Economy
Shareholders Laud GTCO’s Consistent Dividend Policy, Okay N91.2bn Payout
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc has been commended by shareholders for its “consistent dividend policy,” as the board recommended the payment of N3.10 per share for the 2022 fiscal year.
At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held last Thursday, the board sought shareholders’ approval to pay N2.80 as a final dividend, having earlier paid 30 Kobo as an interim dividend.
At the gathering, the company’s investors approved the payment, praising the board for the financial performance in the year despite the challenging operating environment.
The immediate past President of Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association, Mr Timothy Adesiyan, while speaking on behalf of shareholders, said GTCO has contributed to the growth of the economy in its lending to agriculture, SMEs, real sector, among others, as seen in the award obtained in the year.
Earlier, in his presentation to shareholders at the AGM, the Chairman of GTCO, Mr Hezekiah Oyinlola, said, “As I reflect on 2022, I recall the challenges we faced at every turn and the prospects that became significant milestones in our journey towards creating a robust yet agile institution.”
“As we look across our burgeoning GTCO Universe, we take pride in the concrete outcomes of our diligent efforts and unyielding dedication towards expanding our influence and strengthening our position as a leading provider of financial services in Africa,” he added.
“In 2022, our ambition was crystal clear, and we set out to achieve it with unwavering focus. We completed the setup of our holding company and acquired full ownership of Investment One Pension Managers and Investment One Fund Managers, now named Guaranty Trust Pension Managers and Guaranty Trust Fund Managers, respectively.
“Our payment subsidiary, HabariPay Limited, also launched in 2022 and almost immediately introduced its flagship product, Squad, to the market with outstanding reviews.
“The highlight for me is that these newly created businesses – in payments, fund managers, and pensions ran successfully and were profit before tax positive by the end of the year,” Mr Adesiyan said.
The chief executive of GTCO, Mr Segun Agbaje, said in spite of the varying challenges and headwinds that weighed on growth in 2022, the group delivered a decent performance posting a pre-tax profit of N214.2 billion representing a dip of 3.0 per cent from N221.5 billion posted in full year, 2022.
“PBT contribution from West Africa decreased from 21.0 per cent in December 2021 to 12.3 per cent in December 2022 due to the significant impairment sum of N35.6 billion recognised on the Ghanaian sovereign securities,” he said.
Mr Agbaje also noted that during the same period, the size of the Nigerian banking subsidiary increased to 84.3 per cent from 79.5 per cent, while East Africa’s contribution to the group grew marginally to 3.4 per cent from 3.0 per cent.
“The group also benefited from a 0.9 per cent contribution from the Non-Banking Subsidiaries which compensated for the negative 0.8 per cent contribution from the United Kingdom in FY-2022.
“Gross earnings increased by 20.4 per cent to N539.2 billion in full-year 2022 from N447.8 billion in 2021,” he noted.
Mr Agbaje explained, “2022 was a year that tested our resilience and our determination. As we face the future, we do so with the confidence that we will maximize all opportunities and deal with challenges as they come.
“I strongly believe that the new holding structure of our organisation will prove to be a propeller in our journey towards sustained growth and success.”
According to GTCO CEO, the firm is not a conglomerate but a structure of complementary businesses which helps to remain agile, innovative, and adaptable to changing market dynamics whilst ensuring that it continues to deliver superior returns to shareholders.
“We will also continue to dominate the financial services sector, not just because we will continue to pursue technological advancements and digital capabilities that keep us ahead of the curve, but because we will always stay true to the values of hard work, transparency, integrity and putting our customers at the heart of everything that we do,” he said.
Since commencing operations in February 1991, Guaranty Trust has maintained an unbroken streak of year-on-year growth and a consistent lead in driving the digitization of financial services in Nigeria thanks to its strong service culture, efficient management, world-class corporate governance standards and bias for innovation.
In April 2021, the reorganization of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc to a financial holding company, Guaranty Trust Group Holding Company, was completed as part of the company’s strategy to position for future growth and deliver benefits beyond banking to the people, communities and businesses who depend on the value we create to thrive.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira rallied against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 23 by N6.57 or 0.45 per cent to N1,449.99/$1 from the previous day’s N1,456.56/$1.
The domestic currency also improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N1.30 to sell for N1,956.03/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,957.33/£1 and gained N2.94 on the Euro to close at N1,707.65/€1, in contrast to the previous session’s closing price of N1,710.59/€1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the US Dollar by N5 at the GTBank FX counter to sell for N1,465/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,470/$1 but remained unchanged at N1,485/$1 in the black market window.
Sentiment in the FX market continued to improve with market operators attributing the appreciation to increased supply in the official market, supported by sustained interventions from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the impact of recent reforms.
Improved liquidity from exporters and foreign portfolio investors has also contributed to easing pressure on the local currency, helping to stabilise trading conditions during the festivities.
Analysts noted that the Naira’s performance has helped narrow the spread between the official and parallel market rates, a development seen as supportive of investor confidence and business planning. This relative stability has reduced short-term volatility risks and encouraged more orderly price discovery in the FX market.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was down yesterday as analysts suggest tax-loss harvesting and low liquidity are contributing to the action in crypto as the year ends. That means investors selling their underwater positions to realize losses, lowering their tax liabilities.
Some analysts remain cautiously optimistic about a potential rally, though significant recovery is not expected until liquidity returns in January.
Dogecoin (DOGE) crumbled by 3.1 per cent to $0.1281, Solana (SOL) slumped by 2.9 per cent to $121.92, Cardano (ADA) fell by 2.7 per cent to $0.3582, Ethereum (ETH) slid by 2.2 per cent to $2,926.25, and Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 2.1 per cent to $1.85.
Further, Binance Coin (BNB) lost 2.0 per cent to sell for $838.21, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 1.4 per cent to $86,933.97, and Litecoin (LTC) went down by 0.2 per cent to $76.33, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded at $1.00 apiece.
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