CAPITAL MARKET
United Capital Record 50% Increase in PBT, Proposes N1.50 Dividend
United Capital Plc has announced its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 with profit before tax increasing by 50 per cent to N11.92billion as against N7.95billion reported in 2020. The audited result and accounts on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) revealed 44.14 per cent increase in profit after tax to N11.26billion in 2021 as against N7.8billion in 2020. Key factors that contributed to growth in profits are 40 per cent increase in gross earnings to N18.07billion in 2021 from N billion reported in 2020, while fee and commission income significantly gained 77.4 per cent to N6.16billion from N3.47billion in 2020. This Day
Stock market capitalisation falls to N25.41tn
The market capitalisation of equities listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited fell by 0.12 per cent to close at N25.41tn last week. The NGX All-Share Index also declined by 0.13 per cent to close at 47,140.48 basis points. However, all other indices finished higher, with the exception of NGX Premium, NGX Banking, NGX AFR Bank value, NGX Oil & Gas and NGX Industrial Goods which depreciated by 0.29 per cent, 0.74 per cent, 0.86 per cent, 3.45 per cent, and 0.32 per cent respectively while the NGX Main Board, NGX Asem, NGX Growth and NGX Sovereign Bond indices closed flat. Punch
Cost of Sales, FX Loss Weakens Nigerian Breweries Profit
While Nigerian Breweries Plc grew its profit and dividend for shareholders in audited result and accounts for period ended December 31, 2021, the company was faced with hike in costs of sales and net loss on foreign exchange transactions during the period under review. The deprecation of Naira and double-digit inflation rate played a critical role in Nigerian Breweries 2021 audited result and accounts, coupled with tax expenses that nearly tripled that of 2020 results. This Day
ECONOMY
NUPENG suspends planned strike
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has suspended its plans to go on strike after an intervention by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Both parties also pledged collaboration to ensure nationwide availability of petroleum products. The suspension notice was made known in a communiqué following a stakeholders’ engagement between the NNPC, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Petroluem Tanker Drivers (PTD), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), and NUPENG. The Sun
Fuel scarcity: Private depots hike rates, more filling stations may sell above N180/litre
The cost of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, may hit or exceed N180/litre in most filling stations in coming weeks if nothing is done about a recent hike in its ex-depot price by private depot owners. It was gathered that most private depot owners recently raised the cost of petrol from the approved N142-N145/litre price to between N162-N170/litre. This, oil marketers said, had already made some filling stations owned by independent marketers to start dispensing petrol at N180/litre, above the approved and regulated pump price of N165/litre. Punch
Two telcos raked in N2.02tn from airtime, data in 2021
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Airtel Nigeria both raked in N2.02tn from airtime and data revenues in 2021, according to the financial statements of the two companies obtained by our correspondent. The amount indicates a 20.01 per cent increase from the N1.68tn both companies made from airtime and data revenues in 2020. The amount 9mobile and Globacom made from data and airtime revenues could not be obtained as their financial statements are not made public. According to statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission, MTN and Airtel are the two major call carriers in the nation. In its industry statistics report for 2020, a total 150,825,830,687.40 minutes of calls were made. Punch
Nigerian insurance industry resilient amid challenges, says Agusto
The Nigerian insurance industry has remained resilient despite challenges in the economy, according to a report by Agusto& Co. Limited. Agusto & Co., a pan-African credit rating agency and business information provider, said this in its 2022 insurance industry report titled ‘The Nigerian insurance industry – More resilient than expected despite headwinds’. The report showed a review of the insurance landscape in Nigeria and the near-term expectation for the industry. It said despite the lockdown, which emanated from COVID-19 and further losses from #EndSARS protests, the industry recorded improved performance. Punch
Fuel scarcity: Be patient, solution underway, Sylva begs Nigerians
The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, on Sunday begged Nigerians to exercise patience over the tortuous challenge of petrol scarcity, giving assurance that efforts were on to end the problem and avoid a repeat of it. Sylva’s apology was contained in a statement by Horatius Egua, his Senior Adviser, Media & Communications. The Minister reckoned that Nigerians in recent weeks, have grappled with fuel scarcity, not because of the absence of supply of products but due to inspection failure and regulatory negligence, which allowed adulterated products into the country. The Sun
