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The first trading session of this week at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a bearish note on Monday with a 0.11 per cent loss.

Business Post reports weak investor sentiment resulted in sell-offs at the bourse yesterday, especially in the financial and industrial goods sectors.

According to data obtained from Customs Street, the insurance space closed lower by 1.22 per cent during the session as the industrial goods index fell by 0.53 per cent, and the banking counter weakened by 0.11 per cent.

However, the energy and the consumer goods counters witnessed bargain-hunting, resulting in their respective indices growing by 0.44 per cent and 0.02 per cent.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 103.23 points to 98,107.52 points from 98,210.75 points, and the market capitalisation decreased by N62 billion to N59.472 trillion from N59.534 trillion.

On Monday, the market breadth index was negative after 19 stocks appreciated and 36 stocks depreciated, with the laggards’ chart led by Secure Electronic Technology due to a 10.00 per cent decline in its share price to 63 Kobo.

Guinea Insurance lost 8.93 per cent to trade at 51 Kobo, Deap Capital shed 8.40 per cent to N1.09, DAAR Communications fell by 7.02 per cent to 53 Kobo, and RT Briscoe declined by 6.12 per cent to N2.30.

On the flip side, Golden Guinea Breweries and the NGX Group appreciated by 10.00 per cent each to sell for N5.94 and N27.50 apiece, Tantalizers grew by 9.92 per cent to settle at N1.33, Africa Prudential soared by 9.72 per cent to N11.85, and Coronation Insurance increased by 9.35 per cent to N1.17.

During the session the trading volume and value went down by 58.11 per cent and 26.29 per cent, respectively, while the number of deals jumped by 31.43 per cent.

This was because the bourse recorded a turnover of 436.0 million shares worth N12.9 billion in 9,489 deals yesterday compared with the 1.0 billion shares valued at N17.5 billion traded in 7,220 deals last Friday.

FCMB led the activity chart after the sale of 61.7 million equities for N575.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 51.1 million shares valued at N1.2 billion, UBA traded 27.2 million stocks worth N914.5 million, GTCO transacted 24.5 million shares valued at N1.3 billion, and Fidelity Bank sold 24.1 million equities worth N377.7 million.

-By Dipo Olowookere

FCMB Group has projected gross earnings of N226.93bn for the first quarter ending March 31, 2025.

In its earnings forecast filed with the Nigeria Exchange recently, the bank expects interest income to reach N197.4bn, with interest expense projected at N101.99bn, resulting in a net interest income of N95.4bn.

Additionally, FCMB anticipates N3.47bn in foreign exchange earnings and N3.62bn from securities trading. Transaction commissions are forecast to contribute N18.12bn, while other income is expected to reach N3.15bn. This brings the bank’s total net operating income for the quarter to N124.93bn.

On the expense side, FCMB forecasts loan losses/writebacks of N11.44bn and operating expenses of N79.87bn. The bank is expecting a profit before tax of N33.62bn and a profit after tax of N31.29bn, following a tax expense of N2.33bn.

For cash flow, FCMB Group projects operating cash flow before working capital changes to a total of N49.25bn.

After working capital changes and taxes, the net cash generated from operating activities is expected to be N58.35bn. The bank also forecasts a net increase in cash and cash equivalents of N32.98bn, bringing the total cash and cash equivalents at the end of Q1 2025 to N708.31bn.

Last week, FCMB Group Plc reported a profit after tax of N82.4bn for the nine months ending September 30, 2024, reflecting a 68 per cent growth compared to N49.2bn in the same period last year.

-By Temitope Aina

 

 

The Naira recorded a 3.3 per cent or N52.80 appreciation on the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, December 9 to close at N1,552.50/$1 compared with the preceding session’s rate of N1,605.30/$1.

However, on the Pound Sterling, the local currency depreciated during the trading day by N1.32 to wrap the session at N1,961.93/£1 compared with last Friday’s value of N1,960.61/£1 and against the Euro, the Nigerian currency slumped by 57 Kobo to trade at N1,623.84/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s rate of N1,624.41/€1.

The mixed outcome occurred amid a decline in the value of FX transactions in the spot by 35.9 per cent or $62.83 million to $112.32 million from the $175.15 million recorded last Friday, according to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange.

Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS), an electronic platform introduced to tackle speculation and improve transparency in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.

In a circular announcing the EFEMS platform, the apex bank explained that it facilitates spot foreign exchange transactions between the Naira and the US Dollar.

