Investdata Research: Expected 2019Q3 Earnings Release Dates Of Companies On NGSE

Another quarterly earnings reporting season beckons for companies quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), with the announcement of their closed period, following which Investdata Research has estimated expected release dates based on the historical report dates of each. Equity trading for the month of September and indeed the third quarter of the fiscal year closed last Monday. Investors would expectedly rely on numbers presented by the various companies to take informed decisions and correctly determine how to position ahead of the final quarter and indeed, the year.

It is expected that every company listed on the NSE, according to the post-listing rules, should submit their scorecards for the period ended September 31, 2019, through the bourse within 30 days for the end of quarter performance report. This is why companies with December 31 financial year-end must present their Q3 results to the market on, or before October 31, while those with March year-end accounts should publish their Q2 numbers; just as June year-end companies like Guinness Nigeria, are to provide Q1 earnings reports. Those with September year-end will, like Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, however, are to release their full-year earnings reports within the last quarter of the year, up till December 31.
Most companies on the NSE have December as year-end, especially given that all financial service providers, including banking, insurance, and other financial services.

Knowledge of the importance of earnings to equity investments and the economy at large is likely to add more momentum to the market for the Q3 earnings season as investors look forward to rebalancing their portfolios on the strength of actual numbers that will reveal the state of the various companies. It will also give insight into what the full-year accounts of the companies would look like.
However, market reactions to these numbers will depend on the strength of the earnings reported and the level of liquidity available to the market.
This year, the earliest filer of third-quarter accounts for the period ended September 31, 2019, was Infinity Trust Mortgage Plc which released its earnings report to the market on Wednesday. The numbers posted were impressive, as Gross Earnings for the period grew by 38.54% to N993.86m, while profit rose by 34.63% to N293.46m.

As we know, the economy has not been friendly to most companies, Nigerians and, indeed, business operators. Investing should, therefore, not expect positive surprises as such, but a mix of mild performance and utter disappointment. This is because the nation’s productivity and consumption levels have continued to struggle, a situation that is expected to reflect on their performance.
Worthy of note is the high cost of funds and operations associated with doing business or running these companies, with infrastructure remaining poor and worsening on a daily basis.

Research shows that an increasing number of companies with their shares listed on the NSE are complying with their post-listing requirements, thereby boosting investor confidence, while at the same time helping them plan their investment and ensure appropriate pricing of the stocks.

The tables above and below shows the expected release date of various company results to guide you: