Benue Cement grows net earnings by 2,588% Thursday, Jun 18 2009

Benue Cement Company (BCC) Plc appeared set for a record performance this year as the cement company grew net earnings by 2,588 per cent during the first quarter.
Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Benue Cement Company for the three-month period ended March 31, 2009 showed that sales leapt by 796 per cent while net earnings during the three months already surpassed the full-year post-tax profit for 2008.
The report showed a turnover of N9.32 billion in first quarter 2009 as against N1.04 billion recorded in comparable period of 2008. Profit after tax rose from N198.7 million in first quarter 2008 to N5.35 billion in 2009.
The first quarter report further highlighted significant improvement in the operations of BCC since 2008 as recent investments in production expansion and retooling impacted positively on operations.
Audited report and accounts of BCC for the year ended December 31, 2008 had showed that sales roe by 201 per cent while profit after tax tripled by 231 per cent.
The full-year report showed that sales rose from N5.47 billion in 2007 to N16.45 billion in 2008 while net earnings stood at N4.14 billion in 2008 compared with N1.25 billion in 2007.
The board of the cement company however opted for capitalisation of reserves through a scrip issue of one for four shares rather than cash payout.
Alhaji Aliko Dangote, chairman, Benue Cement Company (BCC) Plc, has said the company would ride on the back of improved industrial performance, new capacities and administrative efficiencies to achieve long-term sustainable profitability.
According to him, the production capacity of the cement company could reach three million metric tonnes thus enabling it to improve sales and profitability.
He pointed out that the second production line of the company had been upgraded and commissioned in January 2008.
“When the two kilns lines are totally upgraded we will be able to reach a capacity of 3 million metric tonnes during the year 2008,” Dangote said.
He added that with recent significant investments to increase storage capacity, the resolution of the energy problem would boost local capacity utilisation, bridge the local supply gap and improve profitability.
He however noted the adverse effect of what he described as “negative moves in Government policy on the banning of cement imports” urging that Government policies should support sustainable development of Nigerian manufacturing companies. 
“The company is determined to be a front-runner in the industry and optimistic that Government policies will be fashioned in a manner that would considerably minimise the cost and other constraints of doing business in Nigeria,” Dangote said.
BCC has witnessed enormous investments in rehabilitation and expansion of production facilities since the emergence of Dangote Industries Limited as the new core investor. From its near-comatose pre-privatisation position, the company has emerged as one of the leading cement companies in Nigeria boasting of the highest capacity by any quoted cement company with some three million metric tonnes per annum.
Dangote Industries Limited acquired federal government’s 35.39 per cent equity stake in BCC in April 2000 and following the formal handover, Dangote Industries took physical possession of the company in February 2004.
Incorporated in July 1975 for production and sale of ordinary Portland cement, BCC was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in April 1991.

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UTC breaks 15-year drought with N37m dividends Thursday, Jun 18 2009

UTC Nigeria Plc would be paying its first cash dividend in 15 year this year as the board of the food company recommends distribution of about N37 million to shareholders as return for the 2008 business year.
Although the details of the audited report and accounts of the company for the year ended December 31, 2008 are yet to be made public, directors of the company said they have recommended a dividend per share of 3.0 kobo to shareholders.
The last cash payout by UTC was 14 kobo made for the 1993 business year. The company had however showed positive sign last year with a bonus issue of one for 10 shares, its first form of dividend in some 14 years.
The dividend payout might be an indication in the precarious financial position of UTC, which had been forced to abandon a much-needed recapitalisation in 2008 due to the stock market recession.
UTC had planned to raise new equity funds to sustain its expansion programme as it strives to meet the targets of five factories in Lagos and one each in Ibadan, Ilorin and Abuja in the next three years.
With new management and directors, UTC has recorded considerable improvement in recent years, pulling away from the brink of bankruptcy that greatly emaciated the hitherto large conglomerate.
UTC had consolidated its recovery in 2007 with appreciable improvement in the underlying profitability of the food company. Audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2007 had showed that the company continued to grow sales apace and for the first time in nearly a decade, the company’s operations ended on the positive with operating profit of N68 million in 2007 compared with operating loss of N24 million in 2006.
Stripped of exceptional items, 2007 witnessed the most significant growth in profitability while improved business efficiency saw overall business costs relative to the top-line dropping to its lowest in 2007.
Turnover grew by 54 per cent from N951.6 million in 2006 to N1.47 billion in 2007. Top-line growth was driven by increased products visibility as UTC Nigeria moved its products aggressively to all cadres of consumers. Cost of sales meanwhile rose by 51 per cent to N889.6 million in 2007 as against N587.5 million in 2006. Gross profit thus jumped by 58 per cent from N364 million in 2006 to N575 million in 2007. Operating expenses stood at N547.7 million in 2007 in contrast to N408.6 million in 2006. Interest and other incomes rose by 91 per cent from N21 million in 2006 to N40 million in 2007 while financing charges grew by 21 per cent from N23 million in 2006 to N28 million in 2007. Pre and post tax profits stood at N40.2 million and N37.6 million in 2007 compared with N54.3 million and N52.6 million respectively in 2006. However, adjusted for write backs totaling N101.1 million in 2006, the company was operationally in the red in 2006 with a net loss of N48.5 million as against net earnings of about N38 million in 2007.
 Following this trend, underlying profitability ratios were better in 2007 although exceptional items in 2006 showed otherwise. Gross profit margin continued to build up at 39 per cent in 2007 as against 38 per cent and 32 per cent in 2006 and 2005 respectively. Pre-tax profit margin stood at 2.7 per cent in 2007 while returns on equity and total assets stood at 3.0 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.

