BusinessDay 24 May 2017

Wednesday 24 May 2017
C002D5556
BUSINESS DAY
35
Live @ the Stock exchange
Market reroutes north as
large cap stocks gain
Stories by
Iheanyi Nwachukwu
Nigerian stocks
rallied by
0.05percent
on Tuesday as
Nestle Nigeria
Plc led other largely capitalised
stocks in the basket of
23 gainers against 18 losers.
The value of listed equities
increased by N5billion
as evidenced in the market
capitalisation which
closed at N9.712 trillion
against preceding day close
of N9.707 trillion.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange
(NSE) All Share
Index (ASI) closed at
28,093.30 points against
the preceding day close of
28,078.30 points. The Yearto-Date
(ytd) return stood
at 4.53percent.
Nestle Nigeria Plc rallied
most by N14, from
N836 to N850; followed
by Nigerian Breweries Plc
which gained N3.16, from
N140.84 to N144. GlaxoSmithKline
Consumer Nigeria
Plc gained 57kobo, from
N15.43 to N16; while Ecobank
Transnational Incorporated
Plc gained 31kobo
from N9.31 to N9.62.
Total Nigeria Plc recorded
biggest loss by N9.99,
from N270 to N260.01; followed
by Dangote Cement
Plc which lost 99kobo, from
N163 to N162.01. UBA Plc
lost 23kobo, from N7.22 to
N6.99; Cement Company
of Northern Nigeria Plc
lost 22kobo, from N4.83 to
N4.61. Also, Dangote Flour
Mills Plc dipped by 21kobo,
from N4.34 to N4.13.
The volume of stocks
traded increased by 2.09percent,
from 208.33million to
212.69million, while the
Oscar Onyema, NSE CEO
total value of stocks traded
decreased by 41.67percent,
from N3.73billion to N2.181
billion in 3,908 deals.
The Financial Services
sector led Tuesday activ-
UPDC targets N1.75 billion from on-going Rights Issue
Larry Ettah, chairman,
UPDC plc.
The UACN Property
Development
Company (UPDC)
Plc has urged its
shareholders to take up
their Rights as the Company
targets to raise about
N1.75billion from on-going
Rights Issue. Larry Ettah,
chairman, UPDC Plc noted
this while addressing shareholders
at the company’s
Annual General Meeting
(AGM) held in Lagos.
The Right offer at N3 per
share 50 kobo share on the
basis of 1 for 1 opened on
May 18, 2017 and is expected
to close on May 26, 2017.
Ettah said the company is
repositioning for improved
performance and that the
board has put in place adequate
strategies to enable
it deliver better value to all
stakeholders.
He noted that the Nigerian
real estate sector is one of
the significant drivers in the
country’s non-oil economy.
The sector accounted for
7.5% of total GDP in 2015
and grew by 2.1% year-onyear
in the same year. However,
it recorded negative
GDP growth in 2016. Q1
contracted by -4.69%, Q2
by-5.27%, Q3 by -7.37% and
Q4 by -9.27%.
Ettah pointed out that Nigeria’s
real estate market still
presents substantial opportunities
as well as a number
of challenges for property
investors and developers.
Cumbersome and timeconsuming
processes for
land acquisition, insecure
land title, infrastructure
deficiency are few of the
challenges of the sector.
Existing concerns such as
underdeveloped mortgage
market, paucity of medium
to long term infrastructure
and financial institutions
with reasonable interest
rates are areas the Federal
Government would need
to pay particular attention
to in the near future in order
to move the sector forward.
According to the Chairman,
the Company posted
revenue of N4.99b (Group
N6.34bn) as against 2015
revenue of N3.74b (Group
N5.12bn). Loss before taxation
(LBT) was (N2.02bn),
Group N1.78bn against
loss of N1.8bn and Group’s
profit of N0.56mn in 2015.
In view of this performance,
the Board, regrettably will
not be recommending the
payment of dividend for
the year under review. The
recommendation was approved
by shareholders
during the meeting.
Commenting on the
operating environment,
Ettah stated that housing
demand in residential real
estate has consistently exceeded
supply. A key constraint
in bridging the huge
gap in housing delivery on
the demand side is affordability.
The reduced purchasing
power of Nigerians
and the inability of the lowincome
earners to pay the
prevailing exorbitant rents
have led to increased demand
for affordable houses.
Consequently, developers
in recent times have
shifted focus to the middleincome
segment of the market,
where there appears to
have been a significant level
of income stabilization. The
Federal Government and
certain State Governments
have embarked on initiatives
regarding affordable
homes and have specific
agencies set-up towards
that end.
