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
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange opened the week with a 0.52 per cent rise on Monday, July 20, driven by renewed buying interest.
The volume of securities traded during the opening session surged by 6,663.3 per cent to 52.6 million units from the previous 777,002 units, and the value of securities rose by 200.9 per cent to N191.2 million from the preceding session’s N104.2 million, while the number of deals depreciated by 15.2 per cent to 28 deals compared to the preceding session’s 33 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion in trades, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
Yesterday, there were two price gainers and three price losers, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which slid by 66 Kobo to end at N141.15 per unit versus last Friday’s N141.81 per unit, Food Concepts Plc lost 24 Kobo to close at N2.31 per share versus N2.55 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc declined by 17 Kobo to settle at N2.25 per unit compared with the previous closing price of N2.42 per unit.
Conversely, CSCS Plc chalked up N5.19 to close at N99.33 per share versus N94.14 per share, and Mass Telecoms Plc appreciated by 3 Kobo to sell at 35 Kobo per unit from 32 Kobo per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N13.57 billion to N2.606 trillion from N2.593 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 22.6 points to quote at 4,343.27 points, in contrast to the previous 4,320.67 points.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira almost traded flat against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, July 20. It gained 7 Kobo during the session to sell at N1,380.11/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s value of N1,380.18/$1.
It also appreciated against the Euro in the same market window during the session by N1.64 to close at N1,575.95/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,576.99/€1, but depreciated against the Pound Sterling by N2.93 to trade at N1,857.35/£1 compared with the previous trading day’s N1,854.42/£1.
At the GTBank forex desk, the Nigerian Naira lost N1 against the US Dollar to quote at N1,389/$1 versus N1,388/$1, and at the black market, it traded flat at N1,405/$1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank FX turnover settled at $266.2 million, 7.5 per cent lower than the previous close of $287.8 million. Also, the number of deals at the interbank FX market declined to 68 from 106.
Despite this, there are signals that the Naira has pillars that can prop up its stability. Updated data from the apex bank showed Nigeria’s gross foreign exchange reserves increased to $51.92 billion as of July 16, 2026, reflecting continued improvements in the country’s external position.
A slew of analysts predict further increases will lift the gross balance above $52 billion this week, the highest seen since 2009.
Also, there are expectations that the country will be able to boost remittances into the country to $1 billion on a monthly basis by the end of the year; this will help ease pressure on the FX markets.
Meanwhile, in the crypto market, Bitcoin (BTC) climbed to about $65,500, reaching a two-week high, as the semiconductor selloff that dragged crypto lower last week reversed and Asian chip stocks led a broad risk rally. It rose by 2.4 per cent to $65,676.01.
There was also support from five straight days of inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs totalling more than $600 million, marking the strongest stretch of institutional buying since mid-July.
Cardano (ADA) jumped by 8.3 per cent to $0.1756, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 4.0 per cent to $1,930.33, Ripple (XRP) improved by 3.9 per cent to $1.13, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $78.34, Binance Coin (BNB) added 1.9 per cent to sell for $575.34, and Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 1.7 per cent rise to $0.0729.
However, TRON (TRX) declined by 0.1 per cent to $0.3261, and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each
By Dipo Olowookere
Sustained bargain-hunting in local stocks further lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 1.12 per cent on Monday.
The buying pressure was across the major sectors of Customs Street, though the consumer goods space came under profit-taking, closing flat.
But the banking counter expanded by 3.14 per cent, the industrial goods index gained 2.82 per cent, the insurance sector increased by 0.25 per cent, and the energy segment soared by 0.08 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) surged by 2,721.83 points to 246,183.96 points from 243,462.13 points, and the market capitalisation went up by N1.755 trillion to N158.812 trillion from N157.057 trillion.
Custodian Investment and NEM Insurance chalked up 10.00 per cent each to sell for N75.90 and N30.80, respectively, BUA Cement rose by 9.98 per cent to N303.10, First Holdco improved by 9.95 per cent to N105.50, and FTN Cocoa advanced by 9.94 per cent to N9.29.
On the flip side, SUNU Assurances shrank by 10.00 per cent to N3.60, Tripple Gee slipped by 9.77 per cent to N3.51, ABC Transport tumbled by 9.62 per cent to N7.05 per cent, Abbey Bank crashed by 9.00 per cent to N9.10, and Coronation Insurance dipped by 7.69 per cent to N2.40.
The market breadth index was flat yesterday, as there were 31 price gainers and 31 price losers.
First Holdco led the activity chart during the session, with a turnover of 203.9 million shares valued at N21.5 billion. Access Holdings sold 190.7 million equities worth N4.8 billion, UBA traded 29.2 million stocks for N1.4 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 24.7 million shares valued at N2.9 billion, and Sterling Holdings exchanged 23.6 million equities worth N187.4 million.
When trading activities ended at 4 pm, investors traded 851.6 million stocks for N49.6 billion in 56,873 deals compared with the 685.9 million stocks valued at N42.7 billion transacted in 44,134 deals last Friday, representing a rise in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 24.16 per cent, 16.16 per cent, and 28.86 per cent, respectively.
