Guinness Nigeria Plc has announced the appointment of Dr. Omobola Johnson as the new Chairman of its board, with effect from July 1, 2021.

This follows the retirement of the current Chairman, Babatunde Savage, from the position, with effect from June 30, 2021.

The announcement is contained in a notice sent to the Nigerian Exchange Limited, investing public, and other stakeholders on May 4, 2021, and signed by the Company Secretary, Rotimi Odusola.

READ: Guinness, Int’l Brew, Nigerian Breweries spend N65.5 billion on key acquisitions in 2020

Johnson, who has over 30 years of experience from both the private and public sectors of the Nigerian economy, was a former Minister of Communications Technology and a former Country Managing Director in Accenture.

While commenting on her appointment, Johnson who has been serving on the board of Guinness, said, “Guinness Nigeria is an excellent company with tremendous value creation opportunities, and I believe the refreshed board and management team remain committed to maximizing shareholder value.”

In his letter addressing the board in compliance with the applicable corporate governance regulation, Savage expressed his pleasure at the opportunity to have been a part of the Guinness story over the last four decades.

He thanked the board of Guinness Nigeria and Diageo UK for the opportunity to have served in several capacities, first as an employee who held various strategic senior roles, then as an Executive Director, and later as Chairman of the board, a role that he held for almost 12 years.

READ: Guinness Nigeria’s market value surged by N23.8 billion in March 2021

He said, “After almost 40 amazing years, my journey with Guinness Nigeria is coming to an end. Guinness Nigeria is and will always be family to me.”

Shares of consumer goods companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) traded slightly lower today owing to profit-taking activities in the shares of Dangote Sugar, PZ Cussons, and Honeywell Flour mills.

The index failed to break even despite the gains in the shares of Nigerian breweries which added a total of about N6.4 billion market value to the total market capitalization of the NGX today.

Investors react to Nigerian Breweries 38.59% year-on-year growth in profit

Recall that Nigerian Breweries recently declared a 38.59% year-on-year growth in profit to N7.66 billion for the first quarter of 2021, up from the N5.53 billion profit it reported in the corresponding quarter of 2020.

Investors were quick to react to the release of Nigerian Breweries’ Q1 2021 earnings report on Friday 23rd of April, and they sustained buying interest in the shares of the company today following the 2.2% gains in the brewer’s shares on Friday.

The attendant effect of the sustained interest spiralled into a 1.96% increase in the share price of NB, with the shares of the brewery company increasing from N51.20 to N52.00.

Gains in Nigerian Breweries failed to push above losses in PZ, Honeywell, and Dangote Sugar

Despite these gains, The NGX consumer goods index declined marginally by 0.01% or -0.05 index points to close slightly lower at 558.40 index points, driven largely by the drop in the market value of PZ Cussons, Honeywell, and Dangote Sugar on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

At the close of trade today, shares of PZ Cussons halted a four-day gaining streak, as shares of the consumer goods company lost 5 kobo to close lower today at N5.4 per share.

Shares of Honeywell Flour Mills and Dangote Sugar traded at N1.35 and N17.4 per share, lower than their respective open prices of N1.4 and N17.9 per share respectively.

The decline in their shares can be pegged on the profit-taking activities driven by the actions of bargain hunters and value investors who felt their target prices have been met.

These moves saw Honeywell shares decline by -3.57%, while the shares of Dangote Sugar declined by -2.79%.

What you should know

The Nigerian Stock Exchange All-share Index and market capitalization today appreciated by 0.04% to close higher at 39,318.52 and N20.577 trillion respectively, as companies start to release their first-quarter results.