Naira Depreciates To N827.83/$1 At Official Market

The naira again declined against the US dollar at the official market on Thursday, exchanging for N827.83 to one U.S dollar after a slight appreciation on Wednesday which saw the local currency exchanging at N818.99/$1. This is still a slight gain when compared to the N850.22 it recorded on Tuesday. However, the naira closed flat at the parallel forex market where forex is sold unofficially, the exchange rate closed at N1140/$1 as against the same N1140/$1 it quoted on Wednesday, representing 0.00 per cent, while peer-to-peer traders quoted around N1127.01/$1.  The intraday high recorded was N1100/$1, while the intraday low was N751.00/$1, representing a wide spread of N348.78/$1. Similarly, the naira also fell to the Euro, exchanging at N1,175/€1 at the parallel market, while it goes for N898.44/€1 at the official market. Also the pound sterling goes for N1,370 and N1029.7441 at the parallel and official market respectively. According to data obtained from the official NAFEM window, forex turnover at the close of the trading on Wednesday was $173.51 million, representing a 20.87 per cent increase compared to the previous day.  The local currency struggle at the foreign exchange market is coming on the heels of rising inflation in the country which saw the inflation rate jump to 27.33 per cent in October 2023 as prices of foodstuff continued to increase in the aftermath of the removal of fuel subsidy by the President Bola Tinubu administration. This was according to the October 2023 Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday. The CPI, which measures the changes in the prices of goods and services, rose from 26.72 per cent to 27.33 per cent showing an increase of 0.61 per cent points. “In October 2023, the headline inflation rate increased to 27.33 per cent relative to the September 2023 headline inflation rate which was 26.72 per cent,” the report partly read. “Looking at the movement, the October 2023 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.61 per cent points when compared to the September 2023 headline inflation rate. “Furthermore, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.24 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in October 2022, which was (21.09 per cent). “This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in October 2023 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (October 2022).”

Nigeria’s Equity Market Gains N6bn

The local equity market, on Thursday advanced by N6 billion as gains recorded in the shares of Nigerian Breweries, C&I Leasing, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills among others lifted market activities. Market capitalisation of listed equities increased by N6 billion or 0.02 per cent to N39.059 trillion from N39.053 trillion reported the previous day. The NGX All Share Index also appreciated by ç basis points to 71025.16 points from 71014.34 points reported the previous day. Volume of transactions increased by 186.494 million, representing 63.72 per cent as investors traded 483.847 million shares valued at N4.378 billion in 6545 deals against 297.353 million shares valued at N6.161 billion in 6172 deals. A review of investment showed that Deep Capital and NSLTech  led gainers table,gaining  10 per cent each to close at N0.44 and N0.33 per unit, C&I Leasing followed with a gain of 9.95 per cent to close at N4.53 per share, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills gained 9.85 per cent to close at N22.75 per unit while SCOA Plc added 9.82 per cent to close at N1.23 per share. On the contrary, ABC Transport recorded the highest loss in percentage terms, dropping by 10 per cent to close at N0.90 per unit, ETranzact trailed with a loss of 9.93 per cent to close at N6.80 per unit, Thomas Way fell by 8.95 per cent to close at N3.46 per share. Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.33 per cent to close at N0.22 per unit, Ellah Lakes fell by 7.89 per cent to close at N3.50 per share. Transactions in the shares of Regal insurance led market activities with 104.341 million shares valued at N36.490 million, Oando Plc followed with account of 55.280 million shares worth N676.637 million, Universal insurance traded 53.351 million shares cost N12.338 million, Japaul Gold exchanged 24.949 million shares cost N46.772 million while United Bank for Africa sold a total of 21.492 million shares cost N445.446 million.

Equity Market Rebounds, Gains N140bn

Nigeria’s equity market on Thursday rebounded and gained N140 billion following gains recorded by small and medium stocks in the market. Market capitalisation of listed equities increased by 0.38 per cent to N36.526 trillion from N36.386 trillion reported the previous day. The NGX All Share Index also appreciated by 87.91 basis points to 66570.19 points from 66482.28 points traded on Wednesday. A review of the trading activities showed that Wema Bank led the gainers table in percentage terms, gaining 9.93 per cent to N4.65 per share, Thomas Way followed with a gain of 9.74 per cent to close at N2.14 per share, Regal insurance added 8.82 per cent to close at N0.37 per unit, Daar Communications and Royal Express increased by 8.70 per cent to close respectively to N0.25 per share and N0.50 Kobo per unit. On the contrary, Champion Breweries topped losers’ chart, shedding 9.87 per cent to close at N3.38 per share, Chellaram trailed with a loss of 9.84 per cent to close at N3.48 per unit, ABC Transport fell by 9.72 per cent to close at N0.65 per unit, APDC dropped by 8.57 per cent to close at N1.28 per share, MCNICHOLS dipped by 7.69 per cent to close at N0.60 per unit. Volume of trades increased by 356.485 million, representing a growth 54.22 percent as investors exchanged 1.014 billion shares valued at N4.733 billion in 6959 deals against 657.515 million shares worth N4.597 billion made in 6647 deals the previous day. Transactions in the shares of Neimeth international Pharmaceutical led market activities with 657.094 million shares valued at N985.649 million, Oando Plc followed with account of 75.146 million shares cost N771.243 million, Fidelity Bank traded 35.143 million shares cost N288.091 million, Sterling Bank exchanged 24.430 million shares worth N87.369 million while Ellah Lakes traded 19.018 million shares valued at N76.074 million.

Senate Confirms Olayemi Cardoso As CBN Governor

In a significant development, the Senate has officially confirmed the appointment of Dr. Olayemi Cardoso as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This confirmation comes after thorough screening and evaluation on Tuesday, during which Cardoso’s qualifications and suitability for the role were thoroughly examined. Dr. Cardoso’s confirmation also marks the approval of four nominees for the positions of Deputy Governors at the CBN. These appointments collectively signify a crucial step in shaping the direction of the apex bank’s operations over the next five years. It’s worth noting that Dr. Cardoso had assumed the role of Acting CBN Governor last week, pending his formal screening and subsequent confirmation by the Senate. This confirmation solidifies his position as the head of the CBN and underscores his mandate to lead the nation’s central banking institution. In addition to the CBN appointments, the Senate has set a date for the screening of two additional ministerial nominees, a move proposed by President Bola Tinubu. Dr. Jamila Ibrahim and Ayodele Olawande have been appointed as the Minister of Youths and Minister of State for Youths, respectively, by Tinubu during the National Assembly’s break. Their upcoming screening which will take place on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, will further reshape the composition of the federal cabinet.

CBN Approval Delaying Release of H1 2023 Statements -Access Holdings

The board of Access Holdings Plc has announced that it is awaiting approval from CBN to release its Half-Year (HY) financial results for the period ended 30th June 2023 after completion of the audit of its subsidiaries. In a statement signed at the Nigerian Exchange Limited by the Company Secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, the results would be filed on or before September 30, 2023. “Access Holdings Plc (the Company) wishes to notify the investing public and the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) of a potential delay in the publication of the Company’s Audited Interim Financial Statements for the Half Year ended June 30, 2023 (the Results’). The Company had, on August 14, 2023, requested and obtained the approval of NGX for the Results to be filed on or before September 15, 2023, subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’), due to post-audit completion matters. In line with NGX’s approval, the Company had submitted the Results to the CBN for its approval. However, given the time estimated for the CBN to review the submitted Results, it is envisaged that the Company may be unable to meet the September 15, 2023 timeline for publication of the Results. Based on the foregoing, the Company has sought and obtained an extension of time to file the Results on or before September 30, 2023, subject to CBN’s approval of the Results. In mid-July, Access Holdings completed its acquisition of a majority stake in Finibanco Angola after receiving necessary regulatory approvals from CBN and Angola’s apex bank. The group noted that the bank had signed necessary agreements with minority shareholders of Finibanco Angola S.A. who expressed interest in selling their shares. With the completion of the acquisition, Access Holdings now owns more than 51 per cent stake in Finibanco Angola S.A. Also, Access Bank Plc (flagship subsidiary of Access Holdings) reached an agreement to acquire the sub-saharan subsidiaries of Standard Chartered Bank. In the acquisition deal, Standard Chartered will sell its shareholding in its subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, and Sierra Leone to Access Bank as well as its consumer, private & business banking business in Tanzania. Recall that the Access Holdings’ initial delay in releasing its results was due to ongoing audit activities of the newly acquired sub-subsidiaries of the banking group. Following the completion of its audit activities, it is now seeking final approval from the apex bank before publishing its results to the investing public.

