Economy
Owners of Chicken Republic Declare N3.3bn Net Profit
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc, owners of the popular Chicken Republic, has declared a 135.7 per cent growth in its profit after tax (PAT) for the financial year ended December 31, 2019.
The company revealed this in its financial statements and a look at the books showed that the net profit increased to N3.3 billion from N1.4 billion in the 2018 fiscal year.
The firm recorded a 73.3 per cent rise in profit before tax to N2.6 billion from N1.5 billion in 2018 and in the period under review, it received a tax credit of N723 million, which boosted the net profit for the year.
Food Concepts trades its shares on the floor of the NASD OTC Securities Exchange and in the year under review, the revenue generated, which was made from contracts with customers, rose 51.6 per cent to N13.8 billion from N9.1 billion in the preceding year.
A breakdown showed that operations within Nigeria accounted for the chunk of the revenue (N13.6 billion versus N8.9 billion in 2018). Meanwhile, operations outside the shores of the country recorded a drop in revenue by 6.7 per cent as N208 million was made in the year as against N223 million.
Also recording a drop during the period was the operating income, which went down by 2.9 per cent to N135 million from N139 million recorded in 2018.
There was a rise in the number of raw materials and consumables used during the period as N6.4 billion was expended against N4.1 billion on record the year before.
Equally, employee benefits expense rose by 40 per cent during the year with N2.1 billion spent compared to N1.5 billion in the previous full year.
Operating profit rose during the period by 109.1 per cent to N2.3 billion from N1.1 billion during the preceding year.
Speaking on the result, the Chairman, Mr Odunayo Olagundoye, noted, “We have, once again, grown our revenues and our bottom line and despite various Macro and Micro economic challenges, we are pleased to share with you your company’s key achievements for the financial year ended December 31, 2019.
“We have achieved many milestones over the past few years; we continued to open our flagship brand Chicken Republic stores, whilst adding a new and exciting brand Pie Express to our portfolio of brands.
“We concluded our rights issue in 2019 and secured the requisite funds to continue investing in new stores, IT infrastructure and Central Kitchens; we also built a strongly integrated manufacturing and supply chain division, that will enable our future growth strategy.”
“Our company has overcome many challenges over the years and is now well-positioned to exceed the many milestones achieved in 2019. We have generated strong cash flows and as a result, have achieved robust profitability.
“We have a solid new store pipeline in place for 2020 and will fund our growth and ambitious plans with a combination of cash generated from operations and cash raised from the rights issue.
“Our staff are motivated, happy and responding well to the direction set by the board, executive and senior management teams,” the Managing Director, Mr David Butler, noted.
“Our growth continues to be driven both by same-store sales growth and the expansion of our Chicken Republic and Pie Express brands; we have seen a 56 per cent year-on-year increase in customer traffic to our stores – representing a significant gain in market share. We have opened 25 new shops taking our total to 94 company-owned and franchised locations,” he added.
He noted that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Food Concepts Plc was declared an Essential Service and continued to trade noting that despite the related challenges, the company has continued to see its sales, customer count and profitability continuously increasing.
He assured that “It is still early days with many predicting a rocky, protracted rollercoaster-type recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic… but I can assure you that our business is improving daily and reacting well under the current circumstances.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.
At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.
It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.
Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.
Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.
Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.
“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.
If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.
Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
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