CAPITAL MARKET
NGX extends rally, emerges best performing bourse in Africa
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) extended its bull run for the 16 successive sessions last week, becoming the best performing market in Africa and third in the world, as prices of many stocks hit a new high in the past year. The development has pushed the market to its 15-year high on the back of strong positive sentiments, as investors gained N699 billion from N26,760 trillion at which the market closed on Friday, April 29, 2022, to N27, to 459 trillion last week Friday. The all-share index (ASI) also appreciated by 2.6 per cent to close the week at 50,935.03, the highest level since March 2008 from 49,638.94 achieved as of April 29, 2022. This is despite the fewer trading sessions within the period. The market opened for three trading days last week owing to holidays. Guardian
AXA Mansard records N28.64bn quarterly premium
AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, a member of the AXA Group and a global insurance and asset management firm, said its gross written premium rose by 14 per cent to N28.64bn by the end of the first quarter of 2022, from N25.08bn in March 2021. The firm said in a statement that its net premium income rose by 39 per cent to N11.57bn, from N8.34bn in March 2021, while investment and other income fell by 25 per cent to N1.23bn, from N1.64bn in March 2021. It stated that its operating expenses rose by one per cent to N2.54bn from N2.52bn in March 2021, while profit before tax declined by 84 per cent to N470m, from N2.92bn in March 2021, and profit after tax declined by 85 per cent from N2.63bn to N390m in March 2021. Punch
Shareholders approve CSCS’s N3.7bn dividend
SHAREHOLDERS of the Central Securities Clearing System Plc on Friday approved the proposed total dividend of N3.7bn by the board of the company. They gave their nod during the company’s 28th annual general meeting in Lagos. The company said it was reinforcing the value accretion to its equity owners, which had seen a notable rise in share price of the company over the past year. CSCS said the N3.7bn dividend, which translated to 83.7 per cent payout ratio, reflected the resilient profitability of the company, notwithstanding the impact of lower trading activity on most Exchanges in the Nigerian capital market and inflationary pressures.“Consolidating on its diligent earnings diversification drive, the company grew revenue from core operations and ancillary services by 39.2 per cent to N6.4bn from N4.6bn in 2020, as it almost quadrupled earnings from ancillary services from N526m in 2020 financial year to N2.2bn in 2021 financial year,” Punch
Linkage Assurance’ Q1 gross premium rises by 16%
Linkage Assurance Plc said its gross written premium rose by 16 per cent year-on-year for the first quarter ended 31st March 2022 to N4.61bn, from N3.98bn in the same period of 2021. A statement from the firm said the company’s audited result for the period revealed an underwriting profit of N193m, a turnaround performance compared to a N480m loss as at Q1 2021. It attributed this to improvement in core business activities on the backdrop of healthy business underwriting decisions, reinsurance optimisation and efficient claims management process. The statement said profit before tax was N157m, compared to N950m loss before tax in Q1, 2021. Linkage’s total asset rose to N42bn in Q1, 2022, from N38.7bn in full year 2021, representing nine per cent YoY growth, while total equity stood at N25.3bn, a one per cent YoY growth compared to N25.1bn in FY 2021. Punch
BANKING
Unity Bank Announces 49.9% Increase in Profit to N3.33bn in 2021FY
Unity Bank Plc has declared a profit before tax of N3.33 billion in the financial year ended December 31, 2021, indicating a 49.9 per cent increase from the N2.22 billion it reportedin 2020. Similarly, review of the lender’s 2021 full-year result filed with the Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX) showed a significant improvement in its bottom line as profit after tax rose by 52.1 percent to N3.17 billion from N2.09 recorded in the corresponding period of 2021. The bank also grew gross earnings, rising by 8.1 per cent to N50.28 billion from N46.52 billion in 2021. This comes on the heels of a faster than expected recovery from the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, which provided an opportunity for the lender to expand its retail footprint through strategic product offerings that appealed to broader segments of the market. This Day
ECONOMY
Almost half the shortfall in planned oil supply by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies is down to Nigeria and Angola, Reuters has indicated. It reflects a number of factors which have combined to hobble crude production on the continent, including moves by Western oil majors away from African projects. OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, pumped 1.45 million barrels per day (bpd) – equal to 1.5 per cent of world supply – below its target in March, the OPEC+ figures showed. According to the figures, Angola was responsible for almost 300,000 bpd of the OPEC+ supply shortfall while Nigeria was pumping almost 400,000 bpd below target. The war in Ukraine has also hit Russia’s oil trading and its output was about 300,000 bpd short of its March supply target. This Day
Long Fuel Queues Return in Abuja, Environs
After weeks of respite, following more than three months of punishing petrol scarcity nationwide, long queues have appeared in Abuja and adjoining states. Efforts to get the authorities, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, to intimate the cause of the latest development were unsuccessful, as the phones of the spokesman of the organisation, Mr Garba Muhammad, were switched off. The long vehicle lines began to build on Saturday, and as of yesterday, THISDAY observed that the problem had worsened, as almost all private filling stations had no products. It was further noticed that while the NNPC mega stations were open for business, although with queues stretching over a kilometer in many places, the outskirts of Abuja were hardest hit. This Day
Naira slumps to N595/dollar, forex shortage lingers
THE naira slumped further and exchanged to the dollar at 595 on Friday at the parallel market. Some Bureau de Change operators who spoke with our correspondent said the dollar was bought and sold at 585 and 595 on Friday. On Monday, the naira was exchanged at N590 to a dollar. At the Investor & Exporter forex window, the naira fell by 0.20 per cent to close at N419 after reaching a high of N444 on Thursday. A total of $108.24m turnover was recorded at the end of trading at the I&E window on Thursday. The Central Bank of Nigeria, however, maintained N415.69 as the official rate on its website on Friday. The CBN stopped forex allocation to the Bureau de Change operators in 2021 and later announced it would stop further interventions to the banks by the end of 2022. Punch
Oil Marketers Raise the Alarm, Accuse Airline Operators of Trying to Force Subsidy on Aviation Fuel
Some petroleum products marketers have warned that the pressure being mounted by local airline operators on the federal government to begin arbitrary control of the price of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK), commonly known as aviation fuel, was to force government to introduce subsidy payment on the product. The allegation came as Nigerian airlines once again demonstrated inability to work together in pursuit of common goals, as they pulled out of an earlier agreement to ground their flights from today to protest increase in the price of aviation fuel, also known as Jet A1. The withdrawal forced the umbrella organisation, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), stop the plan. Guardian
N100b equalisation debt, faulty infrastructure may trigger fresh petrol scarcity
Scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol, surfaced again, yesterday, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as the inability of the Federal Government to settle over N100 billion equalisation payment as well as a breakdown of key storage and distribution infrastructure may spread the development across the country. Already, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has told The Guardian that Nigerians may have to prepare for the worst as marketers are now without funds to stock products after being owed over N100 billion in the last four months by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). This is coming as airline operators, yesterday, called off plans to shut down flight operations in protest against the astronomical rise in the price of jet fuel that currently sells at N700/litre. The operators, under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), called off the action following backtrack by six out of 10 carriers. Guardian