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Wema Bank’s new CEO promises new direction Thursday, Jun 11 2009

Mr. Segun Oloketuyi, new managing director and chief executive of Wema Bank Plc has resumed with a promise to take the bank to new heights. This follows the successful acquisition of 40 per cent of the bank’s shares by SW8, which emerged as the new core investor, after a competitive bid endorsed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (Sec). Mr. Oloketuyi, erstwhile executive director of Skye Bank is joined by Mr. Ademola Adebise, formerly of Accenture and Mr. Taiwo Adeniji, former risk manager with the African Finance Corporation (AFC).
At his maiden press briefing yesterday, Oloketuyi said the new management would usher in a new direction for the bank that would leverage on its name and strong franchise. “We are embarking on a three-phased approach of stability, preparing the bank for growth and to grow the bank. We know what to do to grow the bank and we will start today,” he said.
He acknowledged that the bank has been through a rough path but promised that with the cooperation of all stakeholders including shareholders, regulators and staff, the bank would return to profitability.
“From today, over a six months period, we will address those issues that have made our customers and staff to leave the bank. We plan to regain the trust of our customers and deliver superior customer satisfaction. Like the fabled phoenix, Wema Bank will emerge stronger. We will become a beacon of hope,” he stated.
While emphasizing that the immediate challenge facing the new management is the institution of corporate governance, best practices in the bank, Oloketuyi noted that the new team intends to pursue a strategic and sustained transformation plan which would reverse the fortune of the bank.
He acknowledged the immense contribution of the two interim management team appointed by the CBN led by Mr. John Aboh and Mr. Lai Alabi in ensuring that the institution survived and successfully transferring the warehoused shares to the new core investor through a credible and credible process.
He said the new management would not consider sack of workers, adding that it would leverage on the strength of its human capital and carry along those staff that aligns with its vision to build and international institution, adding that the bank would endeavour to remove the toga of an ethnic bank. “The new Wema will not discriminate against tribe or gender. We are not building a regional bank but an international institution. We are not ashamed that Wema’s strength is from the Western region. Cross-border interest will be met. It does not mattern where you come from. Those that will add value, no matter where they are from, we will get them.”

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Banks write-down marginal loans in capital market Tuesday, Jun 9 2009

By Friday Atufe

Commercial banks in Nigeria have begun to write-down marginal loans they extended to their customers to purchase shares in the Nigerian stock market.
Some chief executives of banks who confirmed the development said the provisioning for the credit facilities was in line with the Prudential Guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
One of the chief executives said the degree of the provisioning by banks would differ from one another because of the extent of their involvement in the stock market.
It was learnt that some of the affected banks made 100 per cent provision for the credit with the hope of writing them back to profit if they are repaid by the customers.
The CBN makes it mandatory for banks under the prudential guidelines to classify loans whose principal and interest have been outstanding for 90 days but less than 180 days as substandard, those that are more than 180 days as doubtful while those that are more than 360 days as lost.
Banks provide 10 per cent of the principal of a loan that is substandard, 50 per cent for those that are doubtful and 100 per cent for lost loans.
The negative impact of the on-going provisioning by banks has begun to impact on their bottom lines, thereby making some of them to reduce dividend pay-out and in some places to give bonus instead of cash dividend.
According to the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) “Estimate of the banking industry exposure to the capital is far worse than previously thought, ranging from N1.5 trillion to N2 trillion.”
The CIS noted that most industry insiders know that the exposures not reported by banks were far greater than the reported figures, adding that there is a need to address total banks’ exposures through the following: Exposure through margin accounts to clients, exposure to capital markets operators/stockbrokers, crystallised underwriting to various issuers/institutions, loans created by banks but collaterised with equities and direct/indirect purchase of own shares (treasury stock)
The umbrella body for stockbrokers in the country said these exposures financed mainly by bank deposits resulted in a high bubble in prices which saw the index reach N13.2 trillion by March 5, 2008.
Inability of the loan beneficiaries to repay the loans against the backdrop of heavy losses suffered in the stock market made the CBN to ask banks to restructure the existing facilities extended to licensed stockbrokers, institutional and individual investors to longer repayments periods.
Mr. Dipo Williams, president of the CIS said in Lagos recently that one of the recommendations of the Stockbrokers’ Annual Conference of last year is the need for government to purchase the toxic assets because of the necessity to clean up their balance sheets and give them a breathing space to operate effectively.
He said the government could achieve this either through a special investment vehicle like the Ministry of Finance Incorporated or an asset management company in order to wipe out the excess supply of securities that is weighing down on prices in the stock market.

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Investors renew confidence in Guinness over anticipated result Monday, Jun 8 2009

Guinness Nigeria Plc led the gainers’ chart of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last week with a gain of N9.50 to close the week at N118.50 per share.
Investors exchanged 185.511 million ordinary shares valued N1.625 million in 268 deals.
Stock market analysts attributed renewed investors confidence in the stock to expectation of its third quarter results in the market.
The unaudited result of Guinness for the half-year ended December 31, 2008 showed a turnover of N43.5 billion as against N2.2 billion in the comparable period of 2007. Its profit after tax stood at N8.1 billion compared with N5.4 billion in 2007.
There are indications in the market that the third quarter would be better than that of the corresponding period of 2007.
Chief Ralph Alabi, chairman of the company gave a very positive prospect of the company to the shareholders at its 58th annual general meeting of the company held in Benin-City, the Edo State capital.
He said despite the challenges of the business environment, the business remained resilient with good margins and impressive cash flows, which will continue to support their capacity to return value to their shareholders.
Alabi said they expected the business environment to remain challenging in the immediate and medium term and the board will work with the executive management to ensure that our company continues to adapt as necessary, taking advantage of opportunities and investing for sustainable growth.
The chairman said they intended to continue to meet the needs of their consumers and other stakeholders while investing for their benefit in future, remarking that by doing this successfully and responsibly we are optimistic that we will deliver the greatest rewards to our shareholders and all our other stakeholders.
He said several projects aimed at increasing the capacities of the Lagos and Benin breweries had commenced, adding that work has advanced on the project to connect the Benin operations to gas supply.
Alabi added that all the brands of the company were set to benefit from the growth in the can-packaged segment, which the company pioneered in the industry in 2005. Guinness Nigeria Plc recorded a turnover of N69.2 billion for its financial year ended June 30, 2008 compared with a turnover of N62.3 billion, representing an increase of 11 per cent.
Profit after tax stood at N11.8 million compared with N10.691 million.
Guinness Nigeria is a member company of Diageo Plc, the world’s leading premium drinks business.
Its shares were listed on the NSE in 1965 and it presently has about 60,000 shareholders.
The company built its first brewery in Ikeja in 1962 and later built another brewery in Benin in 1974 to produce Harp lager beer. The facility was expanded to accommodate a second stout brewery, commissioned in 1978.
A fourth Guinness brewery was built in Ogba in 1982 to brew Harp lager beer. It was further expanded to include Guinness Stout. In order to further increase capacity to meet the growing demand for its products, the company in 2004 commissioned another brewery at Aba, Abia State.
Presently, its portfolio include Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, Guinness Extra Smooth, Malta Guinness, Harp lager beer, Gordon’s Spark, Smirnoff Ice and Satzenbrau, .
As at June 30, 2007 it has authorised share capital of N1 billion out of which N737.5 million had been paid up.
Analysis of its shareholding shows that 46.03 per cent of its shares is held by Guinness Overseas Limited, Atalantaf Limited 7.77 per cent and Nigerian citizens and associations 46.2 per cent.

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Market Looking Up Thursday, Apr 30 2009

Investors are now falling for the good earnings report that were reported on the floor of the Exchange in the past few weeks! This surge in market confidence has caused a week-long rally, resulting in price levels making new highs.

Contrary to last last year of deep bearish trends, investors are taking positions in selected companies in order to take advantage of their dividend and bonus declaration were applicable. With prices hitting bottom, it is quite hard to resist the tempting offer

Below are some of the Audited Results of companies made available on the floor of the Exchange last week.

GUARRANTY TRUST BANK PLC

Audited result for the 10 months ended 31st Dec 2008 shows gross earnings of =N= 104.120 billion as against =N= 81.496 billion in the 12 month ending Feb 29 2008.

Profit After Tax (PAT) stood at =N= 28.316 billion compared with =N= 21.169 billion in 2008.

The Bank changed its accounting period from Feb 28 to Dec 31 in 2008 to conform with the common year-end policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for financial institutions and International best practices.

The Board is recommending a dividend of =N= 1.00 per share and a bonus issue of 1 for 4.

The register for members closes on the 6th of May 2009 while payment will be made on the 20 of May 2009.

The 9th AGM is scheduled to hold at Shell Hall, Muson Center Marina, Lagos on Wednesday 20th may, 2009.

 PREMIER PAINTS PLC

Audited result for the year ended 31st Dec 2008 shows turnover of =N= 234.92 million as against =N= 186.02 million in 2007.

PAT stood at =N= 8.7 million compared to =N= 6.11 million in 2007.

The board is recommending a bonus issue of 1 for 5.

The date of closure of register has elapsed while the AGM is scheduled for the company’s Head Office/Factory situated at Km 2 Ifo-Ibogun Road, Ifo Ogun State.

Date: Thurs May 28th 2009.

BETA GLASS PLC

Audited result for the year end 31st Dec 2008 shows turnover of =N= 9.076 billion as against =N= 7.032 billion in 2007.

PAT stood at =N= 1.193 billion as against =N= 866.25 million in 2007.

The board is recommending a dividend of =N= 0.30 per share with date for the closure of register of members set for, 1st June, 2009 while payment date is July 1, 2009.

The 35th AGM is scheduled to hold at the Mainland Hotel Ebute-Metta Lagos on Tues 30th June, 2009.

MULTIVERSE RESOURCES PLC

Audited reslt for the year end 31 Dec 2008 shows turnover of =N= 417.03 million as against =N= 303.32 million in 2007.

PAT stood at =N= 87million compared with =N= 64.7 million in 2007.

The board is recommending a dividend of =N= 0.04 per share. Date for the closure of register will be advised later.

AG LEVENTIS PLC

Audited result for the year ended 31st Dec 2008 shows turnover of =N= 11.221 billion as against =N= 7.238 billion in 2007.

PAT is at =N= 1.129 billion compared with loss Loss After Tax of =N= 286.75 million in 2007.

The board is recommending a final dividend of =N= 0.07 per share.

The date of closure of register of members is May 18 2009 while payment date is June 19 2009. The stock price was earlier adjusted for an interim dividend of =N= 0.10 per share thus, bringing the total dividend payout to =N= 0.17 per share.

The 50th AGM is scheduled to hold at the Main Hotel, Ebute-Metta Lagos on Thurs June 18th 2009.

COURTEVILLE INVESTMENT PLC

Audited result for the year end 31st Dec 2008 shows income of =N= 600.62 million as against =N= 268.45 million in 2007.

PAT stood at =N= 273.35 million compared with =N= 1.8 million in 2007.

The board is recommending a dividend of =N= 0.04 per share with the date for the closure of register of members set for May 5, 2009 while payment date is June 2, 2009.

The 4th AGM of the company will come up on the 26th of May 2009 at the Lagoon Resturant Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, VI Lagos.

