Business News
Fidelity Bank slashes growth forecast, readies Eurobond coupon ahead of due date
Due to the unfortunate economic impacts occasioned by the Coronavirus pandemic, Fidelity Bank Plc said it has slashed its growth forecast for 2020.
Due to the unfortunate economic impacts that have been wrought by the Coronavirus pandemic, Fidelity Bank Plc said it has slashed its growth forecast for 2020.
Fidelity Bank’s Chief Operations and Information Officer, Gbolahan Joshua, disclosed that the company’s profit for the year is now expected to drop significantly by 15% to about N25.8 billion.
Recall that the mid-tier Nigerian bank had recorded a profit before income tax of N32.3 billion in 2019, according to an earlier report by Nairametrics.
More on this: Q1 2020 may likely be the worst for most companies including Fidelity Bank Plc. This is because it was during this period that the Coronavirus pandemic took the world by surprise and grounded the global economy to a halt.
Nigeria is still reeling from the negative health and economic impacts of the deadly virus. Earlier this week, the country’s Federal Government had to issue lockdown orders for some parts of the country, including Lagos.
[READ MORE: Digital payments sustains surge, affirms growth prospects)
Commenting on this, Joshua told Reuters via phone that Fidelity Bank Plc is optimistic that the second quarter of the year “is going to be soft after the disruptions associated Coronavirus”.
Note that Fidelity Bank Plc is now set to release its Q1 2020 unaudited result, after announcing a closed period yesterday.
Fidelity Bank’s Eurobond coupon: In a related development, Gbolahan Joshua disclosed that the sum of $21 million had been transferred to Citibank, the bond trustees, for the half-yearly coupon payment on Fidelity Bank’s $400 million 2022 Eurobond. The coupon is due in two weeks.
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Joshua disclosed that the bond issue was yielding 16% interest as against just 5% in January. The increase in interest yield is due to the fact that most investors resorted to shedding their assets in emerging markets.
Fidelity Bank’s share price stood at N1.75 at the end of Wednesday’s trading session on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Business
FG to commence construction of 4 new rail projects across the country
The listed rail line projects include Ibadan-Kano, Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, Kano-Maradi and Lagos-Calabar rail lines.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said that the Federal Government is about to commence 4 new rail line projects in various parts of the country.
The listed rail line projects include Ibadan-Kano, Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, Kano-Maradi and Lagos-Calabar rail lines.
This disclosure was made by Amaechi while speaking at the annual ministerial press briefing on programmes, projects and activities of the Federal Ministry of Transportation and its agencies on Friday in Abuja.
READ: FG to fully launch E-ticketing platform for NRC next week
What the Minister of Transportation is saying
Although the Minister announced that the Federal Government was about to start the rail lines project, he was not specific on the exact dates the projects would start.
Amaechi, in his statement, said, “We have awarded the following contracts and we are about to start and we have even tried to solve the financial problems. This is because we have the problem of having to hire consulting engineers.
READ: $2 billion Kano-Maradi rail would be completed in 36 months – FG
“The ones we are about to start include Ibadan to Kano, we are waiting for funds from China. We are about to start Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, we are waiting for the cabinet to approve consulting shares. We are also to start the Kano-Maradi and Lagos to Calabar.
“But one thing that is unique about these contracts is that the president early enough directed that all rail lines must stagnate at the seaports.
“That is why there may be a bit of adjustment in the pricing of Kano-Maradi because we have to adjust it to link up to Kano-Lagos so that it can terminate at Lagos seaport.’’
The Minister pointed out that the 185.5km Lagos-Ibadan double standard gauge line with extension to Apapa seaport was nearing completion, while the 186km Abuja-Kaduna and 302km Warri-Itakpe standard gauge lines had been completed and were functional.
READ: FG urges contractors to complete Ebute Meta–Apapa seaports railway extension by January 2021
What this means
- The various rail line projects are part of the ambitious plan by the Federal Government to create a nationwide rail network that is intended to help in the country’s diversification efforts, away from crude oil.
- Some of these rail projects will also help to decongest the Apapa ports in Lagos and serve as a route for the import and export of goods in the West African sub-region.
Business
Customs Tin-Can Island Command generates N112.7 billion in Q1 2021
This is a N21.1 billion increase in revenue compared to a revenue of N91.6 billion in Q1 2020.
The Nigerian Customs Service revealed that its Tin-Can Island Command has a first-quarter revenue of N112.7 billion in 2021. This is a N21.1 billion increase in revenue compared to a revenue of N91.6 billion in Q1 2020.
This was disclosed by Mr Mba Musa, Customs Area Controller, in a statement on Friday.
“The comparative analysis of quarter one revenue collection from 2018 to 2021 are as follows: in 2018, N76,789,721,107.42; in 2019, N78,857,106,168.27; and in 2020, N91,635,998,490.73,” the customs boss said.
READ: Customs revenue rises by N200 billion to hit N1.5 trillion in 2020
“This improvement is despite the twin threat to lives and livelihood posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The command has inspired their officers to continue to work hard while observing all the safety measures to achieve the best of performance.
“We kept our lines of communication open and concerted effort was made to ensure that the supply chain is not disrupted,” he added.
READ MORE: Customs officers must declare their assets annually – Customs boss
What you should know: The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) generated a revenue of N1.5 trillion for the year 2020, a rise compared to N1.3 trillion in 2019.
