Air Liquide Nigeria Plc Declares N314.13m PAT in 2021 Audited Results; (SP: N4.95k)

Air Liquide Nigeria Plc released its 2021 Audited results for the period ended December 31st, 2021.

Key Highlights

• Revenue grew by 17.96% from N1.60bn to N1.89bn
• Profit before tax stood at N326.41m
• Profit after tax stood at N314.13m
• Share Price Currently Stands at N4.95k

Nigeria stocks emerge Africa’s best performers

When Ekpeyong Bassey, a Lagos-based retail investor, staked N2 million in four Nigerian companies, Dangote Cement, Guinness, Seplat and Airtel on the first trading day of the year, he never expected an average return of 82 percent.

Nigeria’s FPI seen falling after JP Morgan downgrade

Foreign portfolio investors are likely to move their funds out of Nigerian fixed income markets as a result of the country’s downgrade on the JP Morgan index. Nigeria was removed from the overweight category on the JP Morgan index, seven years after it was also kicked out of the American bank’s Government Bond Index Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) due to foreign exchange illiquidity.

Given the exit, the already dwindling fixed income market is likely to feel even more heat, as this might result in more potentially significant capital outflows, making it more difficult to attract foreign portfolio inflows and raising the government’s borrowing costs, according to analysts interviewed by BusinessDay..

Seplat, Eterna, others shine amid oil price rally

Nigerian oil and gas stocks have gained 61.72 percent year-to-date (YTD), making them the best-performing stocks compared to other sectors, according to data compiled by BusinessDay. Their performance is mainly down to higher oil prices, with Brent crude  the benchmark against which Nigeria’s oil is priced, rising 43 percent since the beginning of the year.

Seplat recorded the highest YTD return of 100.02 percent compared to its peers. Its share price stood at N1300.1 on Monday, up from N650 at the beginning of the trading year.

Household spending rises for first time in three years

Nigeria’s household consumption expenditure returned to positive growth in 2021 for the first time in three years, BusinessDay analysis shows, an indication that economic activities picked up. The annual growth rate in real household consumption expenditure stood  at 25.65 percent in 2021, compared to -1.69 percent and -1.06 percent in 2020 and 2019 respectively, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). It rose by 4.63 percent in 2018.

Lagos tech gadgets dealers lament low sales

A number of tech gadgets dealers in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, have seen their sales drop over the last six months, blaming high inflation and low purchasing power of Nigerians. They told BusinessDay that sales have fallen as people now pay more attention to spending on consumables like food and other basic needs than buying new gadgets, even as the prices of smartphones and other gadgets have risen in recent months.

The International Data Corporation said in a recent report that inflationary pressures and global supply shortages were major factors driving the prices of smartphones and other gadgets upwards in Nigeria and other countries.

Lagos issues fresh ban on ‘okada’

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos State has announced a fresh ban on commercial motorcycles in some areas of the state. The ban is effective from June 1, in Ikeja, Surulere, Eti Osa, Lagos Mainland, Lagos Island and Apapa local government areas. “Governor of Lagos State, @jidesanwoolu has announced the TOTAL BAN on Okada in some Local Governments in Lagos State, effective from June 1st 2022, The whole ofIkeja, Surulere, Eti Osa, Lagos Mainland, Lagos Island and Apapa local government areas,” the governor announced in a tweet by Jubril Gawat, senior special assistant to the governor of Lagos State on new media

TotalEnergies appoints bank to lead sale of stake in Nigerian oil joint venture

TotalEnergies has finally launched the sale of its 10% stake in Nigerian joint venture SPDC, with Canada’s Scotiabank leading the sale as financial adviser, a sale document tendering for interest showed, reports Reuters. TotalEnergies announced the sale in late April.

Election funding driving Nigerian naira to new lows

Politicians in Nigeria are buying dollars to fund vote hunting in primary elections that start over the weekend, driving the local currency to new lows in the unauthorized parallel market, reports Bloomberg. The naira weakened to 600 against the greenback this week in the unregulated field, according to Abubakar  Mohammed, a bureau de change operator that tracks the data in Lagos, the commercial capital.

It’s the lowest the currency has traded this year in Africa’s most populous country, where the central bank maintains an official exchange rate that is tightly controlled and it seems the worse is yet to come for the local currency with officials having run out of ideas.

Global commodity markets to reshape amid multiple crises – Study

Global commodity markets will experience great transformation owing to the combination of the supply chain disruption induced by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian – Ukraine war, and the exacerbating impacts of climate change, according to a new World Bank study on commodity markets.

Financial woes persist as Netflix lays off about 150 employees

Netflix (NFLX.O) announced on Tuesday that it had laid off roughly 150 individuals, largely in the United States, due to low financial growth. According to Reuters, the layoffs affected about 2% of the company’s staff in the United States and Canada. “These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them especially tough as none of us want to say goodbye to such great colleagues,” the company said in a statement. “We’re working hard to support them through this very difficult transition.”

Headline Inflation: No More Wiggle Room for MPC – FDC

The NBS released its official inflation report for April today. As widely expected, consumer price inflation continued its upward trend, rising by 90bps to 16.82%. This is the 3rd consecutive monthly increase and the highest level in 8 months. Source FDC Read More

Dangote, Port Harcourt Refineries’ll Prevent Aviation Fuel Scarcity – Sirika

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, says the scarcity of jet A1 and its high cost will persist in the nation until the Dangote and Port Harcourt refineries begin operation. Source Punch Read More

Tax Exemptions, Concessions Among Sources of Revenue Leakages, Says Zainab Ahmed

 Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, says federal government policies on tax exemptions and concessions are among sources of huge revenue leakages. Source TheCable Read More

AppZone Acquires Switching License from the CBN

 AppZone, Sub-Saharan Africa’s payment infrastructure company, announced that the Central Bank of Nigeria has issued the organization an approval in principle to operate under the Switching and Processing license category. Press Release by AppZone Read More

CBN Issues Operational Guidelines for Open Banking in Nigeria

The Central Bank of Nigeria, hereafter called the Bank, had issued the Regulatory Framework for Open Banking in Nigeria in its efforts to enhance competition and innovation in the banking system. Source CBN Read More

MYTO 2022: NERC Commences Electricity Tariff Review Process, Seek Public Comments The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has called for comments from the general public as it commences the process of the second biannual electricity tariff review. Source LeadershipNG Read More

Exporters Want Access to Repatriated Proceeds to Address Complaints on FX Trading on I&E Window

Stakeholders in the Nigerian Export Sector have called on the federal government to allow exporters access to their repatriated proceeds in order to address their complaints on foreign exchange trading on the Investors and Exporters window. Source THISDAYLIVE Read More

Nigeria, Swiss Firm Sign Pact on Metal, Gold Mining Development

 Nigerian and Swiss firms have signed a pact to develop precious metals and artisanal gold mining value chain. On the sideline of the Investing in African Mining Indaba at Capetown, South Africa, Dukia Gold & Precious Metals Refining Co. Limited Nigeria and Philoro Global Trading AG Switzerland… Source The Guardian Nigeria Read More

60 Start-Ups Across Africa to Get $4m Google Fund

Tech giant, Google is committing $4million to 60 eligible start-ups across Africa as applications open for the second cohort of the ‘Google for Start-up Black Founders Fund for Africa’. Source Daily Trust Read More

Crypto Can Complement Mobile Money in Africa, Kenyan Banker Says

Cryptocurrency can supplement mobile money in Africa if regulators can be convinced of its benefits, according to the chief executive of Kenya’s biggest lender by market value. Source Bloomberg Read More