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Saturday, Apr 25 2009

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria (GSK) Plc witnessed a major rebound in 2008 with strong growths in sales and net earnings, prompting the board of the healthcare company to increase cash payouts by 33 per cent to N574 million.
The board at the weekend said it has recommended a dividend per share of 60 kobo for the 2008 business year, representing an increase of 33 per cent on a rate of 45 kobo paid in the previous two years.
Audited report and accounts of GSK for the year ended December 31, 2008 showed that sales rose by 23.5 per cent while net earnings grew by 53 per cent, showing an upwardly trend that surpassed earlier projections.
The report showed a major recovery in the operations of GSK, which had suffered a major reversal in 2007. Turnover rose to N12.55 billion in 2008 as against N9.92 billion in 2007. Profit after tax increased from N836.9 million in 2007 to N1.28 billion in 2008.
The board has fixed April 27, 2009 as closure date for the register of members for the current dividend while the dividend becomes payable on May 21, 2009.
The actual performance for 2008 surpassed earlier projections. The board of GSK in its latest profit forecasts said turnover and profit after tax could rise by 25 per cent and 31 per cent respectively tin 2008.
The actual earnings per share of N1.34 represents an increase of about 17 per cent on projected net per share of N1.15. Actual earnings per share stood at 87.5 kobo in 2007.
Directors of the healthcare company had projected net earnings of N1.1 billion and sales of N12.35 billion for 2008.
The performance vindicated market analysts and directors of GSK, who had been upbeat on the performance outlook of the company.
GSK’s sales had dropped by 4.7 per cent while net earnings dropped by about 24 per cent in 2007, which stagnated the company’s cash payout.
The full-year report for 2007 had showed that sales dropped from N10.4 billion in 2006 to N9.91 billion in 2007 while profit after tax dropped to N836.9 million in 2007 as against N1.1 billion in 2006.
Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, chairman, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria (GSK) Plc, had assured shareholders of improved returns in the years ahead as the company draws on new investments and products to keep ahead of competition and macroeconomic challenges.
Addressing shareholders at the 2008 yearly general meeting, Osunkeye said the company has been implementing key growth initiatives that would drive performance in the years ahead.
According to him, there have been on-going investments to upgrade the facilities at the Agbara Factory of the company to ensure timely production of quality products and in required quality.
He said there was also plan to launch new products in the market in order to enlarge the company’s product portfolio.
He added that adequate resources will also be put behind the existing brands in terms of advertisement and product promotions.
“The board and management of the company will continue to manage the company’s human and material resources efficiently and effectively to keep us ahead of competition and bring desirable results to the delight of all our stakeholders,” Osunkeye said.
He noted that the company launched a high performance behaviour programme with a view to drive performance across its businesses and to evolve a contemporary organizational thinking that could help the company meet its future challenges.
Osunkeye had attributed the decline in performance in 2007 to the 2006 ban on importation of essential medicines and the adoption of double combination therapy by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Market capitalisation drops by N16bn

By Chris Ugwu
Trading activities on the floor of Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday close on a negative note as the two main market performance indices, the market capitalisation and All-share index, continued on the decline.
The market capitalisation of equities depreciated by N16 billion or 0.35 per cent to close at N4.5 trillion while the All-share index equally shed 73.39 points or 0.36 per cent to close at 20,296.67 as against 20,370.06 as against its opening index.
The market capitalisation of equities had on Friday closed on a bullish note appreciating by N25 billion to what market watchers thought might sustain for some days going by an anticipation that the confidence is trickling back in the market.
On the whole, 36 stocks appreciated in value with Mobil Nigeria leading the losers’ chart with N4.81 to close at N92.09. African Petroluem followed with a loss of N2.70 to close at N51.48 RT Briscoe Nigeria shed 77 kobo to close at N14.67. Oando depreciated by 60 kobo to close art N66.00. Dangote Sugar Refinery dropped by 42 kobo to close at N14.07. Deap Capital lost N31 kobo to close at N6.01. First Bank depreciated by 30 kobo to close at N15.70. Capital Hotel shed 27 kobo to close at N5.32. Wema Bank dropped by 25 kobo to close at N4.94 while Guaranty Trust Bank shed 24 kobo to close at N10.26 among other losers’.
On the upward side, 37 stocks appreciated in price with Nestle Nigeria leading the gainers table with a gain of N1.00 to close at N141. Flour Mills Nigeria followed with a gain of 67 kobo to close at N14.17. Cadbury Nigeria appreciated by 41 kobo to close at N8.96. Ashaka Cement gained 35 kobo to close at N8.00. Afribank added 30 kobo to close at N6.46. Unilever gained 29 kobo to close at N6.44. Union Bank of Africa appreciated by 27 kobo to close at N8.00. Presco gained 24 kobo to close at N5.04.
Nigerian Breweries appreciated by 23 kobo to close at N37.60 while Zenith Bank added 17 kobo to close at N13.04 among other gainers. Investors exchanged a total of 492.1 million shares worth N2.8 billion in 5,851 deals.
Analysis of transactions showed the banking sub-sector as the most active with a turnover of 423.83 million shares valued at N2.54 billion in 2,924 transactions.
Insurance sub-sector followed with a turnover of 39.54 million shares worth N58.13 million in 548 deals.
Conglomerates recorded 5.97 million shares valued at N11.91 million in 108 transactions.
Information and communication came fourth with a turnover of 4.38 million shares worth N6.95 million in 71 deals while automobile and tyre recorded a turnover of 2.77 million shares valued at N2.82 million in 25 deals.