Growth in the retail development
slowed down
with vacancy rate of between
33%-65% in the big
Shopping Malls due to uncomplimentary
foreign exchange
regime. He stated
that the increase in Monetary
Policy Rate, recession,
government policies and
other un-abating economic
ity chart with 161.20million
shares exchanged for
N1.06billion, followed by
Oil and Gas with 12.10million
shares traded for
N694million.
vagaries in 2016 had negative
impact on the performance
of the Company.
Ettah noted that the cost
of debt increased significantly.
The Chairman stated
that the company recorded
losses upon completion
of certain UPDC &
Joint Venture projects. The
losses are mainly due to
high interest costs, effect
of the 41 banned items
on the CBN list as well
as extended completion
date, noting that the losses
wiped out the Company’s
investment in MetroCity
JV in line with the tenets
of International Financial
Reporting Standards.
Ettah noted that despite
the challenging business
terrain, the Company continued
its ongoing project
developments in 2016 and
commenced new ones.
Providing details on
the company’s plan for the
future, the Chairman said
“A key strategic imperative
for 2017 is to deleverage
the Company. This is
being achieved through
deployment of an aggressive
sales strategy, 1 for 1
Rights Issue that is about
to be launched, and divestment
from low yielding
investment properties.
The fundamentals of the
Company are strong; and
the brand remains positioned
to deliver value to
all stakeholders.”
FBN Holdings pays N7.18bn dividend
FBN Holdings Plc
has paid N7.18
billion total dividend
which translates
to 20 kobo per for
the financial year ended
December.
This follows the approval
of the shareholders
of the Holding Company
(HoldCo) at its 5th annual
general meeting held last
week in Lagos.
The 20 kobo dividend
per share was against
N5.38 billion or 15 kobo
per share the financial
institution paid in the
corresponding year 2015.
At the annual general
meeting, the shareholders
of FBN Holdings Plc
received and adopted
report of the directors;
the company’s audited
financial statements for
the year ended December
31, 2016 and report of the
auditors and the audit
committee thereon.
In the year under
review, FBN Holdings
Plc, owners of First Bank
Limited gross earnings
increase by 15.7percent
AXA Mansard pays dividend, assures
shareholders of increasing RoI
AXA Mansard Insurance
Plc has
paid its shareholders
a dividend
of 5kobo per share
for the financial year ended
December 31, 2016.
This follows the approval
of its shareholders at the
company’s 25th annual
general meeting (AGM)
held last week in Lagos.
At the meeting, the
shareholders of the insurance
company received
and adopted the company’s
audited financial
statements for the year
ended December 31,
2016; reports of the directors;
the auditors and the
audit committee thereon.
Olusola Adeeyo,
chairman, AXA Mansard
Insurance Plc who assured
shareholders of the
Board’s committing to increasing
returns on their
investments (RoI) said,
“We are grateful for your
support and the trust you
have placed in the Board
and management team
through the years as we
seek to position the company
for future growth.
Importantly, we also appreciate
your faith in the
AXA Mansard brand”.
He assured the shareholders
that AXA Mansard
Insurance Plc will on
its success path in 2017
amid prognosis around
to N581.8 billion, from
N502.7billion in 2015.
This record growth in
full year earnings was
driven by 2.6 percent
growth in interest income
to N405.3 billion
and 68.9percent growth
in non-interest income to
N165.5 billion.
Speaking at the annual
general meeting,
the shareholders stressed
the need for the Holding
Company to enhance
profitability.
Sunny Nwosu, National
Coordinator Emeritus,
Independent Shareholders
Association of Nigeria
(ISAN) commended the
company for declaring dividend
in spite of the harsh
operating environment.
Nona Awo, an independent
shareholder
expressed concern on
the company’s huge unclaimed
dividend. He also
noted that the company
needed to increase its
customer deposit base
and reduce non-performing
loans.
the macro economy.
In the review year, AXA
Mansard Insurance Plc,
a member of the AXA
Group reported Profit
After Tax (PAT) of N2.63
billion, which represents
an increase of 59percent
from N1.66 billion in 2015.
Details of the results show
Gross Written Premium
of N20.71 billion, up 25
percent from N16.57 billion
in 2015. Net Premium
Income of N10.95 billion,
up 11 percent from N9.90
billion in 2015.
Investment and Other
Income rose to N6.39 billion,
up 39 percent from
N4.60 billion in 2015. The
Group Operating Expenses
of N5.76 billion rose
by 12 percent from N5.14
billion in 2015. Profit before
Tax (PBT) stood at
N3.13 billion, up 54 percent
from N2.02billion
recorded in 2015.
Highlights of the company’s
statement of financial
position also showed
Total Assets grew by 7
percent to N54.96 billion
from N51.21billion as at
December 2015; Insurance
Liabilities rose by 12
percent to N14.43 billion,
from N12.92 billion as at
December 2015; while
shareholders’ funds stood
at N17.41 billion, same as
N17.41 billion recorded in
December 2015.