Economy
Sahara Gas Vessel Imports 7,000MT Cooking Gas into Nigeria
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The newly built vessel acquired by the West Africa Gas Limited (WAGL), MT Sahara Gas, has delivered 7,000 metric tons of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in its historic maiden voyage to Nigeria to boost availability and safe access to the commodity widely referred to as cooking gas.
WAGL is a Joint Venture of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and leading Energy Conglomerate, Sahara Group.
The JV is run by two companies, NNPC LNG Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NNPC and Sahara Energy’s Oil and Gas trading arm, Ocean Bed Trading Ltd (BVI).
WAGL, in January 2017, acquired two new vessels, MT Africa Gas and MT Sahara Gas in its bid to reduce transportation bottlenecks, add value to the Nigeria economy through exporting the commodity, deepen the LPG market in West Africa as well as enhance access to clean and safe energy.
The acquisitions were also a strategic response to the lingering challenges of supply, affordability and fraudulent activities motivated by the scarcity of the product.
NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Mr Maikanti Baru, said in keeping with the Federal Government’s economic growth plan, WAGL remained committed to stabilizing the market and ensuring sustainability of the commodity through strategic deliveries within the sub-region.
“This is a historic achievement for the NNPC and Sahara Group that showcases a truly successful partnership by all global standards. The quest is to achieve uninterrupted supply of the commodity and address infrastructural limitations as we continue to implement our zero-tolerance policy against adulterated products and their promoters across the nation.”
Mr Baru said the NNPC/Sahara Group partnership remained a model for successful JVs, adding that both parties were considering various strategies to optimize the delivery of the product across West Africa.
“The Federal Government deserves commendation for implementing policies that are geared towards growing the economy. That we have such a partnership involving the NNPC and Sahara Group is indeed an important global narrative for Nigeria in terms of capacity, expertise, and sustainability,” he added.
Speaking aboard the vessel, Managing Director of Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr Umar Isa Ajiya, said it was a significant and important milestone not only for Nigeria, Africa and the entire shipping and maritime industry.
“We have a brand new LPG vessel, built by 100% fully owned Nigerian entities and it has picked up LPG from Bonny and brought it to Lagos. This is the first time we are having a wholly owned shipping vessel bringing the product to our shores.
“This is an opportunity to grow and deepen the LPG market in Nigeria such that the use of firewood will come to an end sooner than later. I must commend the shareholders of Sahara Group and NNPC for making it worthy to make this laudable investment,” he said.
Also commending the NNPC/Sahara Group Partnership, Mr Roland Omoregbe, WAGL’s Managing Director, said: “This is the first time the private sector in Nigeria is involved with the NNPC in ensuring that there is enough supply of LPG to the country. We are happy that it has done several voyages into West Africa, including Lome, Ivory Coast, and Ghana and we are counting more.
“The sister vessel, Africa Gas is in the West Africa waters as we speak. We have strategic plans to flood Nigeria with LPG and other cleaner sources of energy to do their domestic chores which will, in turn, save our country and our planet.”
Moroti Adedoyin-Adeyinka, Chief Executive Officer, Asharami Synergy Plc (a Sahara Group Downstream Company) said: “What we see here today speaks to the power of collaboration and the great things that can be achieved when the private and public sector work together with the right strategy, expertise and capacity. At Sahara, this is the kind of collaboration that we push for; one that makes our economy better and saves our planet.”
Moroti Adedoyin-Adeyinka, Chief Executive Officer, Asharami Synergy Plc(A Sahara Group Downstream Company) said: “What we see here today speaks to the power of collaboration and the great things that can be achieved when the private and public sector work together with the right strategy, expertise and capacity. At Sahara, this is the kind of collaboration that we push for; one that makes our economy better and saves our planet.”
LPG/C Africa Gas has performed five Transatlantic voyages loading butane from US Gulf Coast and discharging in West Africa mainly in Abidjan, Tema, and Lome. The vessel also traded once in South America for a spot voyage in September 2017.
LPG/C Sahara Gas has performed four Transatlantic Voyages around the West African region, with her berthing in Lagos, being her first trade in Nigeria, after it loaded from Bonny and discharged in Lagos. Sahara Gas also had a spot trade in France in April 2017.
