Arise B.V invests additional Tier-1 capital of $75m in Ecobank.

Arise B.V, a leading African investment company, has made Additional Tier 1 (AT1) investment of about $75 million in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI)-the parent company of the Ecobank Group.

This is contained in a statement signed by ETI’s Head of Corporate Communications, Adenike Laoye, and sent to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

According to the disclosure, the recent investment is Basel III compliant and is the first AT1 instrument to be issued by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated. In light of this, the financial giant described it as; ‘’a landmark transaction in the sub-Saharan Africa region.’’  The bank also revealed that the investment will help optimize and improve its Tier-1 capital by $75m.

This recent investment follows an earlier ground-breaking $350 million subordinated Sustainability Eurobond issued by ETI in June 2021, which was very well received by international investors across diverse continents. The Eurobond has since been listed on the London Stock Exchange as Tier 2 capital.

What will the additional capital be used for?

Commenting on what it intends to use the funds for; the pan-African banking group revealed that the additional investment would be deployed to meet its general corporate obligations which include loan growth and strengthening the capital buffers of profitable subsidiaries in two of its major markets – Francophone West African and Anglophone West Africa.

What they are saying:

 Commenting on the recent development, the Group Chief Executive Officer of ETI,  Ade Adeyemi said: ‘’This investment by Arise is a testament to continued support and confidence from our shareholders; their commitment to, and belief in our strategy which we remain focused on executing to deliver value to our shareholders and excellence to our customers. Indeed, in addition to improving our double leverage ratio, it is also a good boost for the firm and its staff”.

On the other hand, the Chief Executive Officer of Arise, Deepak Malik said: ‘’ETI is our primary banking investment in Francophone West Africa and Anglophone West Africa. We are very supportive of ETI’s growth ambitions and its ability to increase financial services to Agri, SMEs & retail customers. Our investment will also strengthen the balance sheet of ETI and provide additional risk capital”.

What you should know:

  • ETI had earlier in June this year, raised $350 million from the issuance of its Tier-2 Sustainability Notes. The notes which will mature by June 2031, has a call option in June 2026 and was issued with a coupon rate of 8.75% with interest payable semi-annually in arrears.
  • Arise B.V. (‘’Arise’’) is a leading equity investor in financial institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa and one of ETI’s existing major institutional shareholders. It currently manages assets in excess of $960 million in over 10 African countries, and has indirect banking exposure to over 33 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

FCMB projects profit after tax of N8.51 billion in Q4 2021.

First City Monument Bank Plc (FCMB) released its earnings forecasts for the fourth quarter of the year (Q4, 2021).

  • Gross earnings is projected at N48.22 billion
  • Net interest income is projected at N27.5 billion
  • Net operating income is projected at N35.92 billion.
  • Operating expenses projection of N20.4 billion.
  • Tax is projected at N751.4 million.
  • Profit after tax is projected at N8.51 billion.

See link to results.

 

Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc projects profit after tax of N131.7 million in Q4 2021.

Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc released its earnings forecasts for the fourth quarter of the year (Q4, 2021).

  • Gross earnings is projected at N876.4 million
  • Interest income is projected at N713.8 million
  • Net operating income is projected at N551.6 million.
  • Operating expenses projection of N357.9 million.
  • Tax is projected at N62 million.
  • Profit after tax is projected at N131.7 million.

See link to results.

 

2021 Half Year: Access Bank to pay N10.7 billion interim dividend to shareholders.

The Board of Directors of Access Bank Plc has earmarked a total sum of N10.7 billion as dividends to shareholders for the period ended 30th of June, 2021.

This is according to a disclosure signed by the company’s secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, and sent to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

According to the notice, the banking giant proposed to pay out a dividend of 3 kobo for each of the outstanding 35,545,225,622 ordinary shares of the company, held by its shareholders, amounting to N10,663,567,686.6

It is also pertinent to note that the proposed  interim dividend of 30 kobo per share is about 20% higher than the amount proposed in the corresponding period of last year (HY 2020: 25 kobo). This increase might be attributed to a much improved financial performance reported by the bank during the just concluded half year period.

Recall that the bank recently released its 2021 half year results, where it posted a 42.4% increase in its Profit After Tax (PAT) figures.  Net interest income after impairment also surged by 56% to N171.4 billion, customers deposit grew to N5.97 trillion within the period, while its earnings per share (EPS) grew to N2.48 from N1.73 recorded in corresponding period of last year.