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Cutix appoints new chief executive Friday, Nov 14 2008

Cutix Plc has appointed Mr. Ifeanyi Uzodike as the new chief executive officer to replace Chief Ajulu Uzodike, the founder and largest shareholder of the company who stepped down from his dual roles of chairman and chief executive officer on November 1, 2008.

Chief Ajulu Uzodike meanwhile retains the chairmanship of the board of the company and has promised to continuously support the new management in the quest to build on the legacy of sustained growths over the years.
The separation of the positions of chairman of board of directors and chief executive officer is a key requirement of the code of corporate governance.  The separation of the two offices further enhanced the corporate governance standard of Cutix, which recently transited from the second tier, where it was initially listed, to the main tier of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
On the basis of its operational performance and corporate governance, NSE has nominated Cutix as one of the two engineering companies to be considered for the NSE President’s Merit Award.
Speaking at the yearly general meeting of the company, Chief Ajulu Uzodike said the board unanimously decided on Ifeanyi Uzodike as the rightful successor that could consolidate the growth of the company.
According to him, the appointment of the Ifeanyi Uzodike was guided by his commitment to the ideals and mission of the company and proven leadership traits within and outside the company.
He noted that since his employment in 1991, Ifeanyi has held several management positions that put in good stead to lead the company as the chief executive.
He added that one of the reasons for taking Cutix to the Exchange was to help create a culture where good business practices about separation of ownership and management are followed so that the company would have a good chance of surviving the founder and founding owners and stakeholders.
He assured that the new management would sustain the growth of the company pointing out that the company has commenced implementation of a new business development plan that would help to sustain steady growth in turnover and profitability in the years ahead.  He pointed out that the company’s high level of investments enhances its prospects for growth in the short to medium term adding that the international quality of its processes and the highly reliable quality of its products should enable the company to get a bigger market share for its products.
“We have reached an advanced stage in the inauguration of our newly acquired power cable machines.
Other machines have been acquired and are being installed to increase our manufacturing depth. A new factory site is more than 50 per cent developed,” Uzodike said.
He said the company would continue to rely on internally generated funds to finance its growth projects although it could here ad there use small amounts of medium term debt.
The intrinsic profitability of Cutix had dropped by three percentage points in the immediate past year, leading to decline in distributable earnings to shareholders.
Audited report and accounts of Cutix for the year ended April 30, 2008 showed that pre-tax profit margin dropped from 18 per cent in 2007 to 15 per cent in 2008, which impacted negatively on actual profits before and after tax in spite of 23 per cent growth in sales.
With 53 per cent decline in basic net earnings per share, the board of the company has recommended retaining cash dividend per share of 12 kobo. The company had paid cash dividend per share of 12 kobo in addition to a bonus issue of one for one in 2007.
The audited report showed that profit after tax dropped from N121.7 million in 2007 to N114.5 million in 2008. Profit before tax had risen marginally by 4.3 per cent to N195.6 million in 2008 as against N187.6 million in 2007.

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Market capitalisation hits =N=175bn Friday, Nov 14 2008

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) continued its upward swing yesterday as market capitalisation of quoted companies appreciated by N175 billion to close at N8 trillion, representing an increase of 2.23 per cent.
The All-share index of the NSE also rose by 2.23 per cent to close at 36,538.14 points in contrast to 35,738.02 points recorded as its opening index.
The market had gained about N611 billion within five days of rebound as most blue chip companies continued to record some considerable levels of appreciation.
Yesterday, 65 stocks appreciated in price. Guinness led the gainers’ chart N4.49 to close at N94.37. Nigerian Breweries followed with N1.97 to close at N41.51. Zenith Bank appreciated by N1.29 to close at N27.14. First Bank added N1.22 to close at N25.70. Nigerian Bottling Company gained N1.19 to close at N37.99. UBA added 84 kobo to close at N17.73 while Glaxosmithkline rose by 83 kobo to close at N17.59.
Other gainers included Dangote Sugar that gained 81 kobo to close at N17.12; RT Briscoe rose by 77 kobo to close at N16.30 while GTBank added 76 kobo to close at N15.98.  On the downward side, 22 stocks depreciated in price. Oando led the losers’ chat with N6.59 to close at N125.28, Julius Berger followed with N2.80 to close at N61.60, Flour Mill lost N2.42 to close at N46.51, Benue Cement Company shed N1.95 to close at N37.17, BOC Gases dropped by 94 kobo to close N17.97 while UAC Property shed 59 kobo to close at N23.62.
Also, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria lost 54 kobo to close at N10.29; Vitafoam lost 37 kobo to close at N7.10, Ekocorp shed 34 kobo to close at N6.49, while Neimeth dropped by 26 kobo to close at N4.98.   A total of 380.32 million shares valued at N3.68 billion exchanged hands in 10,426 deals. Analysis of transactions showed the banking sub-sector as the most active leading with a turnover of 229.97 million shares worth N2.97 billion in 6,301 deals. Banking sub-sector’s turnover was boosted by trading in the shares of Oceanic Bank with a turnover of 42.94 million valued at N606.96 million in 899 deals and Access Bank, which recorded a turnover of 34.69 million valued at N303.58 million in 684 deals.
The insurance sub-sector followed with a turnover of 94.79 million shares valued at N175.57 million in 1,296 deals. The sector was driven by the activities on Investment and Allied Assurance with a turnover of 15.1 million shares worth N7.55 million in 113 deals.

