Stock Market
Unclaimed dividend stands at N158.44 billion, over N100 billion from unclaimed shares
The figure has been on the increase despite the introduction of e-dividend.
The total value of unclaimed dividend in the Nigerian capital market closed 2019 at N158.44 billion and over N100 billion of the amount are from unclaimed shares.
This was disclosed by the Securities and Exchange Commission via a report from the News Agency of Nigeria.
The development revealed that the figure has been on the increase despite the introduction of e-dividend, which was introduced by SEC in 2015. From about N100 billion in 2017, it closed 2018 at over N120 billion.
Dividend is company’s earnings, decided and managed by the company’s board of directors, and paid to a class of its shareholders.
The earnings turned unclaimed when a shareholder fails to claim an already paid dividend after six months.
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Breakdown: The components, according to the report, showed that unclaimed dividends with companies (15 months and above) stood at N119.01 billion.
The ones with registrars amounted to N14.64 billion and unclaimed dividend less than 15 months old stood at N24.77 billion.
Why the figure rises: Head, Office of the Chief Economist, SEC, Mr Okey Umeano, explained that value has been on the increase since the market has been witnessing surge in large number of unclaimed shares.
He said, “The main issue why unclaimed dividend is rising is because we have a large number of unclaimed shares.”
According to him, many investors during the banking consolidation bought shares with different names as well as other people’s names which they were yet to rectify.
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“As companies declare dividend, those accounts would equally be paid, leading to increase in unclaimed dividend figure.
“The commission introduced a forbearance window for multiple accounts to enable investors that bought shares with different names to regularise their accounts in order to reduce the quantum of unclaimed dividends.
“SEC gave a window for people to come and rectify the multiple subscription thing.
“Many people have still not been able to claim their own because some of them have forgotten the names they used.
“Some have not been able to prove to their stockbrokers that they are the owners of the shares.
“So, we still have a large chunk of those shares, and anytime dividends are paid, those shares are not claimed and those people don’t get their dividends,” Umeano said.
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Until the number of unclaimed shares goes down, unclaimed dividend problem will continue.
On the way forward, he assured that the commission would continue to put pressure on all the people involved in order to curb the problem of unclaimed dividends.
Umeano called on investors to go and prove ownership of their shares, noting that SEC was not prosecuting anybody.
“SEC has given them amnesty to go and claim their shares and as people are claiming those shares, unclaimed dividends number will go down,” he added.
Stock Market
Telecom stocks reach record high, Nigerian stock market value hit N22 trillion
Nigerian Stock Exchange Year-to-Date Return stood at 4.08% to print market capitalization at N21.934 trillion
Nigerian bourse sustains the bulls today as the All-Share Index advanced further by 0.83% to close the day’s trading at 41,930.73 index points.
Consequently, the Nigerian Stock Exchange Year-to-Date Return stood at 4.08% to print market capitalization at N21.934 trillion.
- Activity level was impressive as volume and value of trades increased. A total of 543 million units of shares valued at N7.321 billion exchanged hands in 6,770 deals.
- Transnational Corporations continued to trend as the most traded stock with regards to volume with 57.2 million shares, while ZENITHBANK topped by value at N1.24 billion.
- With 35 gainers to 21 losers, sectoral indices were mostly positive.
Top gainers
- WAPCO up 7.27% to close at N29.5
- JBERGER up 5.64% to close at N20.6
- DANGSUGAR up 2.49% to close at N20.6
- MTNN up 2.40% to close at N175
- AIRTELAFRI up 1.09% to close at N930
Top losers
- SKYAVN down 10.00% to close at N2.88
- CAVERTON down 9.41% to close at N1.83
- ARDOVA down 2.44% to close at N18
- UBN down 3.39% to close at N5.7
- ETI down 2.29% to close at N6.4
Outlook
Nigerian Stocks kept the bullish run ongoing amid significant buying pressure sighted in leading telecom stocks that include MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa.
