CAPITAL MARKET
Seplat Energy grows profit by 128.9%
SEPLAT Energy Plc has announced its audited results for the full year ended December 31, 2021, recording a 128.9 per cent growth in its gross profit to hit N114.2bn. It also announced a 38.2 per cent rise in its 2021 full-year revenue to N293.6bn, and a growth in profit before tax by 321.1 per cent to N71bn. Commenting on the oil firm’s 2021 financial results, its Chief Executive Officer, Roger Brown, said, “Seplat Energy announced a major acquisition last week and despite a challenging year for Nigerian oil and gas, the robust results delivered today clearly show how our increasing financial strength has made such an acquisition possible. Punch
Transcorp Hotels Announces 143% Increase in Gross Profit, Shareholders to Get N717m Dividend
Transcorp Hotels Plc has announced a gross profit of N16.23 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021 as against N6.67billion reported in 2020, indicating a 143 per cent increase The results released to the the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed a 114 per cent growth in revenue to N21.74billion from N10.16billion in 2020. The hospitality company proposed a final dividend of 7 Kobo per share, translating into N717million and it is subject to appropriate withholding tax and shareholders’ approval. This Day
BANKING
How PoS channels boost financial inclusion –Wema Bank
The creation of the agent banking system by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the subsequent roll-out and deployment of the point of sale terminals by banks and other operators of mobile money have been described as a policy masterstroke in boosting and expanding financial inclusion drive in the country. This is the view of two senior officers of Wema Bank Plc, Damola Bolodeoku, Head, E-Business, and Adekunle Alarapon, Head Retail Segments, respectively. Both men spoke on an NTA Network programme, “Weekend Deal” which x-rayed the benefits and challenges of PoS since its inception. Punch
ECONOMY
FG to Save $1.8bn in Forex as Dangote, NNPC, Shell, Others Sign Gas Supply Deal
The Dangote Group, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Shell, Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) Limited, Total Energies as well as the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN) yesterday signed a Gas Sale and Aggregation Agreement (GSAA) in Abuja. The agreement which took place on the sidelines of the ongoing Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES), THISDAY learnt would see the companies supply 70 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas to Dangote Fertiliser Limited (DFL) to ramp up operations at the plant. This Day
Senate may pass revised budget next week
The Senate, on Wednesday, passed the 2022 Appropriation Act (Amendment) Bill for second reading. The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, after the bill scaled second reading, referred it to the Senate Committee on Appropriation for further work, asking it to report back within one week. The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had earlier in February transmitted the executive bill to the National Assembly, seeking adjustments in the recurrent and capital expenditures in the Federal Government’s budget with estimates totaling N150,032,091,096. Buhari had also sought approval for another N2.557tn to extend the payment of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol. Punch
PenCom Approves Acquisition, Mergers of Pension Managers
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) yesterday said it has approved the mergers and acquisitions of some pension fund managers in the country. The regulator, in a statement, said it authorised the acquisition of Investment One Pension Managers Limited by Guaranty Trust Holding Company Limited and subsequent change of name from Investment One Pension Managers Limited to Guaranty Trust Pension Managers Limited. PenCom also approved the acquisition of AIICO Pension Managers Limited by FCMB Pensions Limited. This Day
Seplat, ExxonMobil deal’ll boost oil sector growth – Mackenzie
A leading research and consultancy group, Wood Mackenzie, says the Seplat and ExxonMobil deal offers huge upside for oil as well as gas. Seplat Energy Plc had on February 25 announced an agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil. However, Wood Mackenzie said in a recent insight that in the energy transition era, both ExxonMobil and Seplat would be pleased with the deal, adding that the deal offers huge upside for oil as well as gas. According to the research firm, due to the fact that the deal is a corporate acquisition, the NNPC have no rights to pre-empt a deal under the Joint Operating Agreement, which governs the JV, noting that ministerial consent would be the only hurdle remaining. Punch
Oil Price Surges Above $113 as OPEC Keeps Supply Unchanged
Crude oil price yesterday continued its upswing as Brent, Nigeria’s benchmark crude, rose above $113 per barrel for the first time in close to eight years. This was as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) resolved to continue the addition of a measured volume of 400,000 barrels per day, agreed with its allies, OPEC+, in August last year. The producers’ group, which decided on the quota for member countries for April, allocated Nigeria 1.735 million barrels per day as its production for next month. This Day
Subsidy, production challenges mar Nigeria’s chances as oil exceed $110
Crude futures rallied, yesterday, as traders assess the impact of sanctions on Russia, with the front-month Brent and WTI contracts rising by around seven per cent to exceed $110 a barrel for the first time since 2014. With buyers avoiding Russian oil based on concerns over logistics and the potential for more sanctions to be imposed, oil prices shot up to over $112 per barrel. Despite the fact that the sanctions against Russia carve out energy and energy payments out of the SWIFT restrictions and bans, Russian producers can’t sell their cargoes in tenders because no one is bidding, while many refiners—especially in Europe—are shunning Russian crude and scrambling for alternatives. Guardian
Buhari approves $8.5m to evacuate 5,000 Nigerians
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the sum of $8.5 million to facilitate the immediate evacuation of at least 5,000 Nigerians fleeing from the Russia-Ukraine war to Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. University students, including many from Nigeria, fleeing from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, stow their luggage as they get on their transport bus close to the Hungarian-Ukrainian border in the village of Tarpa in Hungary on February 28, 2022. – More than half a million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion five days ago, with more than half fleeing into Poland, the United Nations said on February 28, 2022. Guardian
