Leading food and agri-business company, Olam International, has announced that it has upsized its flagship debt facility of $1.675 billion by $300 million, to $1.975 billion. The debt facility will be disbursed to refinance existing loans of Olam and its subsidiaries.

This information was disclosed by the company in a press release yesterday, which was seen by Nairametrics.

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According to the information contained in the press release, the company announced that it has upsized its flagship $1.675 billion multi-tranche revolving credit facility that was secured on September 10, 2020, by an additional $300 million.

The upsized facility of $1.975 billion, which has Olam’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Olam Treasury Pte. Ltd. (“OTPL”) as a co-borrower, consists of three tranches – a 364-day revolving credit facility of $790 million, a 2-year revolving credit facility of $790 million and a 3-year revolving credit facility of $395 million.

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The Management of Olam emphasized that the proceeds from the credit facility provided by a total of 25 banks, will be deployed efficiently towards refinancing existing loans of Olam and its subsidiaries.

However, the debt facility will also help the company strengthen its balance sheet, and enable the leading agri-business group to execute its plans and strategy while supporting our customers, farmer-suppliers, and other stakeholders, as they navigate through the impact of COVID-19.

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In an earlier press release on September 10, 2020, Olam International confirmed that 21 lenders participated in the flagship debt facility of $1.675 billion.

Four new banks have now joined the facility – Bank of Baroda as a Senior Mandated Lead Arranger, Bank of China, Unicredit Bank AG as Mandated Lead Arrangers, and Westpac Banking Corporation as a Lead Arranger; taking the total lenders to 25 banks.

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Recall, in a press release on June 18, 2020, Olam international said it secured a revolving sustainability-linked credit facility aggregating $250 million, which is linked to meeting key sustainability performance indicators, aligned with the three Purpose outcomes of the Company’s sustainability strategy. The KPIs will be tracked and reported by Olam’s Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability team, while Ernst & Young will perform procedures to independently assess the achievement of the KPIs.

However, the upsized facility of $1.975 billion and other facilities since 2018 which amount to $1.675 billion, brings the total consideration of the group’s credit facility to $3.65 billion.

Sunti Golden Sugar Estate (SGSE), owned by Flour Mills, has suffered some disruptions to its operations as floodwater breached the Sugar Estate. 

This information was gathered by Nairametrics from a notification sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange and signed by the Company’s Secretary, Umolu Joseph A. O.  

The largest miller by market capitalization, explains that the floods were as a result of the long rainfalls recorded recently at the northern and central parts of the Niger basin, as the floods were triggered by severe downpours at the Sokoto Rima basin, and as a consequence, the Kainji and Jeba dams witnessed an upsurge in the lateral flow of water. 

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The Management stated that SGSE has suffered some disruptions to operations, as the resulting high inflows in the downstream Niger River caused a breach to the extensive and properly designed dyke systems at Sunti Golden Sugar Estates (SGSE). 

This development is expected to delay the expansion project, geared towards increasing the area under cultivation to 4,000 hectares by mid-2021. 

The Miller assures stakeholders, that there is no immediate threat to the earlier indicated earnings projections of FMN, as immediate safety protocols have been instituted to safeguard employees, property and equipment. Hence the breach is not foreseen to impact the overall performance of the Group. 

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The company informs investors and other key stakeholders that the actual state of damage to the current sugarcane crop at Sunti, can only truly be assessed once the floodwater subsides, and ensures that it will release further details in due course as the need arises. 

Shares of Flour Mills at the end of the trading session on Friday closed at N21.50, and this is 6.70% higher than the market opening price for the day, 8.59% higher than the market opening price for the week, and 14.36% higher than the market opening price for the month. While the YTD gains stood at 9.14%. 

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Flour Mills shares are currently trading in the overbought zones, going with the agreement of Technical Momentum  Indicators, like the William Percentage Range, the Relative Strength Index and its stochastic variant, as the shares of the company are driven by strong fundamentals. 

In like manners, the company shares currently trade at 21.15x earnings per share (EPS), and 0.57x book value per share (BVPS), with a Market capitalization of N81.628 billion.  

The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA), under the aegis of the Lagos State Government, has sealed a warehouse for repackaging unwholesome and expired curry powder.

This disclosure was made this morning in a press release to the general public, which was seen by Nairametrics, via the official website of Lagos State Government.

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Acting on an anonymous tip-off from a member of the public, the Special Monitoring Team of LASCOPA, led by its General Manager, Mrs. Kemi Olugbode, paid an unscheduled assessment visit to the warehouse, to verify the claim. The tip turned out to be genuine.

This decision is in line with the State Government’s core mandate of protecting consumers from unwholesome products. The warehouse which was sealed by LASCOPA, for repackaging unwholesome and expired curry powder with the name Chinchilli and Ducross for sale, was said to be owned by Canvest Nigeria Limited. The warehouse is located at Plot 4, Cocoa Industrial Road, Ogba, Ikeja.

The General Manager, speaking after the exercise, said the enforcement team discovered thousands of expired products stored in cartons, while some were found in sacks that were ready to be repackaged for sale in the market.

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The Head of LASCOPA, emphasized that the staffs of the company involved in the fraudulent operation have been arrested. Olugbode disclosed that the property will remain sealed until the government commences prosecution of the owners of the warehouse, and all those involved in the illicit activity are apprehended.

Mrs. Olugbode, also encouraged members of the public to support the present administration’s determination to rid Lagos of all illegal activities, by reporting those who are engaged in unwholesome activities that are detrimental to the health of residents.