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Foreign and domestic investors pulled out a total of N339.06bn from the Nigerian stock market in the first three months of this year, the latest data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited have shown. The data also showed that foreign portfolio investors sold Nigerian stocks worth N90.12bn in the first quarter while domestic investors withdrew N248.94bn from the market. The foreign investors withdrew N30.79bn in January; N39.05bn in February, and N20.28bn in March, while the domestic investors pulled out N86.35bn in January; N69.28bn in February, and N93.31bn in March. The total transactions at the nation’s bourse increased by 5.99 per cent from N215.58bn (about $525.21m) in February 2021 to N228.49bn (about $560.55m) in March. The NGX said when compared to the performance in March 2020 (N242.91bn), total transactions decreased by 5.94 per cent in March 2021. The total value of transactions executed by domestic investors in March outperformed transactions executed by foreign investors by a...

Chemical and Allied Products Plc says it posted a profit after tax of N203m for the first quarter of 2021, with a PAT margin of 9.7 per cent. The paints and coatings company said it generated revenue of N2.1bn in Q1 2021, lower than that of Q1 2020 by 9.5 per cent. It reported a profit before tax of N299m, with a PBT margin of 14.3 per cent. The company said operating expenses were better managed with opex/sales of 23.3 per cent, an improvement of 252 basis points from 25.8 per cent in Q1 2020. According to its unaudited financial statements, its inventory rose by 11 per cent to N2bn at the end of March 31, 2021 from N967m in December 2020. Its cash stood at N5.7bn, of which N1.4bn is expected to be distributed as dividends to shareholders in June 2021, according to CAP. The Managing Director, David Wright, said, “In the first quarter of 2021, we saw the biggest impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business. Increased global demand for chemicals driven by the economic rebound in Asia...

The shipping industry will need to invest about $3.4 trillion in the next 30 years to replace the existing fleet in line with the sector’s decarbonization plans.     An industry top analyst and Non-Executive President of Clarkson Research Services Limited, Mr. Martin Stopford, made the projection while giving a keynote address during Capital Link’s decarbonisation in the shipping forum.     Stopford said the estimated investment requirement is extremely high and is based on the current ship prices over the next 30 years, but the figure is likely to be higher as more complex ships expected in the future could be more expensive.  According to him, the extremely high bill poses a question on financing options.     “The industry’s cash flow in the past 20-30 years has been driven by the spot market, and the 30-year average is $15,000 a day.     “This means that there is barely enough money to pay for the capital involved,” he said. Stopford belie...

The international oil benchmark, Brent crude, reached its highest in six weeks on Thursday as strong US economic data, a weak dollar and overall expected recovery in demand outweighed worries about the impact of increased COVID-19 cases in Brazil and India. Brent crude rose by $1.2 to $68.47 per barrel by 6:59pm Nigerian time, while the United States West Texas Intermediate rose by $1.07 to $64.93 per barrel, according to EnergyIntel. Reuters reported that oil prices had maintained an increase for three consecutive days. The increase in US oil demand came amid the market’s assessment of improved economic conditions, as per a US Energy Information Administration report, said S&P Global Platts. The head of commodities strategy at ING Group, Warren Patterson, and a senior commodities strategist, Wenyu Yao, were quoted as saying, “While demand appears to be trending in the right direction in the US, there are still clear concerns over the impact that the surge in COVID-19 cases in Indi...

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, has demanded N1bn in damages and an apology from a member of the party, Kassim Afegbua, overstatements which he said impugned his integrity. Afegbua was Oshiomhole’s aide when Oshiomhole was the governor of Edo State. Secondus asked Afegbua to pay the damages, retract the statements and apologise within 48 hours or be ready to face a lawsuit. Secondus’ demands were contained in a letter by his lawyer, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), dated April 29, 2021, and addressed to Afegbua. The letter was titled ‘Re: Case of defamation of character of Prince Uche Secondus: National chairman, Peoples Democratic Party.’ Recall that Afegbua had dragged Secondus to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission over alleged N10 billion fraud. In the petition, Afegbua had asked the anti-graft agencies to scrutinize the N10bn that allegedly accrued to the PDP from 2017 til...

The National Pension Commission has ordered the Pension Funds Administrators to raise their shareholders’ funds from N1bn to N5bn. Some operators disclosed this to our correspondent on Thursday. According to the commission, the total number of workers with pension accounts under the Contributory Pension Scheme rose slightly to 9,265,141 as of the end of February. The CPS which had been the fastest-growing funds in the economy lost N52bn in February. The commission disclosed that the pension assets which ended December 2020 at N12.306tn fell by N7bn to N12.299tn as of the end of January. Latest figures from the commission showed the funds fell to N12.247tn in February. Other investment portfolios were domestic and foreign ordinary shares; corporate debt securities comprising of corporate bonds, corporate infrastructure bonds, corporate green bonds and supra-national bonds.

  Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) has released its unaudited results for the third quarter (Q3) ended March 31, 2021, showing growth in key performance indicators. The pan-African bank posted revenue of N214.3 billion, showing an increase of 10 per cent from N194.860 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2020.   Operating profit before impairment charges stood at N67 billion compared with N48.795 billion in 2020, which is 37 per cent higher. The bank increased its impairment charges by 48 per cent from N15.454 billion to N22.799 billion. As a result, profit before tax rose by 22 per cent to N40.343 billion, from N33.026 billion. Profit after tax grew by 23 per cent from N24.694 billion to N30.494 billion. A further analysis of the results showed that customers’ deposits stood at N7.378 trillion, up one per cent from N7.324 trillion, loans and advances printed at N3.644 trillion compared with N3.699 trillion. ETI ended the quarter with total assets of N10.433...

  FMDQ Securities Exchange recorded a turnover of N50.32 trillion in the Fixed Income and Currency (FIC) market in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021. A breakdown of the performance showed a steady monthly growth, rising from N13.03 trillion in January, N17.74 trillion in February and to N19.55 trillion in March.   A review of the transactions in the month of March indicated that the Foreign Exchange (FX) and Open market operations (OMO) bills transactions were the highest contributors to the FIC markets, jointly accounting for 56.52 per cent of the total FIC markets turnover. The total FX market turnover in March was $12.35 billion, representing a month-on-month (MoM) increase of 16.51 per cent from the turnover recorded in the previous month. FX Derivatives turnover increased by 28.01 per cent to $1.84 billion, offsetting the 2.23 per cent ($0.09 billion) decrease in FX Spot turnover, and accounting for the total increase in FX market turnover. According to the exchange, the inc...

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday reached out to the United States and other important and strategic partners for help in combating the worsening security challenges facing Nigeria.   Buhari, during a virtual meeting with the US Secretary of State, Mr. Antony Blinken, said the support is necessary because untamed insecurity in Nigeria will have dire consequences for her neighbours and many other countries. His plea for help came three days after Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, cried out about the endless martyrdom of the youth in the country and called on the president to seek help to combat terrorism, banditry and kidnapping. Speaking on the same subject, British Minister for Africa, Mr. James Duddridge, at a meeting with Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Geoffrey Onyema, said the disturbing trend of violence unleashed on Nigerians by Boko Haram sect and allied terror groups is a complex phenomenon that would require varied approaches to resolve. The security cri...

Wema Bank Plc has said non-performing loans was pushed down to 4.70 per cent at the end of the financial year 2020 from 7.38 per cent in 2019, while total assets and contingents were over N1tn. It disclosed this in a statement on its audited results for the year ended December 31, 2020 titled ‘Wema Bank proposes third consecutive dividend payment, grows balance sheet to N1tn’ on Tuesday. The bank disclosed that it recorded a year-on-year double-digit growth of 39.42 per cent in customer deposit (FY 2020; N804.87bn, FY 2019; N577.28bn). It proposed a dividend of 4 kobo per share in FY 2020 (FY 2019: 4kobo), noting this was the third straight year of paying dividends. The Chief Finance Officer of the bank, Tunde Mabawonku, said the bank weathered the disruptions of the 2020 financial year through a sharp focus on safe lending, keeping non-performing loans low and driving transaction income. He explained that the bank remained resilient and had continued to grow its business in an efficie...

The Securities and Exchange Commission has said it is reviewing the 10-year capital market master plan in line with current realities. The apex regulator of the capital market said the implementation of the master plan had yielded results that helped to deepen the market. The Executive Commissioner, Operations, SEC, Mr Dayo Obisan, was quoted in a statement issued by the organisation on Tuesday as saying during an interview in Abuja that quite a number of initiatives as contained in the master plan had reached various stages of completion while some had already been completed. According to him, the initiatives include e-dividend, setting up of National Investors Protection Fund, recapitalisation of capital market operators, direct cash settlement, dematerialisation, and regularisation of multiple accounts. He said, “Quite a lot of notable things have been done; it is not like we are 100 per cent there overall, but we are making tremendous progress. “We took stock around November/Decemb...

The Central Bank of Nigeria injected $1.47bn into the foreign exchange segment of the market as part of its efforts to stabilise the naira in January. According to figures from the CBN’s January report on its foreign exchange market developments, this was a decrease of 47.4 per cent and 64.0 per cent from the level in the preceding month and corresponding period of 2020. Part of the report read, “Total foreign exchange sales to authorised dealers by the bank was $1.47bn in January 2021, a decrease of 47.4 per cent and 64.0 per cent from the level in the preceding month and corresponding period of 2020, respectively. “A disaggregation showed that foreign exchange sales at the I&E, SMIS, SME, and interbank fell by 79.9 per cent, 38.3 per cent, 19.8 per cent, and 37.3 per cent to $0.22bn, $0.48bn, $0.10bn, and $0.04bn respectively. “Similarly, foreign exchange cash sales to BDC operators and matured swap transactions fell by 19.3 per cent and 48.7 per cent, compared with its level in ...

