From Brain Drain to Brain Gain: Focusing on the Second-Best Alternative
The wave of emigration by Nigerian workers in recent time has raised a renewed interest in the brain drain phenomenon. The current spike in human capital export has been attributed to low returns to education in Nigeria, poor economic condition and worsening security situation in the country. Source FDC Ltd Read More
Siemens Power Project: Nigeria to Take Delivery of Mega Transformers September, Says Minister
The federal government says the first batch of mega transformers under the presidential power initiative (PPI) will arrive by September. Source TheCable Read More
Nigerians Must Avoid FX Speculators to Save Naira, Says CBN
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says Nigerians must avoid dealing with speculators in the foreign exchange (FX) market to save the naira from further decline. Source TheCable Read More
Waste to Wealth: Opportunities for Revenue Diversification Along the Tomato Value Chain
Nigeria is the second largest producer of tomatoes in Africa and the fourteenth largest producer in the world with a total production of 3.69 million tonnes in 2020.⁶ Tomato production in Nigeria has seen tremendous increase from 0.176 million tonnes in 1961 to an all-time high of 4.08 million tonnes in 2014 before slowing to 3.69 million tonnes in 2020. Source FDC Ltd Read More
Emirates Writes Aviation Minister Over Inability to Repatriate Funds, Plans Reduction in Operations to Nigeria
As of July 2022, Emirates has USS 85 million of funds awaiting repatriation from Nigeria. This figure has been rising by more than SUS 10 million every month, as the ongoing operational costs of our 11 weekly flights to Lagos and 5 to Abuja continue to accumulate. Source Emirates Read More
FG May Halt Free Four Million Meters’ Distribution
The Federal Government-funded Phase 1 of the National Mass Metering Programme, NMMP, slated to commence in August appears to have been mired in uncertainty, as The PUNCH learnt that it had been put on hold following allegations of fraud by the Central Bank of Nigeria against some of the Meter Asset Providers, MAPs. Source Punch Read More
More Foreign Airlines May Cut Flights Over $600m Blocked Funds
Many foreign airlines are considering further drastic steps to mitigate the effects of blocked funds in Nigeria, findings by Daily Trust showed at the weekend. Source Daily Trust Read More
Regulation & Innovation: NITDA DG Highlights Startup Bill as the Game Changer at GAT Summit 2022
The DG who expressed the belief that the GAT Summit is coming at a time when players in the tech ecosystem are struggling with the realities of the present regulatory framework and contemplating their alternatives, noted that NITDA’s participation underscores the importance the agency attaches to the prevailing regulatory structure and future possibilities. Source TechEconomy Read More
Why Nigeria Needs to Deepen Its Capacity in Halal Standardization and Certification
Nigeria must develop its capacity in the “Standardization and Certification” to benefit immensely from the Global Halal market. Mr. Jude Chime, Executive Director of Trade, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ACCI, made this point while providing further insight on “Halal Industry as a Driver of Inclusive Economic Growth in Nigeria.” Source Proshare
New poll shows weak economy, insecurity driving Nigerians to vote in 2023
Nigerians’ interest in general elections has reached a record high ahead of the 2023 polls, according to an Africa Polling Institute (API) conducted in partnership with BusinessDay. In a survey that aimed to gauge the perception of Nigerians towards the 2023 elections…
Frustrated youths take front seat ahead of elections
A trinity of insecurity, the prohibitive cost of living, and unfavourable economic conditions have coalesced to drive unprecedented grievances in Nigerian youths. With over 65 million young people aged 10-24, Nigeria has one of the largest youth populations…
Stocks shed N869bn in one week on interest rate hike
The total market value of Nigerian stocks fell by about N869 billion last week as investors continued to sell off their equity exposures while shifting to higher-yielding risk-free assets. The renewed stock market rout comes on the heels of the Monetary Policy…
‘Innovation always precedes regulation’ – A tech myth that needs busting
One of last week’s biggest stories out of Africa was the Kenyan central bank’s decision to effectively blacklist Flutterwave and Chipper Cash from operating in Kenya. Typically, much of the reaction to the story from Nigeria managed to completely sidestep the…
Latest on ASUU strike: From boardroom to the street
When two elephants fight, the grass suffers, they say! This is exactly the situation in the six months and still counting the impasse between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government.
High transport fares persist in first half 2022 – NBS
The trend of high transport fares across different parts of the country persisted in June, as had been the case since the beginning of the year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has shown. The NBS’ Transport Fare Watch…
ASUU extends strike by four weeks
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has extended its strike action by another four weeks, and takes effect Monday, August 1, 2022. Since February 14, Nigerian universities have shut down over failure of government to honour the agreement it entered with the Union. Last week, the Nigeria Labour Con.
