Invest Data Consulting Ltd

Despite a 30% growth in gross written premium for the year ended December 31, 2017, directors of AXA Mansard, on Wednesday reported a mere 2% limp in profit after tax for the period, even as they have recommended a six kobo dividend per share for approval at the next annual general meeting to consider the accounts. According to the result submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), gross written premium rose from N20.713bn to N26.824bn; while gross premium income increased to N26.198bn from N20.676bn; with non-life as the biggest premium earner at N11bn, while the life business yielded N3.87bn, bringing total insurance revenue to N14.71bn; followed by the N5.871bn from the health maintenance segment. Property development contributed N3.026bn; and pension management, N580.284m. Re-insurance expenses increased to N12.409bn from N9.727bn; leaving net premium income at N13.788bn, representing a 26% improvement over the N10.949bn recorded in 2016. Fee and commission on insuran...

Jeddah-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) says it has extended a combined $50m to enable three Nigerian banks finance Small and Medium-scale Enterprises in the country. According to Reuters, the multilateral body said it had signed $20m financing agreements with Wema Bank and Jaiz Bank; and another $10m for SunTrust Bank. the ICD, the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank, has in recent years sought to expand its activities across Africa, home to a quarter of the world’s Muslims. The funds would be extended to SMEs in sectors like health, communication, technology, manufacturing and agriculture, the ICD said. The ICD has previously extended financing of $120 million for Nigerian businesses, while advising several African governments on their plans to issue Islamic bonds, including Senegal, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast. A statement by the ICD Management noted “the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have a crucial role ...

Mid-week’s trading session on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) had a very hard roll over on the major support level to the downside, following through the four-day downtrend as a result of the persisting sell-offs to close the session lower on a high traded volume. It was a session that dragged the market deeper into the bearish zone as the NSE Index dropped at the opening, rallied back to intraday highs of 41,280.46 resistance level, but could not get through, came down and made lower-lows to breakdown the psychological line of 41,000 which had been an inflection point. The NSE trading board was mixed, but mostly red as the highly capitalized stocks shed value, despite their impressive financials and high dividend payout for the 2017 financial year. The NSE All-Share index broke down the yellow trend line, confirming that the market has just entered its long bearish mode, since the full year earnings season has not influenced equity prices positively or supported market value....

The board of Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), on Tuesday presented its audited result for the year ended December 31, 2017, showing that profit grew at a faster pace than turnover, just as cost of sales was constrained, just as the management successfully reduced borrowings for the period. The directors have therefore recommended a dividend of N1.57bn, which translates to N1.25 per share for the period, to be distributed subject to shareholders’ approval at the next annual general meetinging. Turnover for the period rose 39% from N14.087bn to N19.588bn, almost of which was earned from selling cement in Nigeria, while only N154.979m came from outside the country. CCNN’s cost of sales could only rise by 18% to N11.983bn from N10.151bn, the lion’s share of which was the N6.694bn energy cost, as against N5.399bn in 2016; followed by N1.61bn spent on raw materials and consumables, down from N2.031bn; while salaries, wages and benefits gulped N1.403bn, up from N1.241bn. T...

Kennedy Uzoka, group managing director of the United Bank for Africa Plc, says the regulatory permission by its London subsidiary to carry out Wholesale Banking activities in the UK is another step to truly becoming Africa’s global bank, providing support to customers across the real sector of the continent’s economy. A statement by the group said the upgrade of UBA Capital (Europe) Ltd to United Bank for Africa (UK) Limited, makes it only Sub-Saharan African bank to conduct banking activities in New York and London, as well as in 20 other countries across Africa. The statement quoted Uzoka as saying: the “authorisation strengthens our capabilities in meeting the growing cross-border financing needs of our customers. It enhances our customer coverage and product offerings whilst positioning our group as an optimal conduit for trade and foreign investments into and across Africa as well as export flows to the United Kingdom. “Importantly, the licence will enable us to fulfill o...

Trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Tuesday extended its bearish trend on a continued volatility wave to close lower amidst a low traded volume and negative sentiments, despite the impressive 2017 corporate earnings and weak inflow of funds into the market, which had made equity prices react positively to the high dividend payout and yields. Even so, major market players continue to stylishly take profit because they had factored in these numbers into their pricing before now, given that the stock market is a discounting machine that prices the future into the present. Nigeria’s case is seemingly not peculiar, given the continued decline of equity market indicators in the international markets, due to technical shake up of global economies and markets, despite the rising crude oil price over the last year, trading above $65 per barrel which is near its 52-week high. Trading on the NSE on Tuesday started out on a weak note which was sustained through the mid-morning till m...