The platform, operated through Bloomberg’s BMatch system, requires a minimum trade value of $100,000, with incremental trade sizes of $50,000.

CBN stated that the platform automatically matches buy and sell orders, promoting fairness and efficiency in FX trading.

But in the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira weakened against the Dollar yesterday by N40 to quote at N1,620/$1, in contrast to the previous trading day’s value of N1,580/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, the bears took control as analysts and traders warned of short-term selling pressure amid an overheated market after a November rally.

Also, internet giant, Google, announced benchmark tests on its new Willow quantum computing chip — which led to market concerns about what it meant for crypto privacy and wallet security.

Cardano slumped by 12.3 per cent to trade at $1.01, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 11.1 per cent to sell at $113.77, Ripple (XRP) dropped 9.9 per cent to $2.21, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 7.7 per cent to $0.4099, and Solana (SOL) depreciated by 5.6 per cent to sell at $217.45.

Further, Ethereum (ETH) decreased by 4.5 per cent to $3,731.16, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped by 3.2 per cent to sell for $694.82, and Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 3.7 per cent to quote at $97,243.61, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.

-By Adedapo Adesanya

 

 

MRS Oil Nigeria Plc has projected a revenue of N129.36bn for the first quarter of 2025, as revealed in its latest financial forecast.

In a corporate notice filed on the Exchange on Monday by its Chief Finance Officer, Muideen Salami The company anticipates a gross profit of N4.81bn, with cost of sales amounting to N124.54bn.

The company is also forecasting an operating profit of N2.3bn, after factoring in distribution, administrative, and other expenses of N2.61bn.

Other income is expected to total N86.94m, with finance costs set at N49.95m. Profit before tax for the period is projected at N2.25bn, while profit after tax is estimated at N1.52bn. The company’s earnings per share for the period are forecast at N4.42.

In its statement on cash flow, MRS Oil Nigeria expects operating cash flow before working capital changes to reach N1.77bn. Net cash generated from operating activities is projected at N1.85bn, while cash flow from investing activities is anticipated at N787.25m.

The company forecasts a net increase in cash and cash equivalents of N1.06bn, bringing its cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period to N7.29bn, up from N6.22bn at the beginning of the quarter.

Earlier this year, The PUNCH reported that the profit of oil & gas firm MRS Oil Plc rose by 272 per cent to N4.89bn in 2023.

-By Temitope Aina

In the third quarter of 2024 (Q3 2024) Value Added Tax (VAT) rose by 14.16 per cent to N1.78 trillion.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this in its report titled: “VAT Q3 2024.”

The report recalled that it rose from the N1.56 trillion of the second quarter of 2024.

NBS said, “On the aggregate, Value Added Tax (VAT) for Q3 2024 was reported at N1.78 trillion, showing a growth rate of 14.16% on a quarter-on-quarter basis from N1.56 trillion in Q2 2024.”

The document said local payments recorded were N922.87 billion, Foreign VAT Payments were N448.85 billion, while import VAT contributed N410.62 billion in Q3 2024.

It said on a quarter-on-quarter basis, Human heath and social work activities recorded the highest growth rate with 250.39%, followed by the Activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use with 102.09%.

NBS added that Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities had the least growth rate with –41.92%, followed by activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies with –36.14%.

Continuing, the report said “In terms of sectoral contributions, the top three largest shares in Q3 2024 were Manufacturing with 22.21%; Information and Communication with 20.89%; and Mining & Quarrying activities with 18.90%.

“Nevertheless, Activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use recorded the least share with 0.01%, followed by Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies with 0.01% and Water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities with 0.03%. “However, on a year-on-year basis, VAT collections in Q3 2024 increased by 88.00% from Q3 2023.”

Similarly, the Bureau said on the aggregate, Company Income Tax (CIT) for Q3 2024 was reported at N1.77 trillion, indicating a growth rate of –28.20% on a quarter-on-quarter basis from N2.47 trillion in Q2 2024.

NBS said local payments received were N920.91 billion, while Foreign CIT Payment contributed N852.29 billion in Q3 2024.

According to the bureau, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply recorded the highest growth rate with 47.51%, followed by Public administration and defence, compulsory social security with 19.25%. On the other hand, accommodation and food service activities had the least growth rate with –73.32%, followed by Financial and insurance activities with –70.04%.