 Amid continued pipeline vandalism in the country, petroleum products worth N15.71bn were lost last year, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Data obtained from the NNPC showed that petroleum products worth N1.71bn were lost in January; N1.83bn in February; N1.59bn in March, and N1.64bn in April. The value of products lost stood at N1.54bn in May; N1.40bn in June; N1.37bn in July; N1.67bn in August; N1.67bn in October and N1.29bn in November. No losses were recorded in September and December, according to the corporation. A total of 441 points on petroleum products pipelines were vandalised last year, compared to 1,484 points in 2019, the NNPC data showed. The corporation spent N53.36bn on pipeline repairs and management cost last year. “Products theft and vandalism have continued to destroy value and put NNPC at a disadvantaged competitive position,” the NNPC said in its latest monthly report. It said a total of 508 vandalised points was recorded between Janu...

 Oil drops to $65 as India’s COVID-19 cases surge The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, declined on Monday as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies indicated that it was watching surging COVID-19 cases in India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer. Brent crude, against which Nigeria’s crude oil priced, went down by $0.49 to $65.62 per barrel as at 8:31pm Nigerian time on Monday, according to EnergyIntel. The US West Texas Intermediate crude also lost $0.26, falling to $61.88 per barrel. Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago, was quoted by Reuters as saying, “The market is on guard, coming back from India demand fears on reports that the OPEC technical committee acknowledged potential demand threats from the situation in India.” The OPEC+ joint technical committee has kept its forecast for growth in global oil demand this year, but is concerned about surging COVID-19 cases in India and elsewhere, three sources from the produc...

The House of Representatives is considering raising the capital base of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria from the current N5bn to N100bn. Also, the mortgage bank may also be opened to private investors and shareholders. These are proposed in the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021, sponsored by Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Mr Wole Oke. Oke, in the explanatory note to the proposal said, “This bill seeks to amend the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria Act 1993, by introducing a new Section 11 Subsections 2 and 3, permitting private sector investors to participate in the shareholding arrangement of the bank.” The ‘Bill for an Act to Amend the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria Act 1993’, which is awaiting second reading by the House, seeks to particularly amend Section 11(2) and (3) of the Act by including and replacing the current provision with a new provision. The new provisions read, “(2) The authorised capital of the mortgage bank shall ...

  The Central Bank of Nigeria has added 10 companies to the list of International Money Transfer Operators licensed in the country. This was disclosed on Monday in a report, titled ‘Updated list of International Money Transfer Operators in Nigeria as at April 01, 2021’. In March, the CBN had listed only 47 IMTOs as licensed operators. While some of the operators had their addresses in Nigeria, others were based outside the country. The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, recently said that weekly diaspora remittances rose from $5m to $30. He noted that the initiatives introduced by the CBN to boost foreign exchange in the country were yielding results. The apex bank also introduced a rebate of N5 for every $1 of fund remitted to Nigeria through IMTOs in its forex policy. Emefiele said the CBN introduced the rebate to reduce the cost burden of remitting funds to Nigeria by Nigerians in the diaspora. He said, “This rebate will be provided to the bank accounts of beneficiaries, following r...

Gross earnings up 10% to ₦214.3billion Net Interest Income improved by (+24.5%) to  ₦ 95.4billion. A significant decrease in interest expense (-8.5%) primarily drove the increase in net interest income. Operating income before impairment losses up by (+37%) to ₦67.0billion. Loans and advances to customers down 1.5% to ₦3,644.3billion while Deposits from customers grew 0.7% to ₦7,378.9billion. Assets (+0.5%) and Liabilities (+0.7%) improved to ₦10,433.9billion and ₦9,637.1billion respectively. While Equity (-1.8%) declined to ₦796.8billion. Profit before tax (+22.2%) and Profit after tax (+23.5%) advanced to ₦40.3billion and ₦30.5billion respectively. Earnings Per Share (+38.7%) increased to 116kobo.  Below is a summary of the results (in thousands of Naira except per-share figures):   Regards,

The Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) is proposing a total dividend payout of N5.85 billion for the 2020 financial year, translating to N1.17 per share. This represents a 36 per cent increase over 86 kobo declared in the 2019 financial year. The company’s total operating income for the period stood at N12.087 billion, up from N4.612 billion achieved in the corresponding period in 2019 while revenue stood at N4.603 billion, against the previous year’s N4.588 billion. The Chairman of the company, Oscar Onyema, expressed excitement at what he described as “stellar results”. According to him, the performance defied the unprecedented challenges that characterised the 2020 financial year. He said investment in new technologies and executing far-reaching initiatives strengthened its competitiveness and resilience of the business. “CSCS emerged stronger, delivering outstanding growth in top and bottom lines and executing far-reaching initiatives that would sustainably strengthen the co...