The Nigerian equity market eased its bullish rise in the month of March, as it recorded its first monthly decline in the last month of the first quarter as global macro-economic worries weighed on its performance.
The All-Share Index (ASI) for the month of March, lost marginally by 0.91% starting at 47,394.53 basis points to end the month at 46,965.48 basis points. The market capitalization also declined in similar fashion from N25.5 trillion at the beginning of the month only to end the month trading N25.3 trillion, also representing a 0.91% decline.
Although the market recorded a decline, there was still a stellar performance from these top gainers. These stocks include:
WEMA BANK PLC (WEMABANK) 184.38%
Wema Bank is one of Nigeria’s oldest banks with decades of experience in the business of banking. The Bank has remained innovative in delivering value to its stakeholders. This is because Wema bank touts itself to be the pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT. The Bank is known to constantly introduce new products and services tailored to the needs of its customers at every stage of their lives.
We saw a significant jump in its share price on the 30th of March, as the firm successfully concluded on its share reconstruction. At the Annual General Meeting of the bank in May 2021, the management team of the bank brought two specific requests to its shareholders, one of which was a request to reconstruct the company’s shares base, which the company stated was to “enable the Bank achieve an optimal shares outstanding base that favorably compares with its listed banking peers as well as achieve cost efficiency from a transaction execution standpoint.”
This request was approved and during the year, the Bank commenced a right-sizing of the Bank’s paid-up share capital. The Bank’s share capital of N19,287,233,041, comprising of 38,574,466,082 ordinary shares of a nominal value on N0.50 each was reconstructed at 33% of the current figure by way of a Scheme. This puts the new number of shares at 12,858,155,360 ordinary shares of N0.50 each.
This means that the Bank’s Paid-Up Capital will be reconstructed such that the sum of N6,429,077,680 will be the Bank’s Paid Up share Capital and 12,858,155,360 ordinary shares of N0.50k each will be retained as the issued ordinary shares attributable to Existing Shareholders of the Bank.
As a result of this share reconstruction, the company’s share price grew by 184.38%, from N0.96 at the beginning of the month to N2.73 at the end of the month.
PZ CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC (PZ) 50.71%
PZ is a Nigerian manufacturer and distributor of consumer products such as detergents, toiletries, soaps and home appliances. It is a subsidiary of Manchester-based PZ Cussons Holdings which owns controlling shares in the firm.
PZ trades home appliances products under the brand Haier Thermocool and manages Coolworld electrical stores. It has a joint venture with Wilmar International to produce and trade vegetable oil and palm oil.
The uptick in its share price was as a result of its third-quarter performance which saw revenue growth of 24% from approximately 60 billion in the nine months of 2021 against the 74.5 billion earned in the nine months of 2022. Due to positive returns seen in operating income, as well as a 172.27% gain in other income, from 2.1 billion to 5.7 billion, PZ was able to deliver a profit before tax (PBT) of 6.3 billion, which represents a 319.45% growth, compared to the 1.5 billion of 2021. Ultimately, the firm recorded a profit after tax (PAT) of 5.6 billion, up by 454.9%.
For the month of February, the company’s share price grew by 50.71%, from N7 at the beginning of the month to N10.55 at the end of the month. In fact, the stock price is currently trading near its 52-week high.
The company has shares outstanding of 3,970,477,045 units and a total market capitalization of N41,888,532,824.75, using its current market price as of yesterday’s close.
PRESCO PLC (PRESCO) 27.88%
Presco is an agro-industrial company. The firm is engaged in the development of oil palm plantations, palm oil milling, palm kernel processing and vegetable oil refining. It specializes in the cultivation of oil palms and in the extraction, refining and fractioning of crude palm oil into vegetable oil and palm stearin.
The company was one of the top three gainers in March 2022 due to its acquisition of SIAT Nigeria Limited (SNL), a private company, that also operates in the agricultural sector for N23 Billion cash consideration. Although, the firm’s press release was a proposal to acquire the company and also seeking request from its shareholders to approve the proposal, however, the firm’s latest 2021 full-year results reveal the company had already paid out N23 billion in cash for the acquisition of SIAT Nigeria Ltd and included it as an investment asset in its balance sheet, suggesting that its request for shareholders to approve the proposal is merely a request to rubber-stamp a deed that had already been carried out.
For the month of March, the company’s share price grew by 27.88%, from N104 at the beginning of the month to N133 at the end of the month. The firm is trading at its 52-week high, a price point it has not traded before, meaning that its share price is in price discovery.
The company has shares outstanding of 1,000,000,000 units and a total market capitalization of N133,000,000,000.00, using its current market price as of yesterday’s close.
Other stocks with significant appreciation include;
- MEYER 20.00%
- NPFMCRFBK 18.57%
- UACN 16.59%
On the decliners side, we have NIGERINS losing 33.33% leading the charge. This is followed by RTBRISCOE and LEARNAFRCA losing 30.59% and 24.90% respectively.
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