NGX urges FG to create enabling policies to attract listings

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has said that it is working with the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Euroclear to create a dollar settlement platform that will enable tech startups to rise in dollars. The Exchange said that this would create opportunities for domestic investors to have access to their shares and at the same time, contribute to the growth of the Nigerian economy through democratization of capital formation. Speaking during the Annual A&O Fintech webinar themed; Fueling Fintech: The Power of Capital, the Role of Regulation, the Divisional Head, Capital Markets, NGX, Jude Chiemeka, said although public markets are viable options for raising capital, fintechs have preferably opted for private markets because of the regulatory rule of disclosure and stricter governance requirements that is necessary for listing publicly. He explained that to address this issue, NGX received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a technology board for fintechs and tech companies to raise capital.  Chiemeka stressed that the tech board is geared at encouraging tech firms to come to the market and raise capital in local currency, which would prove beneficial amid the high interest rate environment that had made foreign investors hawkish. While stating that the issue of settlements may discourage fintechs from accessing capital in US dollars on the public market, Chiemeka revealed that the Exchange was working on a partnership that is directed at fixing that problem. He said, “NGX is working with CSCS and Euroclear to create a dollar settlement platform that allows tech companies (start-ups or existing ones) to raise capital in dollars. We have reviewed listing procedures for tech companies who want to list. Requirements around the number of shareholders, years of operation among others have been relaxed to catalyse these listings.” Owing to the high-interestb rate environment, Chiemeka said that domestic investors had been allocating their Assets under Management (AuM) to majorly FGN bonds. He further revealed that there had been more outflows than inflows from FPIs and that had impacted the performance of equities in recent times, especially as regards volume and value of transactions. He called on the present administration to eke out deliberate and enabling policies to drive listings on the exchange’s platform.

Zenith Bank wins Best Commercial Bank for consecutive 3rd time

*Grabs Best Corporate Governance awards For a third year running, Zenith Bank Plc has been named the Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria at the World Finance Banking Awards 2023.  The bank also emerged as the Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria, in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards 2023, retaining the award for a second consecutive year. The awards were presented to Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, at the London Stock Exchange recently. The recognitions celebrate the bank’s tremendous feats and milestones in financial performance, financial inclusion, corporate governance, and sustainability. Commenting on the awards, Dr Onyeagwu said: “These awards are a testament to our resilience and ability to adapt to the vagaries of the market as well as our innate capability to engender very stellar business performances through our innovative products and solutions. It also affirms our continued commitment to global best practices in corporate governance, sustainability and corporate social responsibility.” The MD dedicated the awards to the Founder and Group Chairman, Jim Ovia, thanking him for his mentorship and for establishing the basis for a resilient and highly successful institution. He also expressed gratitude to the board for their exceptional leadership, vision, and insight; to the staff for their unwavering commitment and dedication; and to the bank’s customers for making Zenith their preferred bank. World Finance is a foremost international magazine providing extensive coverage and analysis of the financial industry, international business, and the global economy. Its editorial combines award-winning journalism, covering a vast array of topics from banking and insurance to wealth management and infrastructure investment, with contributions from some of the world’s most esteemed economists and theorists and consultants from government think tanks and the World Economic Forum. Zenith Bank’s track record of excellent performance has continued to earn the brand numerous awards, with these latest honours coming on the heels of several recognitions, including being recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital, for the 14th consecutive year, in the 2023 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking published by The Banker Magazine; Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards 2020 and 2022; Best Bank in Nigeria, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa, for four successive years from 2020 to 2023, by the Ethical Boardroom; Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria in the International Banker 2023 Banking Awards; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation In Retail Banking, Nigeria in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards.

