Hello. Welcome to the Nairametrics Corporate News Roundup, a roundup of the top news that made headlines for the week ending November 12, 2022. This newsletter is courtesy of Quidax.
Let’s start with the main stories…
Departure of Jumia Co-CEOs: Like everyone else, everyone at Nairametrics was shocked 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 company from scratch and oversaw its expansion into 11 African countries, are no longer in charge. They have been succeeded by Francisco Dufay.
Jumia did not say exactly why the co-founders dropped out. But as you might expect, the company thanked them profusely for their contributions. A statement seen by Nairametrics also quoted Sacha Poignonnec as saying that the time had come to open a new chapter for him and the company.
you can go on with that story here.
NGX insurance fines: Last week, five insurers were fined N41 million by the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) for failing to file its 2021 financial statements on time. The insurance companies are: Royal Exchange Plc, Lasaco Assurance Plc, Coronation Insurance Plc, Veritas Kapital Assurance and Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc.
Part of the NGX Listing Rules is that listed companies must meet 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 comply with this requirement usually entails sanctions.
Naira Induced Bank Fever: As Nigerians continue to rush to banks to deposit their N200, N500 and N1000 notes before CBN’s January 2023 deadline, Access Bank inform your customers which has provided alternative channels (apart from bank branches) to help speed up the process.
A Tier 1 bank statement, seen by Nairametrics, listed the alternative channels to include: Access Bank’s 150,000+ CLOSA agents across the country, Depository ATMs, and 500+ BETA agents who are present in more than 180 important markets.
FIRS allocation for telecommunications companies: MTN Nigeria, Airtel and some commercial banks were selected by the Federal Internal Revenue Service (FIRS) to bear value added taxes (VAT) on behalf of FIRS.
nairametry reported that companies will collect VAT on all taxable supplies made to them, after which the money will be remitted to FIRS. The new agreement will enter into force on January 1, 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 638 MW as of September 202
Owen Omojiafo, Group Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Plc, parent company of Transcorp Power, revealed this during his recent facts behind the figures event attended by Nairametrics. He explained that they signed gas contract agreements with Chevron, Seplat and others to improve the constant and reliable gas supply to the plant, hence the improvement.
Nigerian business and the upcoming general election…
Keystone Bank’s rebuttal: In view of the upcoming 2023 election, some companies have willingly been drawn into the drama or have been drawn into it. One case in point is Keystone Bank, which had to issue a statement refuting claims that the government ordered it to close the lobbyist’s bank account. TakeBackNaija. A press release issued by the bank clarified that it closed the account because there were some irregularities in the way it was opened. The statement added that, in accordance with regulatory guidelines, the funds received in the closed account were returned to their source sources.
The bank made the clarification following a lobbying statement that alleged the federal government had ordered the account closed. The group used the account to gather financial support for Peter Obi, the Labor Party’s presidential candidate for the upcoming election.
Stears’ electoral ambitions: In the meantimeLagos-based intelligence company, stars, Announced which 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 to expand its ability to monitor, analyze and visualize elections.
Debt and dividend issues
FairMoney redeems the debt: In other news, fintech company FairMoney (trading as MyCredit Investments Limited) Announced which redeemed its N3.7 billion of 18% Series 11 Private Notes. The notes were due on November 3, 2022.
A statement seen by Nairametrics said the Series 11 Private Bonds were the second tranche of the company’s N10 billion Private Bond Programme, launched after a successful Series 1 Private Bond Issue.
Exchange rate for dividends: Seplat Energy Plc Announced the applicable exchange rate to determine its payment of interim dividends to qualified shareholders. The announcement was for shareholders who wish to receive their dividend payment in naira or 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 that the applicable exchange rates were based on the exchange rates in effect as of November 9, 2022.
Now, some news about offers…
Zedcrest leads the seed: In deal news, CutStruct Technology announced a $600,000 seed Financing led by Zedcrest Capital, DFS Lab, and Lofty Inc. The round also saw the participation of some angel investors, including Kola Aina.
The company, which specializes in harnessing technology to cut costs in the construction sector, said the funding round would enable it to launch a new construction procurement product called LiveVend.
Commodity Association: AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited has partnered with NG Clearing Limited to develop an infrastructure to facilitate trading and central clearing of futures contracts for commodities such as cocoa, paddy rice, corn and soybeans in Nigeria.
nairametry reported that the agreement, which was signed last Wednesday, is a precursor to the development of the technological infrastructure that will underpin the introduction of commodity futures in Nigeria.
A pan-African agreement: union bank of nigeria plc signed an association agreement with Morocco’s leading multinational commercial bank, Attijariwafa Bank, to support each other’s pan-African development strategies. The deal will allow Union Bank to expand its operations beyond Nigeria’s shores.
Under the agreement, Union Bank and Attijariwafa Bank will develop new joint business opportunities for their respective clients seeking to support trade finance and investment corridors between Nigeria and all countries where Attijariwafa Bank operates.
The Kuda Expansion Offer: Another Nigerian bank that has expanded its operations beyond Nigeria is Kuda Bank Microfinance Bank. The neobank said it now operates in the UK, providing direct debit and local transfer services for Nigerians in the UK.
Nairametrics concluded 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 third-quarter consolidated financial statements for the period ending September 9, 2022. One of these companies is BUA Foods Plc, which reported revenue of N120.5 billion for the nine months, which represents an increase of 39.31% compared to the N86.5 billion it reported in the third quarter of 2021.
The company also reported a pre-tax profit of N31.881 billion, which is a 61% increase from the N19.821 billion the company reported during the same period in 2021.
Earnings decline for Okomu: Okomu Oil Plc also published its consolidated financial statements for the third quarter of 2022, reporting an increase of 26.99% in revenue which increased to N9.421 billion compared to N7.419 billion in the third quarter of 2021.
Meanwhile, inflation-induced costs caused after-tax earnings to shrink by 40%. Despite the decline in earnings, the company proposed an interim dividend payment of N14.309 billion.
Cement money: Three cement companies listed in the NGX raised N1.709 billion revenue for the nine months ending September 30, 2022, representing 19.68% growth from the N1.428 trillion reported by businesses in Q3 2021.
This is according to information obtained from the third quarter unaudited financial results of the cement companies, namely Dangote Cement Plc, BUA Cement Plc and Lafarge Africa Plc.