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Economy

Stanbic IBTC Sustains Strong, Diversified Funding Base in Q1 2021

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Demola-Sogunle Stanbic IBTC

By Dipo Olowookere

Despite the unfriendly business environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has continued to stay strong as a result of the futuristic strategies put in place by the board and management.

In the first quarter of 2021, the financial group maintained an adequate level of capital, with the total capital adequacy ratio closing at 22.7 per cent, significantly higher than the 10 per cent minimum requirement of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the industry’s regulatory agency.

Also, its liquidity ratio was above the regulatory minimum requirement of 30 per cent, signifying Stanbic IBTC’s sound position to continue meeting its liquidity obligations in a timely manner.

In the period under review, the total assets increased by 3 per cent to N2.569 trillion from N2.486 trillion in the full year of 2020, while the customer deposits rose by 6 per cent to N867.0 billion in Q1 2021 from N819.9 billion in FY 2020, with the gross loans and advances up 16 per cent to N762.7 billion from N655.3 billion in December 2020 and the non-performing loans (NPLs) jumping by 3 per cent to N27.2 billion from N26.5 billion as of December 31, 2020.

Sadly, the gross earnings reduced by 26 per cent to N45.7 billion from N61.4 billion in the first quarter of last year just as the net interest income decreased by 14 per cent to N15.9 billion from N18.5 billion, with the non-interest revenue down by 29 per cent to N23.1 billion N32.6 billion in the same period of 2020 and the total operating income down by 24 per cent to N38.9 billion from N51.2 billion.

Further, the profit before tax reduced by 50 per cent to N12.1 billion from N24.4 billion, while the profit after tax went down by 45 per cent to N11.3 billion from N20.6 billion, with the cost to income ratio at 69.2 per cent as against 48.4 per cent in Q1 of 2020 and the annualised return on average equity at 11.6 per cent.

The CEO of Stanbic IBCT, Mr Demola Sogunle, while commenting on the results, blamed the decline in the company’s profitability on pressure on trading income as trading activities slowed down while rising operating expenses from regulatory induced charges did not help matters amid continued pressure on risk asset yields.

However, he emphasised that the decline was partly cushioned by the year-on-year improvement in net fee and commission revenue as well as an impairment write-back of N155 million in Q1 2021 compared to the charge of N1.97 billion in the prior year.

He explained that the impairment write-back was due to releases and after write-off recoveries achieved during the quarter.

“Again, the diversity of our earnings proved supportive during the period. Wealth’s profitability improved from the prior period and provided succour for the contraction in the profitability of the Corporate and Investment Banking and the Personal and Business Banking businesses,” he disclosed.

Mr Sogunle expressed optimism that the company will achieve “our full-year 2021 guidance,” especially with the commencement of the firm’s latest addition, Stanbic IBTC Insurance Limited, in the first quarter of the year.

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

Economy

FrieslandCampina Wamco, Three Others Raise NASD OTC Exchange by 1.41%

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OTC stock exchange

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed higher by 1.41 per cent on Friday, May 15, supported by four securities on the platform.

During the session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc added N14.24 to its share price to sell for N159.00 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s N144.76 per unit.

Further, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.34 to N72.34 per share from N71.00 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc improved its price by 4 Kobo to N2.94 per unit from N2.90 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to trade at 61 Kobo per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of 60 Kobo per share.

As a result, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 58.20 points to 4,188.41 points from 4,130.21 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N34.82 billion to N2.506 trillion from N2.471 trillion on Thursday.

During the session, the volume of trades went up by 180.8 per cent to 1.2 million units from 417,349 units, and the value of transactions increased by 29.8 per cent to N29.8 million from N23.2 million, while the number of deals fell by 22.6 per cent to 24 deals from 31 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as 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 valued at N1.9 billion.

GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.

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Economy

Profit-taking Sinks Nigeria’s Equity Market by 0.76% as Bears Take Control

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Nigerian equity market

By Dipo Olowookere

The bears overpowered the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, sinking it further by 0.76 per cent when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm.

The nation’s flagship equity market was under selling pressure during the session, as investors booked profits after the shares witnessed price appreciation in the past trading sessions.

The energy sector was the most impacted, as it shed 4.43 per cent. The consumer goods index declined by 0.90 per cent, the banking counter decreased by 0.15 per cent, and the industrial goods sector lost 0.08 per cent, while the insurance counter gained 2.42 per cent, which was not enough to salvage the situation.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,912.19 points to 250,330.92 points from 252,243.11 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by 1.225 trillion to N160.444 trillion from N161.669 trillion.

Zichis was the worst-performing stock for the session after it gave up 9.97 per cent to close at N29.43, FTN Cocoa slipped by 9.95 per cent to N8.96, The Initiates slumped by 9.90 per cent to N32.30, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank tumbled by 9.88 per cent to N3.83, and International Energy Insurance dropped 9.71 per cent to trade at N2.79.

The best-performing stock was ABC Transport, which grew by 10.00 per cent to N6.27. May and Baker also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N47.30, SCOA Nigeria surged by 9.98 per cent to N33.05, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.97 per cent to N7.06, and DAAR Communications jumped 9.76 per cent to N2.25.

Yesterday, investors traded 1.1 billion shares worth N44.3 billion in 65,744 deals compared with the 1.0 billion shares valued at N41.6 billion transacted in 74,822 deals a day earlier. This indicated a dip in the number of deals by 12.13 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 10.00 per cent and 6.49 per cent, respectively.

Chams was the busiest equity for the day, with 328.5 million units sold for N1.1 billion. UBA traded 61.6 million units worth N2.7 billion, First Holdco transacted 58.7 million units valued at N4.2 billion, Secure Electronic Technology exchanged 51.9 million units worth N45.0 million, and Access Holdings traded 51.8 million units valued at N1.3 billion.

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Economy

Naira Weakens to N1,371/$1 at Official Market

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Official FX Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The last trading session of the week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) ended on a negative note for the Naira on Friday, May 15, as it lost N15 Kobo or 0.1 per cent against the Dollar to trade at N1,371.04/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,370.89/$1.

However, it further appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N20.77 to close at N1,830.61/£1 versus Thursday’s value of N1,851.38/£1, and gained N7.91 against the Euro to settle at  N1,595.07/€1 versus N1,602.98/€1.

At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N2 against the US Dollar during the session to sell at N1,383/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,381/$1, and at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.

The Naira is forecast to be broadly stable, supported by Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid steady, higher oil receipts, with the ‌market settling ⁠into a balance.

Policy direction is also expected to give the market some boost as the CBN said the new edition of the FX market guidelines will deepen liquidity, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in the country’s foreign exchange market.

According to the Governor of the CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso, the update is due to changing global economic realities, domestic reforms and the need for a more coherent and forward-looking regulatory framework. According to him, the last edition of the FX manual was issued in 2018, making the latest review both timely and necessary.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market plunged into the red zone as rising bond yields hit risk assets across markets, while traders are increasingly betting the Federal Reserve may need to raise rates again. Rising energy prices and resurging inflation could force central banks back into tightening mode.

Cardano (ADA) shrank by 4.4 per cent to $0.2557, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 3.7 per cent to $0.1104, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 3.5 per cent to $1.41, Solana (SOL) crashed by 3.5 per cent to $87.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 3.4 per cent to $659.64.

Further, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 2.6 per cent to $78,547.49, Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.1 per cent to quote at $2,209.19, and TRON (TRX) tumbled by 0.7 per cent to $0.3509, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.

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