Seplat grows 2023 H1 revenue by 3.8% to N278.3bn

*Gross profit hits N140.6bn A leading Nigerian independent energy company, Seplat Energy Plc, has recorded a rise in revenue by 3.8 percent to N278.3 billion from N219.2bn year-on-year in its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2023.   Seplat, which is listed on both the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the London Stock Exchange, also grew its 2023 H1 gross profit to N140.6bn from N114.1bn year-on-year. The Company, in its announcement, described the operating performance for the period as solid, given a 2 per cent increase in production, helped by reduced losses on its Western Asset, which is benefitting from the availability of the Amukpe-Escravos Pipeline and increased output from OML40. The company extended the Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SSPA) for the acquisition of ExxonMobil’s share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) to preserve the transaction, pending the resolution of certain legal proceedings and receipt of applicable regulatory approvals; and will continue to work with all parties to achieve a successful outcome. The full-year production guidance was retained at 45-55 kboepd whilst Capex guidance ranges at $160 – $190 million (previously $160 m) to support the Group’s objectives for the year. Following the Company’s previously announced Board succession plan (25 April 2023), it announced that Eleanor Adaralegbe, currently Vice-President Finance, has been appointed CFO-designate and will succeed Emeka Onwuka as CFO in 2024. Commenting on the impressive results, Mr. Roger Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Seplat Energy said: “Seplat Energy’s continuing strong performance puts us on track for an excellent year that will support the increased quarterly dividends we announced in April, and our balance sheet remains strong despite the impact of the recent Naira devaluation. “We are benefiting greatly from use of the new Amukpe-Escravos Pipeline, which has supported our robust cash generation this year, and remain focused on improving operations, reducing costs where possible and further de-risking the business. “We continue to strengthen our Company in the knowledge that our efforts to improve governance and sustainability are widely supported by Nigerian and international investors. “The distraction of frivolous legal actions is receding, and we are focused on developing our assets and launching our joint venture ANOH Gas Processing Plant, which will significantly boost our cash generation in the coming years. We expect that this will enable us to fund additional investment in Nigeria’s energy infrastructure and return higher dividends to shareholders. “We remain confident that our proposed and transformational acquisition of MPNU will be approved, enabling us to scale into a significant energy supplier with diverse and productive assets that have potential to generate substantial benefits for Nigeria. We wholly align and support the recent government efforts to make Nigeria a more attractive place to invest and continue to focus on delivering affordable and reliable energy for Nigeria’s young, entrepreneurial and rapidly growing population.”