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Are We Finally Safe? Saturday, Jul 19 2008

The market seems to have finally recovered from its slump over the past several weeks. A number of reasons had been given for the slowdown: from budget delay, margin account stoppage to the credit crunch in the US, lack of confidence in the market, and so on. But the bottom line is, the market went through a period of correction, a quite normal thing. For a while before the decline, equities had been trading consistently above their value, as so much money chased after limited number of quoted stocks on the Exchange. The result was that momentum traders and profit seekers throw money at stocks thereby pushing prices higher and higher. Value investors could hardly get good stocks at bargain prices to buy.

The three or four weeks of decline was, however, a great window of opportunity for value investors, who had been nudged of the market, to take positions in good quality companies at near or their intrinsic values. With the rebound, analysts have also come forward with what could be responsible. The rebound has been largely attributed to encouraging corporate results so far released. Yes, good results have helped somewhat, especially with dividends and bonuses declared by some of the companies. Whatever the cause of the new confidence, it is too early to celebrate the return of the bulls, as some are already doing. Is the rebound a temporary reprieve or are the bulls truly back? Well, whatever the case, this is still a good period to take positions in good quality companies at give away prices.

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NB to Invest in Capacity Building Monday, May 12 2008

Nigerian Breweries Plc (NB) has said its commitment to invest in both material and human resources in order to sustain its desire of being a leading company in the country.
Mr. Micchiel Herkemij, managing director NB who stated this at the presentation of the company’s fact behind the figure at the Nigerian Stock Exchange said the need to invest more in capacity building has became necessary going by the strong demand experienced in the consumption of its products last year and also to help surmount the rising tempo of the competitors.
Herkemij noted that part of the model of investment would include renewing of the company’s Brewery in Lagos and Kaduna, bringing back the brewing of Star and Gulder beer in Aba, Abia State and also to commence brewing of Fayrouz in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo state.
He explained that due to the astronomical increase in the importation of raw materials into the country and the emergence of food crisis in the world, the company would develop local materials for the production of raw materials such as sorghum among others.
Herkemij noted that the sales were running at a maximum capacity due to the innovation initiated by the company in introducing can beer and Fayrouz a non-alcoholic premium soft drink.
“We successfully commissioned a canning line in Lagos Brewery as well as launched three of our products, Star, Heineken and Amstel Malta in can packages. The response of consumers to the can has been overwhelming.
‘In addition, we successfully had a re-launches for Gulder and Amestel Malta, in 2007 our non-alcoholic premium soft drink, Fayrouz marked a successful full year in Nigeria market,” Herkemij said
He said identified power supply as one of the major challenges facing the company, remarking that the power sector has not witnessed the desired level of improvement.
The managing director noted that the challenges facing the business with regard to electricity supply and other social infrastructure still continue to burden the cost level of companies.
He appealed to the government and other stakeholders to urgently find a lasting solution because of the rising wave of cost of production arising from dearth of power supply.
Herkemij commended the company’s key distributors and transporters for their untiring efforts in making sure that the company’s products are found all over the country.
He noted that the company is targeting a high profit margin this year going by the excellence performance in 2007.
Herkemij explained that the perfomances of the company resulted in an unprecedented profit after tax (PAT) of N18.9 billion in 2007 as against N10.9 billion posted in 2006 representing an increase of 74 per cent while operating profit rose by N27.3 billion in 2007 compared to N16.9 in 2006 representing an increase of 61 per cent.
He said that profit before tax grew by 70 per cent from N16.4 in 2006 to N27.8 in 2007.
Herkemij noted that the company recorded a turnover of N111.7 billion in 2007 against N86.3 billion posted in 2006 which signified an increase of 29 per cent while shareholders’ funds rose by N43.1 billion compared to N36.2 billion amounting to an increase of 19 per cent.