What you should know:

  • The first-tier bank revealed that the interim dividends will be paid electronically on the 29th of September, 2021 to qualified shareholders, whose names appear on the Register of Members as at Thursday, 16th of September, 2021. To qualify, shareholders must have completed the e-dividend registration and mandated the Registrar (United Securities Limited) to pay the Registrar to pay their dividends directly into their Bank accounts.
  • To facilitate the disbursement of the dividends, the bank announced that the Register of its Shareholders will be closed on Friday, 17th of September, 2021.
  • Meanwhile, Access Bank Plc closed trading yesterday 1st of September,  2021 with a share price of N9 per share.

 

Access Bank grows half year profit by 42% to N86.94 billion in HY 2021.

Access Bank Plc released its interim financial statements for the period ended 30th of June, 2021.

  • Net interest income after impairment charges was N171.4 billion. (+56.2% YoY)
  • Net fee and commission income of N58.73 billion. (+44.7% YoY)
  • Personnel expenses totalled N43.6 billion. (+20.3% YoY)
  • Deposits from customers grew to N5.97 trillion.
  • Profit for the period was N86.94 billion. (+42.4% YoY)
  • Earnings per share of N2.48 Vs N1.73 YoY.
  • A dividend of 30 kobo per share was proposed by the board.

See link to results.

Zenith Bank holds HY 2021 Investors Presentation. 

Zenith Bank Plc held its Half Year (HY) 2021 results presentation to investors and analysts. Below are the facts to the figures; 

  • Interest income declined by 6% YoY due to the prevailing low yield environment which affected yields on some marketable securities. 
  • On the other hand, Interest expense declined by 26% YoY due to rebalancing of deposit mix and the declining yield environment. 
  • Contribution of non-interest income to total revenue increased from 37.3% to 41.0% YoY. This was driven by the growth recorded in fees on electronic products (91%), account maintenance fee (51%) and agency& collection fees (50%). 
  • ROAE declined from 21.5% to 18.8% YoY due to the 15.6% YoY increase in capital base and the slow recovery of the economy. 
  • Cost-to-income ratio increased from 54.4% to 56.1% YoY due to inflationary pressure and regulatory costs. 
  • Capital adequacy and liquidity ratios during the period stood at 22.0% and 69.9% respectively. 
  • Customers’ deposits grew by 8.1% YoY due to increasing confidence in the Zenith brand. The breakdown of the deposit mix showed that demand account contributed the highest (55.2%), followed by Savings (20.4%), Domiciliary (17.5%) and Term (7%) 
  • Gross loans as at the period stood at N2.99trillion. The top four sectors it lent out to are; Upstream Oil and Gas (18.4%), Government (15.9%), General Commerce (13.2%), Other Manufacturing (10.5%).  
  • On the other hand, the sectors that got the least allocation in terms of the disbursement of the gross loans are; Finance and Insurance (0.3%), Education (0.4%), Beverages and Tobacco (2%). 
  • Total customers during the period stood at 13.71 million. (+24.1% YoY). 
  • A total number of 135,463 active POS terminals, 62,341 agents and 2,051 ATM terminals were recorded during the period under review. 
  • In terms of diversity, out of its 7,848 employees, 3936 are female while 3,912 are male employees. 

For more information about the Investors presentation, click HERE. 

Primrose Investment purchases additional 21.1m units of FCMB shares worth N65.3 million.

Primrose Investment Limited, a real estate and property development company, has announced the purchase of additional 21.1 million units of FCMB Group Plc shares worth N66.6 million.

This is according to a recent disclosure, signed by the firm’s secretary, Olufunmilayo Adedibu, and forwarded to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Breakdown

The breakdown of the recent deal showed that Primrose Investment Limited purchased a total of 21,123,071 units of FCMB shares at an average price of N3.0916 per share. This puts the total consideration for the shares purchased at N65, 304,086.3

It is pertinent to note that the deal took place in seven tranches on 4th, 5th, 6th, 10th, 12th, 26th and 27th of August, 2021. The breakdown of the amount spent in each tranche is succinctly captured below;

