Economy

UACN Property to Slash N20.8bn Debt to N4.8bn

Published

6 years ago

19/02/2020

By Adedapo Adesanya

The management of UACN Property Development (UPDC) Plc has announced plans by the company to reduce its current debt obligation of about N20.8 billion to about N4.8 billion.

Addressing some analysts and members of the media, including Business Post at the Exchange on Tuesday in Lagos, the CEO of UPDC, Mr Folasope Aiyesimoju, stated that this was one of the main reasons for the firm’s N16 billion rights issue, which is to be used to refinance its short-term debt and reduce finance costs.

He said the optimal performance of its recapitalisation through this right issue will see the debt cut to N4.8 billion by repaying the bridge loan facility owed its former parent company, UAC of Nigeria Plc.

At the company’s Facts Behind the Issue presentation yesterday, Mr Aiyesimoju disclosed the company’s broader strategy to create long term shareholder value through the recapitalisation effort.

UPDC, in the second quarter of 2019, had obtained a one-year N16 billion bridge loan for debt obligations and to reduce high debt service cost. The facility was used to pay the company’s maturing short term obligations of N6.5 billion in Commercial Papers, N7.4 billion Commercial Paper-related support facility, and N2.1 billion in intra-group working capital facilities.

In 2019, UAC of Nigeria Plc offloaded its entire stock in its real estate subsidiary, UPDC, following years of loss–making despite efforts to turn it around. Results of the company for the half year ended June 2019 showed that the former parent company recorded a N1.2 billion loss while in 2018, it recorded a N15 billion loss due to UPDC.

The company now plans to raise fresh funds via a rights issue of 15,961,574,145 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N1.00 per share on the basis of 43 new ordinary shares for every 7 ordinary shares held as at the close of business on Monday, September 30, 2019 through its issuing house, Stanbic IBTC Capital.

Set to reposition the real estate company, Mr Aiyesimoju, who was appointed in August 2019 after the board was reconstituted, is seeking to strengthen and improve its capital structure by focusing on affordable housing to cater for young middle management professionals.

The company also said that it will be looking at expanding its hotel service in Lagos to offer a more with the current housing demands of its target clientele.

He explained that with the teeming youth population in Nigeria, the company deemed it necessary to address the gap in residential units for young professionals one unit at a time.

“Recognising a shift in the demographics in Nigeria with a rising youth population, and limited home ownership opportunities for young middle management professionals in close proximity to the central business areas of Lagos, we tested the market with our first residences development in Festac, Lagos.

“The residences offered 196 units of 1- and 2-bedroom apartment at a price of N22 million to N30 million per unit,” he said.

According to the UPDC CEO, this is the fastest selling development of the company, adding that in years to come, it will replicate this in other parts of Lagos.

“Our aim is to expand this concept for middle income housing for young professionals further into areas such as Surulere, Yaba, and Ibeju-Lekki over the next three years,” he added.

“Located opposite our mixed-use Festival Complex in Festac, this development is scheduled to commence in the third quarter of 2020. The project will be funded with a mix of developer equity and off-plan sales,” he added.

To improve its hotel performance, Mr Aiyesimoju said, “Our plan is to convert one of the three hotel wings into serviced residential apartments for sale, similar to our successful residences development.”

Economy

Four Securities Erase N51.17bn from NASD Exchange

Published

1 day ago

27/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.

In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.

The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.

During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.

GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.

Economy

Cautious Trading, Profit-taking Weaken Nigeria’s Stock Exchange by 0.66%

Published

1 day ago

27/06/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.

This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.

Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.

Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.

The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.

As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.

Economy

Official FX Market Sees Naira Dip to N1,380.93/$1

Published

1 day ago

27/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.

Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.

At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.

Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.

Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.

Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.

If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.

At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.

On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.