The stock market started the week on Monday very volatile, closing flat, as the day started out with a gap up which was sustained from the mid-morning till noon before a reversal due to the intra-day profit booking in banking stocks that plunged the index in the closing minutes. This pull was strong enough, forcing the session to close marginally lower. Trading in recent days have formed a double bottom, but continues to side-trend at 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level which suggests that the market is resisting to breakdown this major support despite the mixed sentiment in the trading arena. The NSE index has retested this level in the last four trading sessions, trying to retrace up on a mixed volume of up and down movements. Bottoming out of the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s All-Share index is imminent, especially as investor sentiments are strengthening, as the earnings reporting seasons reaches its peak this week, just as the first quarter ends and the filings are expected by the ...

http://investdata.com.ng/2018/03/expect-month-end-rebalancing-positioning-ahead-regulatory-deadline-december-accounts/

Caption: Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; Co-Chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Bill Gate; President, Global Development, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Chris Elias; Country Director, Nigeria Office of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Paulin Basinga, during a meeting on vaccine financing and support for Nigeria’s fiscal agenda in Abuja on Thursday, 22nd March, 2018. http://investdata.com.ng/2018/03/photo-news-finance-minister-gates-foundation-meet-vaccine-financing-nigeria/#more

Caption: Dr. Mrs. Ije Jidenma, F.IoD, Second Vice President, Institute of Director (IoD); Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Alhaji Ahmed Rufai Mohammed, President/Chairman of Council, IoD; Chief (Dr.) Chris Okunowo, First Vice President, IoD; Samuel Yemi Akeju, Immediate Past President, IoD and Bola Adeeko, Head, Shared Services Division, NSE during the Closing Gong Ceremony at the Exchange 0n Tuesday, March 20, 2018. http://investdata.com.ng/2018/03/photo-news-institute-directors-nigeria-president-sound-closing-gong-nse/#more

By Charles Robertson, Renaissance Capital Despite the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) declaring last month that they will push ahead with a single currency by 2020, we think this is not credible. Nigeria’s critique that a single currency is unwise at this time is valid. We think an East African single currency by 2024 is also unlikely. Ghana says it’s keen for a single ECOWAS currency by 2020, even without Nigeria The market has entirely ignored the leaders of ECOWAS who on 21 February reaffirmed their commitment to a single currency for up to 15 ECOWAS member states, to be enacted by 2020. This is partly explicable because Nigeria has made clear its lack of interest in joining the single currency at this stage. While ECOWAS had a GDP of $566bn in 2017 (IMF estimate) or 25% of Africa’s and 37% of SSA’s GDP, without Nigeria, the figures are less significant at $171bn and 8% and 11%, respectively, of which half would be accounted for by Ivory ...

Market Update for March 22, 2018 It was a spectacular trading session on Nigeria’s equity market on Thursday, as the benchmark All-Share index halted a six-day consistent pullback of mixed investors sentiment but weak inflow that kept the market’s movement in the south direction, irrespective of impressive earnings and dividend payouts announced by the quoted companies. As INVESTDATA has noted repeatedly, the market’s technical correction had created buy opportunities for bargain hunters to capitalize on the decline and relatively low equity prices to position for short term rally. Money flow index turned the corner, moving north at the end of Thursday’s trading session to signal that funds are again entering the market after several days of seizure apparently to wait for more numbers, especially the blue-chips and banking stocks. The day’s trading started with a little gap up, but pulled back by the mid-morning when it became obvious that the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) In...

Nigeria’s upper legislative chamber- the Senate, on Thursday approved the appointment Mrs. Aisha Ahmad and of Edward Lametek Adamu as Deputy Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and three of the four Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari. Despite the Senate’s decision to withhold the approval of the fourth MPC, the two-day meeting at which the nation’s benchmark Monetary Policy Rate (MPC) is fixed is expected to open on April 3 as announced by Godwin Emefiele, the CBN Governor. Considering the report of the Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, presented by Senator Rafiu Adebayo, Senate President Bukola Saraki said Aisha Ahmad and Edward Lametek Adamu had been confirmed as deputy governors, while Prof. Festus Adenikinju, Aliyu Rafindadi Sanusi and Robert Chinwendu Asogwa had been appointed to the MPC. The Senate however rejected the nomination of Asheikh Maidugu, urging the President to expedite ...

Market Update for March 22, 2018 It was a spectacular trading session on Nigeria’s equity market on Thursday, as the benchmark All-Share index halted a six-day consistent pullback of mixed investors sentiment but weak inflow that kept the market’s movement in the south direction, irrespective of impressive earnings and dividend payouts announced by the quoted companies. As INVESTDATA has noted repeatedly, the market’s technical correction had created buy opportunities for bargain hunters to capitalize on the decline and relatively low equity prices to position for short term rally. Money flow index turned the corner, moving north at the end of Thursday’s trading session to signal that funds are again entering the market after several days of seizure apparently to wait for more numbers, especially the blue-chips and banking stocks. The day’s trading started with a little gap up, but pulled back by the mid-morning when it became obvious that the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) In...

