Economy
Red Star Express Declares N469m Profit, to Share N324m as Dividend
By Dipo Olowookere
The board of Red Star Express Plc has recommended the payment of N324 million to shareholders of the company as a dividend for the financial year ended March 31, 2020.
The cash reward, amounting to 35 kobo per unit, would be paid to those whose names appear in the register of members as at the close of business on September 18, 2020, a disclosure from the organisation stated.
Thereafter, the register of shareholders will be closed from September 21 to 25, 2020, it added, noting that on October 15, 2020, the dividends will be paid electronically to the beneficiaries, especially those who have completed the e-dividend registration and have mandated the registrar, United Securities Limited, to pay their dividends directly into their bank accounts.
Shareholders who are yet to complete the e-dividend mandate form have been advised to download the form from the registrar’s website and should be completed and submitted to the registrar or their respective banks for processing.
On October 8, 2020, Red Star Express said it will have its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos at 11am. At the gathering, the proposed dividend payment will be presented to shareholders for approval.
Meanwhile, Red Star Express has released its financial statement for the year ended March 31, 2020, and from the analysis by Business Post, the company recorded a slight growth across the key performance indices.
For instance, the revenue generated by the firm increased in the accounting year to N10.6 billion from N10.1 billion recorded a year ago and this was mainly from its core business operations, courier services, which contributed N6.3 billion to the total turnover in contrast to N5.9 billion contributed in 2019.
However, the contribution of its mail management services to the total group’s revenue in the period under review dropped to N1.1 billion from N1.4 billion 12 months earlier and the reduction was patched up by the contribution of its freight services, which accounted for N1.3 billion versus N872.1 million in 2019.
It was observed that the contribution of logistics to the turnover in 2020 slightly reduced to N1.5 billion from N1.6 billion, while support services contributed N440.4 million to the turnover, higher than the N286.3 million in the prior fiscal year.
In the year under consideration, the cost of sales rose to N7.9 billion from N7.3 billion, while the gross profit reduced to N2.7 billion from N2.8 billion a year earlier, with administrative costs marginally rising to N2.2 billion from N2.1 billion due to increase in amortisation of intangible assets, bank charges, exchange loss, hotel accommodation and entertainment, power and water, printing and stationery, publicity and promotion, repairs and maintenance, write off of property, plant and equipment as well as security expenses.
According to the results released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday, Red Star Express said it had an other operating income of N272.2 million in 2020 compared with N119.4 million in 2019, while its total operating profit stood at N792.8 million as at March 31, 2020, as against N764.6 million as at March 31, 2019.
The finance income, according to the financial document, improved to N17.8 million from N12.8 million, while the finance cost jumped to N60.5 million from N33.9 million because of the rise in the interest on lease and short term loan.
Business Post reports that the pre-tax profit for the period was N750.1 million, higher than the N743.5 million of the prior year, while the post-tax profit increased to N469.0 million from N466.3 million in 2019. However, the earnings per share (EPS) reduced to 70 kobo in the period under consideration as against 76 kobo of the comparative year, 2019.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three bellwether stocks weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.31 per cent on Monday, May 18.
This brought the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 54.71 points to 4,133.70 points from 4,188.41 points, and shrank the market capitalisation by N32.73 billion to N2.473 trillion from N2.506 trillion.
Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc contracted by N12.45 to sell at N146.55 per share compared with last Friday’s closing price of N159.00 per share, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc declined by N2.34 to N70.00 per unit from N72.34 per unit, and NASD Plc lost 50 Kobo to trade at N34.50 per share versus N35.00 per share.
The trio overpowered the N5.56 gained Newrest Asl Plc. This stock ended the trading session at N61.15 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N55.59 per unit.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by investors slid by 56.1 per cent to 514,142 units from 1.2 million units, and the value of securities dropped 29.8 per cent to close at N17.4 million versus N29.8 million, while the number of deals jumped 12.5 per cent to 27 deals from 24 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained 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 traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a horrible day for the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, May 15, as its value further weakened against the United States Dollar.
In the black market window, the Naira lost N5 against the Dollar yesterday to sell for N1,390/$1 compared with the previous value of N1,385/$1, but at the GTBank forex counter, it remained unchanged at N1,383/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), the Nigerian currency depreciated against the greenback by N2.66 or 0.19 per cent to sell for N1,373.70/$1 compared to last Friday’s rate of N1,371.04/$1.
Equally, it fell against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N9.05 to trade at N1,839.66/£1 versus N1,830.61/£1, and lost N5.42 on the Euro to close at N1,600.49/€1 versus N1,595.07/€1.
The performance of the local currency during the session indicates early worries despite all signals pointing to stability, amid improved Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with steady, higher oil receipts to bolster the nation’s reserves.
Activity at the market showed that turnover rose 57.3 per cent to $76.29 million on Monday from $48.49 million posted on Friday.
Over the weekend, S&P raised Nigeria’s credit ratings for the first time since 2012 and highlighted improved FX market liquidity and $10 billion turnover recorded in April 2026 as one of the major gains of the CBN-led FX reforms.
The agency said the liberalisation of the exchange rate has bolstered access to foreign currency and enabled a market-driven exchange-rate environment while supporting investor and consumer confidence.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Monday as investors monitored developments in the Iran conflict and weighed the impact of surging oil prices on inflation and US interest-rate expectations.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.7 per cent to trade at $2,134.10, Cardano (ADA) rose by 0.6 per cent to $0.2515, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.3 per cent to $85.11, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.2 per cent to $643.29, TRON (TRX) increased by 0.03 per cent to $0.3565, and Bitcoin (BTC) advanced by 0.02 per cent to $76,912.12.
On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 1.5 per cent to $0.1044, and Ripple (XRP) decreased by 0.5 per cent to $1.38, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.05 per cent loss was recorded by Customs Street on Monday, as sell-offs by market participants remained.
This was driven by the desire of investors to book profits, having witnessed a significant price appreciation on the stocks in their portfolios.
Yesterday, bargain-hunting in the banking space, which resulted in the sector closing 0.17 per cent higher, could not prevent the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited from going down.
Data showed that the consumer goods segment lost 0.26 per cent, the insurance counter depreciated by 0.20 per cent, the industrial goods index shed 0.09 per cent, and the energy industry retreated by 0.03 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) eased by 126.09 points to 250,204.83 points from 250,330.92 points, and the market capitalisation contracted by N81 billion to N160.363 trillion from N160.444 trillion.
NCR Nigeria and Zichis declined by 9.99 per cent each to sell for N161.20 and N26.49, respectively, Industrial and Medical Gases shrank by 9.93 per cent to N38.10, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 9.86 per cent to N2.65, and DAAR Communications slipped by 9.78 per cent to N2.03.
On the flip side, Oando gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N51.70, University Press also rose by 10.00 per cent to N5.50, Deap Capital soared by 9.96 per cent to N5.96, May and Baker expanded by 9.94 per cent to N52.00, and Trans-Nationwide Express grew by 9.92 per cent to N7.76.
Yesterday, 800.5 million equities worth N37.1 billion exchanged hands in 87,096 deals compared with the 1.1 billion equities valued at N44.3 billion traded in 65,744 deals last Friday. This showed that the number of deals went up by 32.48 per cent, while the trading volume and value went down by 27.23 per cent and 16.25 per cent, respectively.
The most active stock on the first trading session of this week was UBA with a turnover of 65.0 million units worth N2.8 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 57.3 million units for N1.3 billion, Access Holdings sold 42.3 million units valued at N1.1 billion, DAAR Communications exchanged 36.7 million units for N81.8 million, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 36.6 million units worth N33.0 million.
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