  • In the first tranche, 6,888,555 units of the firm’s share were purchased at N3.1692 per share, grossing N21,831,208.51
  • Another 534,516 units were purchased at N3.0762 in the second tranche, totalling N1, 644,278.12.
  • In the third tranche, 5,100, 000 units were purchased at N3.0998 per share, grossing N15,808,980
  • A further 5,000,000 units were purchased at N3.1468 per share in the fourth tranche, grossing N15,734,000
  • In the fifth tranche, additional 500,000 units were purchased at N3.0977 per share, totalling N1,548,850.
  • An additional 600,000 units were purchased in the sixth tranche at N3.0128, totalling N1,807,680.
  • In the last tranche, 2,500,000 units of shares were purchased at N3.0389 each, worth N7,597,250

What you should know:

  • Recall that in July, Primrose Investment Limited had invested about N70.2 million in acquiring 22 million units of FCMB shares.
  • As at the period of reporting this, FCMB is currently trading N2.97, down by 2.62%.

 

Zenith Bank proposes interim dividend of N9.42 billion for 2021 half year.

Zenith Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s most capitalized financial institutions, has proposed to pay the total sum of N9.42 billion as interim dividends to its shareholders for the half year period ended 30th of June, 2021.

The company is expected to pay an interim dividend of 30 kobo per share on all the outstanding 31,396,493,786 ordinary shares of the company, amounting to N9.42 billion

This is according to a notice uploaded on the website of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) today, and signed by the company’s secretary, Michael Osilama Etu.

According to the disclosure, the interim dividend will be paid electronically to shareholders on the 20th of September, 2021, subject to appropriate withholding tax. Other pre-requisite conditions for payment are;

  • Only shareholders, whose names appear in the registrar of members as at the close of business on 10th of September, 2021 will be considered.
  • Shareholders must have completed the e-dividend registration and must have mandated the Registrar (Veritas Registrar Limited) to pay their dividends directly into their bank accounts.

To facilitate the payment, the financial giant noted that its register of shareholders will be closed on 13th of September, 2021.

What you should know:

  • Zenith Bank had earlier declared a half year profit of N106.12 billion in HY 2021, indicating a slight increase of about 2.2% YoY. Other key financial metrics like its net interest income, EPS, etc., all recorded an increase during the period under review.
  • The Bank officially closed trading today 27th of August, 2021 with a share price of N24.40.

 

 

Zenith Bank post profit after tax of N106.12 billion in HY 2021

Zenith Bank Plc released its interim financial statements for the six months period ended 30 June, 2021.

  • Net interest income for the period was N159.94 billion. (+1.6% YoY)
  • Net income on fees and commission of N47.66 billion. (+42.3% YoY)
  • Operating expenses totalled N97.6 billion. (+17.9% YoY)
  • Deposits from customers stood at N5.77 trillion.
  • Profit after tax for the period was N106.12 billion. (+2.2% YoY)
  • Earnings per share of N3.38 Vs N3.30 YoY.

See link to results.

 

 

LivingTrust Mortgage Bank gets August 2023 deadline to increase shares held by public investors.

LivingTrust Mortgage Bank has given update on its free float- which represents the portion of its shares in the hands of public investors as opposed to locked-in shares held by insiders or investors with controlling-interest.

In a recent notice signed by the company’s secretary, Timothy Gbadeyan, the mortgage bank revealed that it has secured a two-year grace period from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), valid till 20th of August 2023, to meet up with the statutory free-float requirements for listed companies.

The extension is to enable the firm meet up with the free float requirements of 20% issued and fully paid share capital or N20 billion free float market capitalization for companies listed on the NGX Main Board.

In a bid to address the free float deficiency, the firm also announced that its majority shareholders pledged to make available 750,000,000 ordinary shares of the company for trading to members of the public. In addition, the bank revealed that it will hold a ‘facts behind the figures session’ and an earnings call, among other activities to showcase the company’s performances during the grace period

In conclusion, it is pertinent to note that based on the provisions of Rule 3.1.4 of the Exchange’s Rules Governing Free Float Requirements for Listed Companies, NGX reserves the right to suspend trading in the company’s securities if it fails to achieve the required free float threshold within the extended period.

What you should know:

  • NGX had earlier given an extended timeframe to UACN Property Development Company Plc (UPDC Plc) and Prestige Assurance Plc to meet up with their free-float requirements.
  • LivingTrust Mortgage Bank closed trading today 24th of August, 2021 with a share price of 67 kobo per share.