The last 3 trading sessions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) have seen large trading volumes in the shares of Africa Prudential Plc and United Capital Plc. The two stocks trade in the financial sector.
Africa Prudential
177 million shares valued at N767 million have so far been traded this week. 56.2 million shares valued at N242 million were traded in 59 deals on Monday, 49.5 million shares valued at N213 million were traded in 42 deals on Tuesday, and 72.1 million shares valued at N312 million were traded in 67 deals on Wednesday.
United Capital
983 million shares valued at N773 million have been traded so far this week. 79.1 million shares worth N253 million were traded in 70 deals on Monday, 82.6 million shares valued at N262 million were traded in 153 deals on Tuesday, and 78.6 million shares valued at N258 million were traded in 98 deals on Wednesday.
101 million shares valued at N325 million have been traded in 38 deals in today’s session as at the time of writing this report.
United Capital is currently trading at N3.25 up 1.27%. Year to date the stock is down 9.21%.
Africa Prudential is currently trading at N4.25. Year to date, the stock is down 1.64%. The two stocks are thus, underperforming the All Share Index (ASI) which is up 2.06%.
Latest news
United Capital recently announced the appointment of Peter Ashade as its Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO). Ashade was the Managing Director of African Prudential plc (formerly Afriprud registrars).
He replaces Oluwatoyin Sanni, who will be stepping down at the end of this month. Sanni revealed this last weekend in a post in her LinkedIn page. She was appointed Group CEO of United Capital in January 2014.
African Prudential is yet to announce Ashade’s replacement.
Q1 2018 results for the company show Gross Earnings increased from N641 million in 2017 to N957 million in 2018. Profit before tax increased from N402 million in 2017 to N541 million in 2018. Profit after tax also rose from N377 million in 2017 to N460 million in 2018.
What could be happening?
Feelers from the market indicate the movement may not be out of the ordinary, but simply portfolio realignment.
United Capital Plc
United Capital Plc was incorporated in Nigeria on the 3rd of August, 2012. The company was listed on the NSE on the 17th of January, 2013, after it was spun off from UBA Plc.
Principal activities of the firm are the provision of investment banking services, portfolio management services, securities trading and trusteeship.
United Capital’s Q1 2018 results show Gross Earnings increased from N2.1 billion in 2017 to N2.2 billion in 2018. Profit before tax inched up slightly from N1.3 billion in 2017 to N1.4 billion in 2018. Profit after tax increased from N1.1 billion in 2017 to N1.2 billion in 2018.
Africa Prudential Plc
Africa Prudential Plc was originally incorporated as UBA Registrars Limited in March, 2006. The Company subsequently changed its name to Africa Prudential Registrars Plc in August, 2011 and was listed on the NSE in January 2013. To expand its business portfolio, the Company acquired UAC Registrars Limited in June, 2013.
The company changed its name to Africa Prudential plc following a special resolution passed by shareholders reflecting the firm’s expansion beyond registrar services.
