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 Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.
Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.
Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.
The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.
At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.
“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.
“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.
The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.
FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).
On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.
Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.
Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.
During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.
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