- The NSE Insurance Index led the gainers’ chart with 1.54%. The Industrial, Consumer Goods, and Banking Indexes trailed by +0.52%, +0.21%, and +0.13% respectively. Conversely, the Oil & Gas indices closed as the lone loser, down by -0.12%
- Nairametrics however, envisages cautious buying, amid improved market conditions in Nigeria’s financial market.
Stock Market
High demand for Azure, homework tools boost Microsoft earnings
Microsoft disclosed Azure revenue grew 50% as more businesses integrated into the cloud.
The world’s most valuable software maker, Microsoft, announced impressive earnings results for the quarter that ended on December 31, 2020, as data retrieved showed that the $1.75 trillion company saw increased demand on its work-at-home tools triggered by the reduced human mobility presently in play.
- Microsoft disclosed that Azure’s revenue grew by 50% as more businesses integrated into the cloud.
- Stock experts had expected around 42% growth, although the software giant didn’t reveal Azure’s revenue in dollars.
- The COVID-19 pandemic caused many businesses to speed up moves to the cloud and upgrades to internet-based collaboration software.
READ: Microsoft outlook users experience Software Blackout
The Productivity and Business Processes segment, including LinkedIn, Office, and Dynamics, printed $13.35 billion in revenue, which was up 13% and more than the $12.89 billion anticipated by wall street experts.
“What we have witnessed over the past year is the dawn of the second wave of the digital transformation sweeping every company and every industry,” said Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft.
READ: Oracle wins bid to acquire TikTok’s US operations after Microsoft offer was rejected
“Building their own digital capability is the new currency driving every organization’s resilience and growth. Microsoft is powering this shift with the world’s largest and most comprehensive cloud platform.”
Microsoft Corp. announced its earnings results for the quarter ended December 31, 2020, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year:
- Revenue was $43.1 billion, increasing by 17%.
- Operating income was $17.9 billion, increasing by 29%.
- Net income was $15.5 billion, increasing by 33%.
- Diluted earnings per share were $2.03, increasing by 34%.
READ: Stay-at-Home Stocks: Microsoft, Apple, Facebook surge after upbeat results from Netflix
Earnings: $2.03 per share, adjusted, vs. $1.64 per share as expected by Wall Street analysts, according to Refinitiv.
“Accelerating demand for our differentiated offerings drove commercial cloud revenue to $16.7 billion, up 34% year over year,” said Amy Hood, Executive Vice President, and Chief Financial Officer of Microsoft. “We continue to benefit from our investments in strategic, high-growth areas.”
Stock Market
United Capital Director spends N5.39 million on additional 1 million shares
1 million units of United Capital Plc’s shares worth N5.39 million has been purchased by a Non-Executive Director.
A Non-Executive Director in United Capital Plc, Mr Emmanuel Nnorom of Vine Foods Limited 2 has purchased additional 1 million units of the firm’s shares worth N5.39 million.
This is according to a notification signed by the firm’s secretary, Leo Okafor and sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, as seen by Nairametrics.
The disclosure revealed that the transaction took place on the 25th of January, 2021, with the Director purchasing an additional 1 million units of the firm’s share at N5.39 per share, totalling N5, 390,000.
Nairametrics learnt that there have been increasing numbers of insider transactions recorded by the firm, especially in the last three months. For example, Nairametrics earlier reported that the CEO of the United Capital Plc, Mr Peter Ashade had purchased an additional 6 million units of the firm’s share in the last three months.
Underlying fundamentals
The surge in insider transactions might be attributable to the impressive growth in key financial metrics of United Capital Plc. For example, the firm had experienced a 25.90% rise in its gross revenue in its last reported financial statement – Q3, 2020.
Despite recording over 100% decline in other income earning components, the increase in gross earnings was jointly driven by an increase in Investment income, fees and commission income, net trading income and net interest margin.
As at the time of writing this report, Nairametrics learnt that the market capitalization of the firm has so far gained a total of N3.36 billion since the commencement of trading on the 4th of January, 2021. This is largely driven by an 11.34% increase in the share price of the firm.
In case you missed it: Nairametrics had earlier reported that Mr Emmanuel Nnorom purchased a cumulative of 1.755 million units of the firm’s share, spending a total of N7.99 million on the deal.
