Hello there. Welcome to Nairametrics’ Corporate News Roundup, a summary of the major news stories that made headlines during the week that ended November 12, 2022. This newsletter is brought to you courtesy of Quidax.
Let’s begin with the main stories…
Jumia’s Co-CEOs’ exit: Like everyone else, we all at Nairametrics were surprised when we heard that the Co-founders of Jumia Group have suddenly stepped down as Co-CEOs of the company. Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, who started the e-commerce firm from scratch and oversaw its expansion across 11 African countries, are no longer in charge. They’ve been succeeded by Francis Dufay.
Jumia did not exactly say why the Co-founders exited. But as you can expect, the company thanked them profusely for their contributions. A statement seen by Nairametrics also quoted Sacha Poignonnec to have said that the time had come to open a new chapter for himself and the company.
You may keep up with that story here.
NGX fines insurers: Last week, five insurers were fined N41 million by the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) for failing to file their 2021 financial statements on time. The insurance firms are – Royal Exchange Plc, Lasaco Assurance Plc, Coronation Insurance Plc, Veritas Kapital Assurance, and Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc.
Part of the NGX’s Listings Rules is that quoted companies must adhere to high disclosure standards. Specifically, they must meet deadlines for disclosing their financial reports, so that investors can use the information to make informed investment decisions. Failure to adhere to this requirement usually attracts sanctions.
Naira-induced bank rush: As Nigerians keep rushing to the banks to deposit their N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes ahead of CBN’s January 2023 deadline, Access Bank informed its customers that it has provided alternative channels (other than bank branches) to help fast-track the process.
A statement by the tier-1 bank, seen by Nairametrics, listed out the alternative channels to include – Access Bank’s over 150, 000 CLOSA agents across the country, deposit ATMs, and over 500 BETA agents that are present in over 180 major markets.
FIRS’ assignment for telcos: MTN Nigeria, Airtel and some commercial banks were selected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to withhold Value Added Taxes (VAT) on behalf of the FIRS.
Nairametrics reported that the companies will collect the VATs from all taxable supplies made to them, after which the monies would be remitted to the FIRS. The new arrangement will take effect on January 1st, 2023.
More electricity for you: Transcorp Power Limited said it increased its power generation capacity from an average of 470 MW in January to an average of 638mw as of September 202
Owen Omojiafo, the Group CEO of Transcorp Plc, Transcorp Power’s parent company, disclosed this during its recent facts behind the figures event which Nairametrics attended. She explained that they signed gas contract agreements with Chevron, Seplat and others to improve steady and reliable gas supply to the power plant, hence the improvement.
Nigerian companies and the upcoming general elections…
Keystone Bank’s rebuttal: In view of the upcoming 2023 elections, some companies have found themselves either getting involved willingly or being dragged into the drama. A case in view is Keystone Bank, which had to issue a statement refuting claims that the government ordered it to close the bank account of the pressure group TakeBackNaija. A press statement issued by the bank clarified that it closed the account because there were some irregularities in the manner it was opened. The statement added that in line with regulatory guidelines, funds received into the closed account were returned to their sources of origin.
The bank made the clarification following a statement by the pressure group which alleged that the federal government had ordered the account closure. The group used the account to rally financial support for Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party for the upcoming election.
Stears’ election ambitions: Meanwhile, Lagos-based intelligence company, Stears, announced that it launched Stears Elections – an open data project designed to organize all of Nigeria’s election data.
This is a follow-up to Stears’ first real-time election database product in 2019. The company said it will continue expanding its ability to monitor, analyze and visualize the elections.
Debt and dividend matters
FairMoney redeems debt: In other news, fintech company FairMoney (which trades as MyCredit Investments Limited) announced that it redeemed its N3.7 billion 18% Series 11 Private Notes. The notes matured on November 3rd, 2022.
A statement seen by Nairametrics said the Series 11 Private Notes were the second tranche under the company’s N10 billion Private Note Programme, launched after a successful Series 1 Private Notes Issuance.
Exchange rate for dividends: Seplat Energy Plc announced the applicable exchange rate for determining its interim dividend payout to qualified shareholders. The announcement was for shareholders who wish to receive payment of their dividends in naira or pound sterling.
A corporate disclosure seen by Nairametrics said the exchange rate would be N443.80 per $1 and £0.8732 per $1, respectively. The company said the applicable exchange rates were based on the prevailing exchange rates as of November 9, 2022.
Now, some deals news…
Zedcrest leads pre-seed: In deals news, CutStruct Technology announced a $600,000 pre-seed funding led by Zedcrest Capital, DFS Lab and Lofty Inc. The round also saw participation from some angel investors, including Kola Aina.
The company, which specialises in leveraging technology to cut costs in the construction sector, said the funding round would enable it to launch a new construction procurement product called LiveVend.
Partnership on commodities: AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited went into partnership with NG Clearing Limited to develop an infrastructure that facilitates trading and central clearing of futures contracts for commodities such as cocoa, paddy rice, maize, and soybean in Nigeria.
Nairametrics reported that the agreement, which was signed last Wednesday, is a precursor to developing the technological infrastructure that will underpin the introduction of commodity futures in Nigeria.
A pan-African agreement: Union Bank of Nigeria Plc signed a partnership agreement with Morocco’s leading multinational commercial bank Attijariwafa Bank, to support each other’s Pan-African development strategies. The agreement will enable Union Bank to expand its operations beyond the shores of Nigeria.
In line with the agreement, Union Bank and Attijariwafa Bank will develop new joint business opportunities for their respective customers that seek to support the trade finance and investment corridors between Nigeria and all the countries where Attijariwafa Bank operates.
Kuda’s expansion bid: Another Nigerian bank that has expanded its operations beyond Nigeria is Kuda Bank Microfinance Bank. The neobank said it now operates in the United Kingdom, providing direct debits and local transfer services for Nigerians in the UK.
Nairametrics gathered that the direct debit and transfer services will be supported by Modulr, a UK-based third-party financial services provider.
More earnings reports…
BUA Foods’ results: In earnings news, more companies continued to disclose their Q3 consolidated financial statements for the period that ended September 9, 2022. One of these companies is BUA Foods Plc which reported revenue of N120.5 billion for the nine months, representing a 39.31% increase compared to the N86.5 billion that it reported in Q3 2021.
The company also reported a pre-tax profit of N31.881 billion, representing a 61% increase from the N19.821 billion the company reported during the same period in 2021.
Profit decline for Okomu: Okomu Oil Plc also released its Q3-2022 consolidated financial statements, reporting a 26.99% increase in revenue which rose to N9.421 billion compared to N7.419 billion in Q3 2021.
Meanwhile, inflation-induced costs caused profit after tax to decline by 40%. Despite the profit decline, the company proposed an N14.309 billion interim dividend payout.
Cement money: Three cement companies listed on the NGX raked in N1.709 trillion worth of revenue during the nine months that ended September 30, 2022, representing a 19.68% growth over N1.428 trillion reported by the companies in Q3 2021.
This is according to information gleaned from the unaudited third-quarter financial results of the cement companies, namely Dangote Cement Plc, BUA Cement Plc, and Lafarge Africa Plc.
