEC+ deal, the country has been held to roughly 3 million barrels per day while sitting on capacity above 4 million. It has been pushing toward 5 million barrels per day by 2027, and that target is hard to achieve with quotas built around someone else’s view of the market.
The war in Yemen broke whatever was left of diplomatic patience.
President Donald Trump said he was unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal to end the war. The proposal would avoid addressing the nuclear programme until hostilities cease and Gulf shipping disputes are resolved.
The Idemitsu Maru, a Panama-flagged tanker carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi oil, and an LNG tanker managed by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) crossed the Strait on Tuesday, shipping data showed.
Vortexa data showed that the amount of crude oil held around the world on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days rose to 153.11 million barrels as of April 24.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 1.79 million barrels in the week ending April 24. The official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited returned to winning ways on Tuesday after it closed higher by 2.30 per cent amid cautious trading.
Yesterday, investor sentiment at the Nigerian stock market was weak after finishing with 37 price gainers and 40 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
It was observed that the industrial goods sector rose by 4.86 per cent, the energy index appreciated by 4.66 per cent, and the consumer goods segment soared by 2.74 per cent. They offset the 1.38 per cent loss recorded by the banking counter and the 0.20 per cent decline printed by the insurance sector.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 5,137.90 points to 228,740.19 points from 223,602.29 points, and the market capitalisation went up by N3.308 trillion to N147.278 trillion from N143.970 trillion.
The trio of FTN Cocoa, Industrial and Medical Gases, and Lafarge Africa gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N5.50, N39.60, and N324.50, respectively, while Austin Laz grew by 9.71 per cent to N3.73, and Aradel Holdings jumped 9.52 per cent to N1,840.00.
On the flip side, UBA lost 10.00 per cent trade at N44.55, Trans-Nationwide Express slipped by 9.99 per cent to N6.40, NASCON crashed by 9.18 per cent to N187.90, Jaiz Bank depreciated by 8.93 per cent to N8.01, and Berger Paints crumbled by 8.66 per cent to N68.00.
Yesterday, market participants traded 908.0 million equities valued at N68.2 billion in 72,886 deals compared with the 678.2 million equities worth N44.1 billion transacted in 82,838 deals on Monday, showing a drop in the number of deals by 12.01 per cent, and a spike in the trading volume and value by 33.88 per cent and 54.65 per cent, respectively.
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