Total volumes traded by both vessels include 150,000 MT in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, 35,000 MT in Tema, Ghana, 2,500 MT in Lome, Togo, and the recently delivered 7,000 MT in Lagos, Nigeria. Africa Gas is currently discharging in Abidjan and heads out to Tema, Ghana and Lome, Togo in a fortnight.
By Dipo Olowookere
After swimming in troubled waters for years, Oando Plc, an indigenous oil company, has bounced back to profitability, recording a profit after tax of N34.7 billion in the 2021 fiscal year compared with the loss after tax of N140.7 billion posted in the 2020 accounting year.
This improvement in the net profit was buoyed by a higher operating profit and an increase in finance income to N44.1 billion from N9.3 billion in 2020.
It was observed that the operating profit rose to N78.7 billion in 2021 from an operating loss of N74.3 billion in the previous reporting year, primarily driven by higher revenue as well as a net reversal of asset impairments totalling N112.1 billion.
In the 2021 financial statements presented to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, the company said its revenue revved up by 51 per cent to N722.5 billion from the N477.1 billion achieved in the preceding year.
This was triggered by high product prices, with realized average crude oil price increasing by 105 per cent to $70.12 per barrel from $34.21 per barrel a year earlier.
Also, natural gas rose by 40 per cent to $9.96/boe from $7.13/boe, and NGL jumped by 27% to $6.98/boe from $5.48/boe.
In the year, Oando reported a 40 per cent shortfall in its upstream production to 26,775boe/day from 44,550boe/day, while the downstream achieved an 8 per cent rise in traded crude oil volumes of 17.4 million versus 16.1 million in FYE 2020, as traded refined petroleum products surged by 39 per cent to 962,370 MT from 694,653 MT.
“2021 was defined by contrasting themes for Nigerian oil producers, with buoyant oil prices tempered by an increasingly challenging local operating environment.
“Bullish oil prices throughout the year saw us record a 105 per cent increase in average realized oil sale price whilst a surge in militancy and sabotage across the Niger Delta resulted in a 40 per cent decline in average hydrocarbon production compared with 2020,” the chief executive of Oando, Mr Wale Tinubu, said.
Commenting further on the unaudited results, he said, “Despite the challenges, a strong revenue performance, coupled with the refund of a long-standing receivable, contributed to a net profit of N34.7 billion.”
“As we continue to drive the growth of our existing businesses whilst also exploring creative solutions towards curbing the incessant pipeline sabotage incidences that continue to plague our local industry, we are also committed to investing in climate-friendly and bankable energy solutions via Oando Clean Energy Limited, thus expanding our portfolio from oil and gas to include non-fossil energy solutions. We will continue to update our esteemed shareholders as progressive developments are made in the coming year,” Mr Tinubu added.
By Dipo Olowookere
The chief executive of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Mr Temi Popoola, has heaped praises on Geregu Power Plc for its positive impact on the local stock market.
Speaking on Tuesday at the closing gong ceremony to commemorate the first Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the organisation as a listed company on the exchange, Mr Popoola said the power-generating firm had boosted the value of the trading platform since its listing last year.
“It (Geregu Power) has also contributed significantly to the volume of trades done on the market since its listing,” he said, commending the board for instituting best practices in corporate governance and playing a leading role in the country’s power sector.
Since its listing on NGX, Geregu Power has added more than N800 billion in market capitalisation to the bourse as the market continues to price up its shares amid strong revenue generation and dividend yields.
Also, Mr Popoola pointed out that the company exhibited quality corporate governance, as “Geregu was one of the first set of listed companies to file their annual reports on the exchange.”
In his remarks, the Chairman of Geregu Power, Mr Femi Otedola, thanked the NGX for providing a platform for listed companies to source cheaper funds from the capital market.
“We promise to sustain our partnership for many years to come and reiterate our commitment to best practices of corporate governance,” the billionaire businessman said, as the chief executive of the power firm, Mr Akin Akinfemiwa, also restated the company’s dedication to positioning itself to be more valuable to shareholders and the business community at large.
