Economy
Phillips Consulting Rebrands for Better Services
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Foremost indigenous management consulting firm, Phillips Consulting, has undergone a change to serve its clients better and effectively.
At the October edition of the Nigeria South Africa Chambers of Commerce breakfast meeting at Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos on Wednesday, the company unveiled its new brand identity.
Also, chairman of the Phillips Consulting group, Mr Foluso Phillips, presented to the business community the new Managing Director of the firm, Mr Robert Taiwo, who has been overseeing its affairs since the beginning of the year.
Speaking on the change of logo by the firm, Mr Taiwo explained that “we wanted to refresh our brand, whilst not taking it away from the strong name reputation we have built over the years.
“Mr Phillips also wanted to create an identity that would begin to separate him from the institution he has built by de-emphasising his name and changing the name to PCL, which also created the flexibility to do more exciting things beyond the label of consulting.”
The MD, since taking the reign of leadership, has designed and managed the transformation initiatives taking place at Phillips Consulting and revised the firm’s strategy for the future.
He further explained that the new major service offerings of the firm will be in Strategy and Operations Transformation, Digital and Technology Consulting and People Transformation.
“At Phillips Consulting, we are inspired by the challenge of transformation and passionate about the power of people. We have a people focused approach to driving organisational transformation and have been doing this since the inception of the firm. Now we are going to take it to another level,” Mr Taiwo added.
Whilst Mr Phillips has rapidly stepped down from the operational activities of the firm, he will continue to see to the internal development of the company’s consultants and focus on executive capacity building and mentoring.
Mr Phillips commented that “we are quite excited at this new phase in the life of our 26 year old firm. It is personally refreshing for me, to see my vision of building a sustainable institution to outlive us all, becoming a reality.
“With Rob at the helm of affairs and his redefinition of the firm as personified by a simple but refreshed brand image, I feel that a new generation is being truly born at Phillips Consulting. I believe there are exciting times ahead for us and our innumerable clients”
Business Post reports that Mr Taiwo is a qualified lawyer with an MBA in Strategy and Change Management from Warwick Business School.
He started his career in Investment Banking spending 7 years at Commerzbank AG in the City of London. Thereafter, Robert moved to Capgemini Consulting to help build their Financial Services business in the UK.
As a consultant, he led numerous high-profile assignments for FTSE 100 companies, leading multinationals and the British Government.
Mr Taiwo has consulted for HSBC, Bank of Ireland, British Petroleum, SAB Miller, British American Tobacco, Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, Department for Works & Pensions, The UK Cabinet Office, The Lagos State Government, The Commonwealth Secretariat, Diageo (Guiness Nigeria) amongst others.
Phillips Consulting is a 26 years old indigenous management consulting firm, founded by Mr Foluso Phillips during the era of the new generation banks. He launched and propagated the philosophy and concept of Total Quality Management to the Nigerian Business community.
It was also during this period that Foluso Phillips led the first delegation and a series thereafter of business and corporate leaders to South Africa on various business, education and executive missions.
Phillip Consulting was one of the first Nigerian companies to set up shop in South Africa, after the country’s free elections in 1994. Since then, the firm has been involved in numerous initiatives between the two countries.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south for the fourth consecutive session after it shed 1.18 per cent on Friday, March 13.
The unlisted securities market recorded a loss despite closing without a price decliner, and ending with two price gainers led by Geo Fluids Plc, which gained 1o Kobo to sell at N3.10 per share compared with the previous day’s N3.00 per share. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc appreciated during the session by 2 Kobo to trade at 54 Kobo per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of 52 Kobo per unit.
When the market closed for the day, the market capitalisation lost N29.83 billion to close at N2.489 trillion compared with the N2.519 trillion it finished a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) crashed by 49.84 points to 4,160.46 points from 4,210.31 points.
Market activity improved yesterday, as the volume of transactions rose 179.5 per cent to 10.4 million units from 3.7 million units, but the value of trades declined by 68.4 per cent to N29.9 million from N95.0 million, while the number of deals weakened by 11.5 per cent to 46 deals from 52 deals.
Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 38.4 million units worth N2.4 billion, Okitipupa Plc followed with 6.4 million units traded at N1.1 billion, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc transacted 6.3 million units for N584.3 million.
Resourcery Plc ended the trading session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.6 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 130.8 million units valued at N504.5 million, and CSCS Plc with 38.4 million units worth N2.4 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira continued to claw back some gains against the Dollar in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market, as its value was strengthened on Friday.
In the black market, it gained N10 against the United States Dollar yesterday to close at N1,400/$1 compared with the preceding day’s rate of N1,410/$1, and at the GTBank forex counter, it chalked up N6 to close at N1,385/$1, in contrast to the N1,391/$1 it was traded a day earlier.
Similarly, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it appreciated against the greenback during the session by N5.28 or 0.38 per cent to quote at N1,366.23/$1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,371.51/$1.
It also improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market on Friday by N21.81 to settle at N1,812.99/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,834.80/£1, and gained N13.86 against the Euro to sell at N1,568.03/€1 versus N1,581.89/€1.
Pressure eased further on the FX market as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continued interventionist operations this week, selling Dollars to banks to boost liquidity after a $500 million boost last week.
This was complemented by inflows from foreign investors, exporters and non-bank corporates, among others, while Nigeria’s gross external reserves remained above $50 billion, the highest since 2009.
The Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, also eased fears of a Naira devaluation, saying the country’s financial system has been strengthened by reforms.
Regardless, external pressure looms as the US Dollar strengthened globally due to its war with Iran, now ongoing for three weeks.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely down as traders and investors continue to align with current realities.
The market is adapting to the conflict in real time. Early in the war, every headline produced an outsized reaction because nobody could price the tail risk. Now, traders have a framework where strikes happen, oil spikes and bitcoin dips only to recover again.
Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 3.8 per cent to $0.2623, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.7 per cent to finish at $0.0948, Ripple (XRP) slumped 1.5 per cent to $1.39, Solana (SOL) dropped 1.4 per cent to sell for $87.33, Binance Coin (BNB) went down by 1.3 per cent to $653.58, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 1.1 per cent to $70,670.63, and Ethereum (ETH) decreased by 0.9 per cent to $2,078.78.
However, TRON (TRX) appreciated by 1.7 per cent to $0.2941, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The price of the major crude oil grade, Brent crude oil, closed above $100 on Friday for the second consecutive session, as the Iran war heads toward its third week, with oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz still effectively at a standstill.
It gained 2.67 per cent or $2.68 during the trading day to close at $103.14 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil grade appreciated by 3.11 per cent or $2.98 to settle at $98.71 per barrel.
Brent futures were up about 10 per cent for the week following the 27 per cent rise seen last week, which marked the biggest weekly gain in oil prices since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. WTI futures, which saw their best week since 1983 last week, ended the week more than 8 per cent higher.
US President Donald Trump said American forces launched a major bombing raid on Iran’s strategic Kharg Island, targeting military facilities on the key Persian Gulf outpost while warning Iran that its vital oil infrastructure could be destroyed if shipping in the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted.
The terminal accounts for roughly 90 per cent of Iranian crude shipments, loading millions of barrels per day onto tankers bound largely for Asian markets.
The US and Israel’s strikes in the conflict have largely targeted Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure. Oil facilities elsewhere in Iran have been hit, but Kharg’s massive storage tanks, jetties, and pipelines had remained untouched until the latest strike.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed to keep fighting in a message delivered via state television.
There have been a number of attacks on foreign ships in or near the Strait, feeding into concerns that a prolonged war could translate to a global economic shock.
Prices are rising despite the US and its allies rolling out some measures to keep a lid on energy costs.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has agreed to release 400 million stockpiled barrels, the largest such action in history.
The US has issued a 30-day waiver for India to purchase sanctioned oil from Russia. President Donald Trump is considering loosening rules under the Jones Act that require American ships to transport goods between domestic ports, including oil and gas, in an effort to lower costs.
Traders are continuing to monitor developments in the Middle East.
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