Supermarkets switch to local products as naira rout worsens
With the depreciation of the naira amid the scarcity of foreign exchange making imported products more expensive, supermarkets in the country are increasingly switching to local products. A new 2021 Supermarket report by Euromonitor International, a London-based strategic market research firm, said that followin…
Diesel prices hits highest Year-on-Year by 202.67%
In the coming months, the majority of companies serving the general public will increase prices. The current economic situation in the country and the world at large is a cue to possible hikes in the value of services. One of the major reasons there will be inflated prices of services provided in different sectors is the sharp…
BUA Cement, other laggards cause market’s negative start to August
Nigeria’s equities market kicked off the month of August in red (-0.83percent) amid record sell off in stocks like BUA Cement, International Breweries, May & Baker and other top laggards. The cement maker’s share price decreased most on the Nigerian bourse by N6.90 or 9.96percent, after decreasing from N69.30 to…
Airtel Africa Plc Reports $178m PAT in Q1 2023 Results; (Share Price: N1905.4K)
Airtel Africa Plc released its Q1 2023 Unaudited results for the period ended June 30th 2022.
Key Highlights
• Revenue grew by 13.04% from $1.1bn to $1.26bn.
• Profit before tax stood at $276m
• Profit after tax stood at $178m
• Share Price Currently Stands at N1905.4k
Highlights
• Revenue grew by 13.0% in reported currency to $1,257m. In constant currency terms revenue grew by 15.3%.
• Total revenues, for mobile services and mobile money services combined, grew in Nigeria by 18.3%, in East Africa by 14.1% and in Francophone Africa by 11.7%.
• Revenue growth in constant currency was posted across all four reporting segments. Mobile Services revenue in Nigeria grew by 18.3%, in East Africa by 11.1% and in Francophone Africa by 10.6% (and across the Group by 14.2%, with voice revenue up by 11.3% and data revenue up by 19.8%). Mobile Money revenue grew by 26.5%, driven by growth of 26.9% in East Africa and 25.4% in Francophone Africa.
• EBITDA grew by 14.9% to $614m in reported currency.
• EBITDA margin was 48.8%, an increase of 78 basis points in reported currency and 52 basis points in constant currency.
• Operating profit grew by 20.6% to $425m in reported currency.
• Profit after tax grew by 25.3% to $178m.
• Basic EPS increased to 4.4 cents (up by 31.0%). EPS before exceptional items was 3.8 cents, up from 3.2 cents in the prior period.
• Operating free cash flow grew by 10.3% to $473m, while net cash generated from operating activities reduced by 13.2% to $388m, mainly due to increased cash tax payments from both higher taxes on declared dividends and increased taxable profits.
• Leverage ratio has improved to 1.3x from 1.8x in the prior period. Post period end, in July 2022, the Group prepaid $450m of outstanding external debt at HoldCo. The remaining debt at HoldCo is now $550m, falling due in May 2024.
• Our total customer base increased to 131.6 million, up 8.9%, with increased penetration across mobile data (customer base up 9.7%) and mobile money services (customer base up 19.7%).
Dangote Cement Plc Reports N172.1bn PAT in Q2 2022 Results,(Share Price:N265.00k)
Dangote Cement Plc released its Q2 2022 Unaudited results for the period ended June 30th 2022.
Key Highlights
• Revenue grew by 17% from N690.54 to N808.04bn.
• Profit before tax stood at N264.89bn
• Profit after tax stood at N172.1bn
• Share Price Currently Stands at N265k
Dangote Cement Plc, Africa’s largest cement producer, announces unaudited results for the six months ended 30th June 2022.
Financial highlights
• Group revenue up 17.0% to ₦808.0B
• Group EBITDA up 6.3% to ₦373.2B; 46.2% margin
• Nigeria EBITDA up 12.3% to ₦349.4B; 56.1% margin
• Profit after tax down 10.2% to ₦172.1B, due to unrealised foreign exchange losses
• Net debt of ₦423.0B; net gearing of 54.5%
Operating highlights
• Group sales volumes down 7.0% to 14.2Mt
• Nigeria volumes down 5.3% to 9.3Mt
• Global supply chain disruption impacting operations where imports are required
• Commenced the 3rd season of the National Consumer Promotion
• 3Mta Okpella plant ramp up ongoing
Michel Puchercos, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Despite the elevated inflation due to a very volatile global environment, the first half of 2022 has been positive. We recorded increases in revenue and EBITDA that drove strong cash generation across the Group. We recorded revenue of ₦808.0B, up 17.0% compared to last year and Group EBITDA of ₦373.2B, up 6.3% with an EBITDA margin of 46.2%.
Although significant increase in energy and AGO costs are impacting production, we are strengthening our efforts to ramp up the usage of alternative fuels. Our Alternative Fuel Project aims to leverage waste management solutions, reduce CO2 emissions, and source material locally. So far this year, we co-processed 67,230 tonnes of waste representing a 25% increase over H1 2021.
To drive consumer engagement and support demand ahead of the rainy season; we have commenced the 3 rd season of our National Consumer Promotion – “Bag of Goodies 3”. On the operational side, we are ramping up production at our Okpella plant and are progressing well to deploy grinding plants in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
Our business model remains robust, thanks to the prudent and flexible approach we have taken across our operations. Our continuous focus on efficiency, meeting market demand and maintaining our costs leadership drives our ability to consistently deliver superior profitability and value to all shareholders
