HENATES

JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC: TIGHT CORNER. JaPaul oil & Maritime Services PLC ended financial year 2015 in a very tight corner. Now in 2016, its major consideration will be how to get out of it. According to the full year audited figures, the issues include decreasing or decreased revenue from all sources and continued increase in all expenses as well. The net result in 2015, was not just growing corporate loss but more importantly, huge operating loss. In 2014 year, in spite of the various pressures, JaPaul did manage an operating profit of N804.4m before net finance cost landed it in N2258.4m loss before tax. In 2015, operating profit was no where insight, instead there was operating loss of N4042.5m which higher N3856.6m net finance cost increased to N7899.1m loss. That was not all. Still unaccounted for were exceptional losses totalling N901m compared to N675.1m in 2014 from foreign exchange transactions and other related activities. All considered, J...

The Central Bank of Nigeria  (CBN) has zinc April issued new guidelines for transaction switching services in Nigeria to replace previous rules and regulations for Nigerian central switching. The guidelines reemphasizes that all parties involved in transaction switching in Nigeria need licenses issued by the CBN. These include Nigerian central switch, switching companies, card issuers and merchant acquirers. It also clearly establishes the responsibilities of the different parties to transaction switching services provision in Nigeria. For example, switching companies are to ensure compliance with established standard, open individual networks for reciprocal exchange of transactions/messages; enter into formal agreement with all member institutions and protect the confidentiality of transaction information switched. They are also to establish adequate security procedures, submit to the CBN security plans and periodic updates, and must have approved business continuity plan. ...

SEC NIGERIA HOLDS HEARING ON WT SECURITIES LTD. The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commiasion (SEC) will on Tuesday, June 6, hold public hearing over complaints by two investors against WT Securities Ltd at its head office starting from 11 am. According to official notice by SEC published on its website, the two complainants are Chief Opral Benson and Ngozi Oyewere Nwachuku. SEC says Chief Benson complained about mismanagement of her stocks valued at approximately N185.2m while Nwachuku said her 500,000 units of Nigerian Breweries PLC shares were sold without her permission. The notice adds that preliminary investigation by SEC showed that both complaints had merit hence the decision to invite directors of the company and some top officials to present their own side of the story. Directors of WT Securities ltd invited to the hearing include Aisha I Lawal; Taofik Lawal and Barrister Ajinamo Uma Hanni. If the allegations are proven, then WT Securities Ltd will be held li...

ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK: ONE DECISIVE DROP In the first quarter to March the main headache of Abbey Mortgage Bank PLC was the 5.68% decrease in its less than N500m total income to N312.3m. According to the results for the period, the percentage decrease was in fact cushioned by good growth in income from other activities because that of core mortgage activity tumbled by 19.7% to N258.5m as interest income although it helped abit that interest expense went down by a higher 20.3% to N83.1m. The good shove for income came from fee and commission rise to N11.9m  and jump for Other operating income to N41.9m. It was equally helpful that other operating expenses decreased by 6.08% to N98.8m but personnel expenses eased by only 2.41% to N101.4m. In the end, according to the figures downloaded from the stock exchange, Abbey's profit before tax ended the quarter at N9.61m compared to N43.5m previously. ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK (Nm)                         First quarter             ...

It looks like Nigeria of today, it is easier to tackle her foreign exchange stranglehold from the export angle than the import one. This is because, according to first quarter trade figures released by the National Bureau of statistics recently, the top fifteen items on Nigerian export trade list account for almost 90% of total exports. On the other hand, in the case of imports, the Nigerian appetite is so diversified that first fifteen items take up only about 30.09% of imports. Meaning to fix imports so as to reduce foreign exchange outflow as demanded by the times will need strategy that virtually takes in all forms of imports. Of course, says the NBS, motor spirit import by the first quarter of this took up 15.6% of imports hence reduce that and you will do Nigeria and Nigerians a big favour. The next major item on this list was wheat with 2.9% of import value. Others with above single digit share were CKD of motorcycles and cane sugar. Fix the demand for them through h...

ARBICO PLC: POINTER TO GREAT 2016? From the look of things, Arbico PLC had a great first quarter. Could this be a pointer to a great 2016? May be. Or so the unaudited figures for the quarter indicate gleefully. According to the results, phenomenal growth was recorded in core revenue to N1567m compared to N501.5m during the first quarter of 2015. Better still, as against the 212.5% increase thus recorded, cost of sale rose by only 170.5% to N1227m thus allowing gross profit to spring to N340m from N47.9m. This was Arbico s main income stre but impressive increases were also reported in other little drops. Then to crown it all, major costs went down. Operating expenses decreased by 38% to N84.6m, followed by 21,7% drop in staff cost to N44,8m. Hence, the only unit that exactly pressure on the bottom line within the quarter was finance cost that closed 58.5% up at N7.07m. It was too good to be true But true it is. Arbico thus ended the quarter with N207.3m profit as agains...

The Nigerian securities and Exchange commission (SEC) has cancelled the certificate of registration of BGL Securities Ltd as dealer/broker at the Nigerian stick exchange and banned its group managing director Mr Albert Okumugba from engaging in any capital market activities. This is because, says SEC in a notice on its website, against the established rules, they engaged in market activities they were not registered for, breached minimum liquidity/assets ratio and also solicited for deposits. Also banned for periods ranging from five years to one year were some top executives and directors of the company up to 2015. Most of them were also asked to pay N100,000 fine each in addition to ban imposed on them. This followed complaints received from some people including Delta State ministry of finance, about their inability to retrieve their investment in a reportedly "high yield investment product" called Guaranteed Consolidated Notes (GCN) pushed through private placement ...