Category Archives: Market News

The stock market segment of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday, started the week in negative territory with N418 billion loss, spearheaded by losses in MTN Nigeria Communications, among 17 others.

The NGX All-Share Index declined by 766.56 basis points or 1.48 per cent, to close at 51,127.38 basis points from 51,893.94 basis points it opened for trading.

Consequently, the overall market capitalisation value lost N418 billion to close at N27.850 trillion from N27.850trillion it closed for trading last week.

On sectoral performance, the NGX Banking index dropped by 5.5per cent and NGX Insurance index was down by 0.1per cent, while the NGX Oil & Gas Index and Industrial Goods indices closed flat.

The NGX Consumer Goods index appreciated by 0.1per cent, the sole gainer of the day.

The market breadth was negative as 18 stocks lost relative to 16 gainers.

International Energy Insurance led the losers’ chart by 6.98 per cent to close at N1.20, per share. MTNN followed with a decline of 6.67 per cent to close at N224.00, while Transcorp Hotels lost 5.80 per cent to close at N6.50, per share.

Africa Prudential declined 5.45 per cent to close at N5.20, while AIICO Insurance shed 5.08 per cent to close at 56 kobo, per share.

On the other hand, Ikeja Hotel recorded the highest price gain of 9.48 per cent to close at N1.27, per share.

Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) followed with a gain of 9.47 per cent to close at N1.85 and Consolidated Hallmark Insurance up by 8.77 per cent to close at 62 kobo, per share.

Nigerian Exchange Group rose by 8.16 per cent to close at N26.50, while Jaiz Bank gained 5.68 per cent to close at 98 kobo, per share.

The total volume traded fell by 58.19 per cent to 226.594 million units, valued at N1.568 billion, and exchanged in 4,373 deals. Transactions in the shares of Transcorp topped the activity chart with 107.213 million shares valued at N162.832 million. Fidelity Bank followed with 39.308 million shares worth N206.008 million, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 22.603 million shares valued at N190.356 million.

Zenith Bank traded 20.614 million shares valued at N521.286 million, while FCMB Group transacted 12.611 million shares worth N47.830 million.

 

The United Bank for Africa Plc recorded 47.5 per cent growth in its gross earnings in the first quarter of 2023. The Group’s profit before tax also hit N61.4bn.

This was disclosed in its unaudited results for the first quarter ended March 31st, 2023, and released on the Nigerian Exchange Limited.

“The Group’s gross earnings rose by 47.5 per cent from N183.9bn to N271.2bn; while interest income which stood at N125.9bn as of March 2022, grew by 53.4 per cent to N191.9bn in the quarter under consideration.

The results revealed that operating income rose by 39.6 per cent to N175.7bn, as against N125.9bn recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022.

UBA’s profit before tax also rose significantly by 38.2 per cent to N61.4bn in Q1 2023, from N44.5bn recorded in the first quarter of 2022.

According to the statement, its profit after tax jumped from N41.5bn to N53.6bn, representing an impressive 29.1 per cent increase.

Commenting on the result, UBA’s Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, explained that despite the high inflationary, and challenging global environment, UBA was able to leverage the uptick in interest rates and improved digital offerings, in growing funded and non-funded income.

He added that he was excited at the growth in PBT, which had helped to drive increased returns to shareholders, with a 22.6 per cent return on average equity, compared to 19.7 per cent recorded in December 2022.

“We have continued to record improved gains in our customer acquisition and retention strategies across our countries of presence, evident in the 10.5 per cent growth in customer deposits to N8.6tn from N7.8tn at the end of 2022FY.

“This has enabled the Group drive increased loan growth and interest income, with loans to customers at N3.6tn, representing a year-to-date increase of five per cent.

“For 2023, we remain committed to improving the Group’s performance as we strategically position our entities to take advantage of emerging developments within their jurisdictions and across the globe. We will continue to deliver excellent rewards to our stakeholders.”

The UBA’s Executive Director, Finance and Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, added that the performance demonstrated the group’s resilience and commitment towards delivering value and enhancing the confidence of its customers, stakeholders and the wider public notwithstanding the competitive landscape and current global trend in the industry.

Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc has said it recorded profit before tax of N214.2bn, representing 3.3 per cent dip from N221.5bn recorded in the corresponding year ended December 2021.

The Group disclosed this in a statement on its audited consolidated and separate financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, which was released on the Nigerian Exchange Group and London Stock Exchange.

It stated that this was on the back of N35.6bn impairment recognised on Ghanaian sovereign securities.

The Group’s loan book (net) increased by 4.6 per cent from N1.80tn as of December 2021, to N1.89tn in December 2022, while deposit liabilities grew by 11.6 per cent from N4.13tn to N4.61tn during the same period.

According to the statement, the Group’s balance sheet remained well-structured and resilient with total assets and shareholders’ funds closing at N6.45tn and N931.1bn, respectively.

It stated that, “Capital Adequacy Ratio remained very strong, closing at 24.1 per cent. Similarly, asset quality was sustained as IFRS 9 Stage 3 Loans ratio (NPLs) improved to 5.2 per cent in December 2022 from 6.0 per cent in December 2021. However, cost of risk inched up marginally to 0.6 per cent in FY-2022 from 0.5 per cent in December 2021 due to impact of worsened macros on PDs.”