On his part, the Chairman of NGX Group, Mr Umar Kwairanga, commended Mr Otedola for his longstanding contributions to the capital market, expressing optimism that the listing of Geregu Power as the first power-generating firm and its experience in the capital market would encourage other players in the sector to come and list on NGX.
Also, the chairman of NGX Limited, Mr Abubakar Mahmoud, represented by a Director at NGX, Mrs Angela Adebayo, said, “It is our hope that NGX and Geregu Power would continue to work together to sustain our partnership and consolidate our shared values for improved outcomes that will be beneficial to the market and the Nigerian economy.”
By Dipo Olowookere
The board of Zenith Bank Plc has proposed the payment of N2.90 per share as a final dividend for the 2022 accounting year, bringing the total cash reward to shareholders for the year to N3.20 per share after it earlier paid 30 Kobo as an interim dividend.
The tier-1 bank, in its audited financial statements for 2022 released to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday, announced the dividend payment amid an impressive double-digit growth of 24 per cent in gross earnings to N945.5 billion from the N765.6 billion reported in 2021 despite the persistent challenging macroeconomic environment and headwinds.
The financial results showed that the surge in gross earnings last year was driven by a 26 per cent year-on-year growth in interest income from N427.6 billion to N540.2 billion and a 23 per cent year-on-year growth in non-interest income from N309 billion to N381 billion.
Also, impairments increased in the year by 107 per cent to N124.2 billion from N59.9 billion, while interest expense rose by 63 per cent to N173.5 billion from N106.8 billion.
It was observed that the increase in impairments, which also resulted in an increase in the cost of risk to 3.3 per cent from 1.9 per cent, was attributed to the impact of Ghana’s sovereign debt restructuring programme. The growth in interest expense increased the cost of funds from 1.5 per cent in 2021 to 1.9 per cent in 2022 due to hikes in interest rates globally.
The continued elevated yield environment positively impacted the bank’s Net-Interest-Margin (NIM), which grew from 6.7 per cent to 7.2 per cent due to an effective repricing of interest-bearing assets.
Operating expenses grew by 17 per cent, though the inflation rate was at 21.91 per cent as of February 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
In the year under consideration, the profit before tax recorded a marginal growth of 2 per cent to N284.7 billion from N280.4 billion due to an improvement in all the income lines.
A look at the balance sheet revealed that customer deposits increased last year by 39 per cent to N8.98 trillion from N6.47 trillion in the previous year. This growth in customer deposits came from all products and deposit segments (corporate and retail), thus consolidating the bank’s market leadership and indicating customers’ trust.
Total assets increased by 30 per cent from N9.45 trillion in 2021 to N12.29 trillion, mainly driven by growth in customer deposits. With the steady and continued recovery in economic activities, the Group prudently grew its gross loans by 20 per cent from N3.5 trillion in 2021 to N4.1 trillion in 2022, which increased the Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio modestly from 4.2 per cent to 4.3 per cent.
The capital adequacy ratio decreased from 21 per cent to 19 per cent, while the liquidity ratio improved from 71.2 per cent to 75 per cent, with both prudential ratios well above regulatory thresholds.
In 2023, Zenith Bank said it intends to expand its frontiers as it also reorganises into a holding company structure, adding new verticals to its businesses and growing in all its chosen markets, both locally and internationally.
In recognition of its track record of excellent performances, Zenith Bank was recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital, for the 13th consecutive year, in the 2022 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking published by The Banker Magazine; Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards 2020 and 2022; Best Bank in Nigeria, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria 2021 and 2022 in the World Finance Banking Awards; Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards 2022; Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, by the Ethical Boardroom; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation In Retail Banking, Nigeria in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards.
Also, the bank emerged as the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in the Banker Magazine Top 500 Banking Brands 2020 and 2021 and Retail Bank of the year for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022 at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.
Similarly, Zenith Bank was named Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) at the ThisDay Awards 2020, Most Innovative Bank of the Year 2019 by Tribune Newspaper, Bank of the Year 2020 by Independent Newspaper, Bank of the Year 2021 by Champion Newspaper, Bank of the Year 2022 by New Telegraph Newspaper, and Most Responsible Organisation in Africa 2021 by SERAS Awards.