The share price of Cadbury Nigeria Plc fell 9.6% down Monday, just when the board released its December 31, 2017 audited result showing a return from loss in the prior year on the back of a lean growth in sales revenue, which was a far cry from that of its closest rival- Nestle Nigeria for the same period. That notwithstanding, the result showed improved management of the company, given that profit grew by 201.2%, significantly faster than the 10.34% of sales revenue, based on which the directors are recommending a dividend per share of 16 kobo, representing all of the Earnings Per Share for the period. This is however subject to shareholders’ approval at the next annual general meeting. Turnover grew from N29.979bn to N33.079bn, the bulk of which was the N29.386bn from domestic sales from N27.365bn, while export sales was N3.693bn from N2.613bn; cost of sales climbed to N25.644bn from N23.119bn; leaving gross profit at N7.435bn, compared with N6.86bn. Other income stood at N...

Market Update for Week Ended March 16 and Outlook for March 19-23 The equity market in the past week closed lower to halt two consecutive weeks of recovery trend, despite the combination of earnings surprises from quoted companies, improving consumer confidence level and the outpouring of positive economic data into the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The continued negative sentiments for the ongoing earnings season so far is a great disappointment for market players, especially traders that had positioned for capital gains on the strength of market reactions to released numbers, but so far it had been a different story. The sad reality has been that share price of companies posting positive Q4 numbers with high dividend payouts have continued to nosedive, thereby propelling high volatility in the market, just as optimism among traders in the season and numbers released so far is fading away. On the last trading day of the week, it seems, the market was beginning to react less n...

http://investdata.com.ng/2018/03/nsenigeria-corporate-actions-week-ended-march-16-2018/

http://investdata.com.ng/2018/03/invstdata-price-earnings-tracking-for-week-ended/

Market Update for March 15, 2018 Nigeria’s stock market on Thursday had another weak trading session that was highly volatile, pulling back below its shortest moving averages of 20 and 50 to touch the lower band of the Bollinger, near the recent strong support level of 41,883.82 basis points. A breakdown of this level may lead the market to 37,795.62bp, but with the earnings season midstream, just as the torrent of positive economic data like the February inflation data that stood at 14.33% from 15.3% in the prior month, resulting in 13 straight months of decline. This continues to reflect the impact of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continued intervention in the foreign exchange market, which had supported the relatively stable exchange rate, besides boosting the ongoing economic recovery and company fundamentals. These and the sentiment induced low price regime in the market are expected to attract bargain hunters at this point and in the process support a market rebound as...

A new report by Amnesty International say Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA may have misled Nigeria’s regulators by wrongly attributing oil spills to theft and sabotage in order to avoid paying compensation to affected communities in the Niger Delta region. There were “at least 89 spills may have been wrongly labeled as theft or sabotage when in fact they were caused by ‘operational’ faults,” Bloomberg reported the London-based group said in the report released on Thursday. “Of these, 46 are from Shell and 43 are from Eni. If confirmed, this would mean that dozens of affected communities have not received the compensation that they deserve.” Shell and Eni, along with ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Total SA operate joint ventures with state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. that pump most of the crude of Africa’s biggest producer. In the southern Niger River delta, which is home to the country’s oil and gas industry, local communities are frequently in conflict with e...

Nigeria’s construction giant, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc reported a return to profit in the 2017 financial year, posting N2.572bn, compared to a loss of N2.398bn in the prior year, helped by significant growth in “other gains” and investment income. The board has therefore recommended a dividend per share of 25 kobo only, representing a total payout of N330m, for consideration and approval by shareholders at the annual general meeting slated for June 21, 2018 in Abuja. The fit was achieved, according to the result submitted through the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday, came despite the 2.08% limp to N141.89bn revenue from N138.993bn in 2016. Segmental analysis of the revenue showed that the bulk came from civil works which fetched N74.301bn, up from N72.783bn; and building works, which rose from N58.872bn to N60.099bn; while income from services remained flat at N7.489bn from N7.336bn. More specifically, construction contracts accounted for N135.29bn revenue, up from N1...

• Seeks ‘Significant Fall In Fiscal Deficits’ Just soon after a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to put an end to its foreign exchange intervention policy, which started last April to stabilize the Naira against global currencies, Standard and Poor’s’ Global Rating cited it as a basis for affirming its ‘B/B’ rating and stable outlook. In its report on Friday, S&P also noted the country’s increased oil production, which has been helped by the peace in the Niger Delta region where the government is encouraging private investors and oil bearing communities to co-own modular refineries, at a time oil prices are looking up. Other factors, according to the agency include the Federal Government’s external commercial borrowings that have helped to raise foreign currency inflows into the economy in 2017. The report, while affirming the ‘B/B’ long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings on Nigeria, as well as a long- and sho...