Cash shortages drops MTN’s fintechs’ revenue by 39.4%

The effects of cash shortages on over-the-counter (OTC) transactions during the first quarter of 2023 impacted negatively on MTN’s Nigeria revenue from fintech customers. The company, which disclosed this in its first half of 2023 financial results, said it reported a 39.4 percent decline in its fintech customers for the half-year 2023, bringing its users down to 7 million at the end of June. According to MTN, out of the 7 million fintech customers, 3.1 million are MoMo wallet users, representing 44 per cent of its total fintech customers. Despite the decline in customers, MTN said it recorded a 7.8 per cent growth in fintech revenue. Its fintech revenue for the first six months of this year stood at N43.6 billion compared with N40.4 billion recorded during the same period last year. The report also said that the naira devaluation impeded the company’s financial growth in the second quarter of 2023, recording a forex loss of N131.5 billion, an increase of N 117.9 billion from the N13.6 billion forex loss reported in the first of 2022. MTN reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recent forex operations changes caused a significant 60 per cent movement in the exchange rate to N756.24/US$ by the end of June 2023. The telecom giant’s second-quarter results show pre-tax profits fell a whopping 64 per cent to N44.6 billion, taking off its half-year profits to N200.3 billion compared to N268.6 billion in the same period in 2022. Explaining the reasons for the company’s fintech business poor performance in the period under review, MTN’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Karl Toriola, said the firm’s fintech user base was impacted by the effects of the cash shortages on over-the-counter (OTC) transactions during the first quarter of 2023. Toriola noted that the fintech business remains a crucial priority for MTN as it continues to put structures in place to support the execution of its growth strategy and scale the fintech ecosystem in line with our Ambition 2025 strategy. In that regard, he said the company would ramp up its fintech campaigns to create more awareness. Meanwhile, MTN recorded 49.9 per cent growth in its digital revenue for the period under review. According to the company, this was bolstered by revenue from rich media services and content VAS. Toriola said the digital revenue growth was also supported by the adoption of digital products and the development of the active base, up 56.6 per cent to 14 million. “In H1, we bought Amazon Prime Video and Apple Music to our customers, expanding our rich media services portfolio. Ayoba, our instant messaging platform, continued to gain traction with the addition of over two million users, bringing the monthly active users to 7.2 million in H1.

Stock market swells N867.7bn, as forex gap widens across trades

The Nigeria Exchange (NGX) last week grew by an additional N867.7 billion to cap at N35.7 trillion. All Share Index (ASI) rose by 0.1 percent. This is as the crude oil price rise in the international markets failed to grow the country’s foreign reserves, leading to a widening gap across markets. At the domestic stock market, Year-to-Date (YTD) return improved to 26.9 percent (previously 26.8 percent). Activity level dampened as average volume and value traded fell 31.7 percent and 62.0 percent to 570.9 million units and N7.5 billion week-on week (w/w) respectively. At the global equities market, resilient corporate earnings encouraged bullish sentiment. Last week, the global equities market performance was shaped by a mix of the International Monetary Fund (IMF’s expectation of a better growth in China, unsurprising rate hikes by the US Feds and European Central Bank (ECB), and exciting corporate earnings. Overall, the MSCI World index rose 0.3 per cent w/w. The US market closed the week positive as investors continued to digest impressive corporate earnings releases and recent economic data. Specifically, PCE headline inflation slowed to 3.0 per cent in June from 3.8 per cent in the prior month – further solidifying expectations of the Fed to halt its ongoing hawkish monetary campaign. A the foreign exchange (fox) market, Brent crude oil price rose 3.9 per cent w/w to $84.00/bbl. backed by strong demand from the Sino economy as it reopens economic activities. This also comes with supply being artificially contained by OPEC+ members and frail supply pulls from the US. “Meanwhile, Nigeria’s foreign reserves still falls short of expected accretion from crude earnings as it declined 0.1 per cent w/w to $33.9 billion as of July 26th, 2023”, said analysts at Afrinvest. Across the forex market last week, naira traded within a similar band to the previous week. At the Investors & Export (I&E) window activity level improved 8.3 per cent, 32,3 million to $421.6 million, leading to 0.3 per cent w/w appreciation of the naira N775.76/$. In the parallel market the dollar appreciated 0.6 per cent w/w to N870/$, bringing a weekly average spread increase of 60.6 per cent to N89.02. At the treasury bills market, the OPR and OVN rates (interbank rates) fell 19.5ppts and 19.6ppts w/w respectively to 0.9 per cent and 1.4 per cent due to buoyant system liquidity. Specifically, liquidity level advanced 180.2 per cent  w/w to N593.0bn as higher opening balances of banks (9.0x w/w) and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) payment largesse more than offset NT-Bills outflows of N264.3 billion during the week. The secondary market for domestic bond instruments closed the week on a bearish note as investors reacted negatively to the outcome of the MPC meeting. As such, average yield rose three basis points (bps) to 12.8 per cent backed by repricing across the curve. Specifically, yield on the short, mid, and long-dated instruments expanded by 145bps, 25bps and 19bps respectively.