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CAP, Flour Mills, Goldlink Insurance post N80.9 billion Tuesday, Apr 8 2008

Three quoted companies have presented about N80.9bn to the NSE as turnover in their respective accounting years with cumulative profit that stood at about 5.073bn.

Flour Mills topped the list followed by CAP and Goldlink insurance. Flour Mills unaudited Q3 report showed a turnover of N74.54bn as against N59bn in the comparable period of 2006. its PAT stands at N3.65bn as against N3.9bn in 2006.

On the same hand, CAP posted an impressive record in the year under review. The companie’s audited results for the year ended 31st Dec 2007 shows turnover of N2.1bn as against N2bn in 2006. Its PAT stood at N829.8m a far notch higher from last year’s N312.75m.

On the profitability chart is Goldlink Insurance with a net premium of N2.32bn as against N2.02bn in 2006. its PAT stands at N594m as against N516.5m in the previous year.

The board of Goldlink Insurance have recommended a dividend of 50 kobo per share with date of closure of register to be announced on a later date.

The board of CAP will be paying out an all time high dividend of N3.75 if the approval of the shareholders is gotten to the effect.
The directors recommends a final dividend pay out of N3, a cumulative of interim dividends. If one recalls, the stock price had on the 27th of August 2007 been adjusted for an interim dividend of 0.75kobo. This will bring the total dividend payout to N3.75 per share of the company.
Date of closure is fixed for april and payment will take effect as from May.

Flour Mills has remained silent on dividend.

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Oasis set for new funds Friday, Mar 28 2008

Oasis Insurance Plc has sought for regulatory approval to access the capital market for new equity funds as more insurance companies respond to the competition-induced recapitalisation in the industry.
Market sources said Oasis Insurance would simultaneously be issuing new shares to existing shareholders at N4 per share and to the general investing public at N4.20 per share.
The company has already submitted application to capital market regulators for the verification and clearance of the offer documents. The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) confirmed receipt of application for rights and public offers from Oasis Insurance.
Subsequent to the application, market consideration of Oasis Insurance was on Wednesday placed on technical suspension, which implies that the share price on the secondary market will remain static at N5.43 until two weeks after the closure of application lists for the offers.
Oasis Insurance has recently released its audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2007 with a recommendation for three kobo cash payout per share.
The report showed that gross premium dropped from N293 million in 2006 to N277.2 million in 2007. However, profit after tax improved from N113.6 million in 2006 to N138.2 million in 2007.
The new issues by Oasis Insurance would further heighten the competition for new equity funds by insurance companies. Insurance companies had shortly after the statutory recapitalisation exercise in 2007 began returning to the capital market to beef up their capital base for national and international expansions.
Two insurance companies, Custodian and Allied Insurance and Standard Alliance Insurance are currently sourcing about N23 billion through rights and public offers.
Custodian is simultaneously offering 400 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N5.20 per share on the basis of one for 10 shares to existing shareholders and 350 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N5.20 per share through IPO to the general investing public. Both offers opened on Wednesday March 19, 2008 and will close Monday, March 31, 2008. Minimum subscription for the IPO is 1,000 ordinary shares or N5, 200 and thereafter in multiples of 100 ordinary shares.
Standard Alliance Insurance is offering 4.75 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each through public offer for subscription at N3.95 per share. The offer opened on March 14, 2008 and will close on March 31, 2008.
Market analysts see good prospect in the insurance sector generally.
Mr. Bolaji Balogun, managing partner, Chapel Hill Advisory Partners, said various favourable government policies including the local content policy and compulsory group life insurance and the recapitalisation of the sector have positioned insurance companies to maximise emerging opportunities in the Nigerian economy and beyond.
According to him, the insurance sector generally as a positive outlook but well-positioned companies in the sector have greater prospect of better returns.
He added that the recapitalisation of the insurance sector would enable the companies to participate in large-ticket insurance businesses especially in the lucrative oil and gas sector

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Upcoming AGMs Wednesday, Mar 26 2008

• SCOA PLC
• SHERATON HOTEL IKEJA
• NESTLE
• ACADEMY PRESS PLC

• WAPCO PLC
• NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC
  

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Upcoming Offers Wednesday, Mar 26 2008

• DEAP CAPITAL PLC
• SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC
• STACO INSURANCE PLC
• CRUSADER INSURANCE PLC
• UNITY BANK PLC
• UTC PLC
  

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