Commenting on the results, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Mr Segun Agbaje, said, “Our ability to successfully navigate the peculiar challenges in the different markets where we operate underscores our strong business fundamentals and unwavering commitment to sound business strategies.

“Despite the varying challenges and headwinds that weighed on growth in 2022, we were determined to deliver a decent performance and scale effectively to strengthen our competitive edge and drive long-term growth.”

He added, “As an organisation, 2022 was quite significant for us being the first year after our corporate restructuring into a financial holding company in August 2021.

“Today, across our banking, payment, funds management, and pension businesses, we have successfully built a robust ecosystem with immense potential to deepen our addressable market and create more value for all our stakeholders.

“We will continue to prioritise innovation, service excellence, and execute seamlessly towards achieving our vision of leading financial services in Africa.”

The statement noted that overall, the Group continued to post one of the best metrics in the Nigerian Financial Services industry in terms of key financial ratios such as pre-tax return on equity of 23.6 per cent, pre-tax return on assets of 3.6 per cent, full impact capital adequacy ratio of 24.1 per cent and cost to income ratio of 48.0 per cent.

 

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Lamido Yuguda, has blamed the dwindling level of Foreign Portfolio Investments in the country on scarcity of foreign exchange.

Based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the Foreign Portfolio Investment (including equity, bonds and money market instruments) dropped by 27.86 per cent from $3.385.59m in 2021 to $2.442.24m at the end of 2022.

Speaking at the end of the first quarter meeting of the Nigerian Capital Market Committee on Thursday, Yuguda stated that the scarce forex situation was making the country unattractive to foreign investors.

He said, “No matter how attractive a domestic capital market is, a foreign investor will always factor in the ability to transfer their domestic earnings into foreign exchange, so they can repatriate these foreign exchange to their country.

“At the moment, we all know that there are challenges with the foreign exchange situation in Nigeria. International investors are reporting some delays in accessing foreign exchange for the repatriation of their dividends or their capital. Because of this, you are seeing a reduced proportion of foreign investors in the Nigerian capital market relative to what this market has been used to.”

Yuguda expressed optimism that the scarce forex situation would not be a permanent one and he hinged his optimism on some economic developments including the Dangote Refinery expected to commence production this year.
He said, “This is a situation that is not permanent, we expect the foreign exchange situation in their country to substantially improve. There are a lot of economic developments in the country today that are actually laying the foundation for a much more vibrant foreign exchange in the country. We do use a lot of our foreign exchange to import refined petroleum products. We know at the moment that the Dangote refinery in Lekki, once it comes on stream, has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day of refined petroleum products, lubricants and the rest.

“That means that a lot of importation that is happening now, will actually be sourced from this source and the amount of foreign exchange wasted on importing refined petrol should substantially moderate when this huge refinery comes on board. This refinery is very close to completion.”

Yuguda also said that the Nigerian economy has a huge potential to generate foreign exchange from a lot of non-oil sources.

He added, “If you have a much higher realisation of foreign exchange from non-oil sources and a reduced utilisation of foreign exchange to import petrol, you will find that this will give you a much better situation where you can use the greater availability of foreign exchange to meet the needs of investors, who are interested in taking advantage of the economic opportunities existing in our country.

“It is not a situation that has no solution.”

The stock market on the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. on Thursday recorded a bearish tilt as the overall capitalisation dropped by N5 billion.

The All Share Index decreased by 8.83 points, representing a decline of 0.02 per cent to close at 51,944.58 from 51,953.41 on Wednesday.

Similarly, the market capitalisation lost N5 billion or 0.02 per cent to close at N28.295 trillion as against N28.3 trillion posted in the previous session.

The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; May & Baker Nigeria, Zenith Bank, Nigerian Exchange Group, Fidelity Bank and Africa Prudential.

Also, market breadth closed negative, with 18 gainers and 21 losers.

Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at N1.54, per share.

Wapic Insurance followed with a gain of 9.69 per cent to close at 42k, while Champion Breweries rose 7.64 per cent to close at N4.93, per share.

Mutual Benefits Assurance went up by 6.25 per cent to close at 34k, while Prestige Assurance appreciated by 5.26 per cent to close at 40k, per share.

On the other hand, May & Baker Nigeria led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N4.05, per share, per share.

Ikeja Hotel followed with a decline of 9.24 per cent to close at N1.08, while Multiverse Mining and Exploration lost 7.60 per cent to close at N2.31, per share.

Academy Press lost 6.67 per cent to close at N1.26, while NPF Microfinance Bank shed 6.32 per cent to close at N1.78, per share.

However, the total volume traded rose by 18.72 per cent to 302.920 million units, valued at N2.023 billion, and exchanged in 3,743 deals.

Transactions in the shares of Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) topped the activity chart with 107.213 million shares valued at N162.832 million.

Fidelity Bank followed with 39.31 million shares worth N206.01 million, while United Bank for Africa traded 22.60 million shares valued at N190.36 million.

Zenith Bank traded 20.61 million shares valued at N521.29 million, while FCMB Group transacted 12.61 million shares worth N47.83 million.