capital market
Ecobank’s three-month earnings more than triples to N141bn
The earnings of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), a pan-African banking conglomerate rose by 249 percent in the first three months of 2024, according to its latest financial statement on Tuesday.
The group reported an after-tax profit of N140.8 billion from N40.4 billion in the first quarter of 2023.
Interest income calculated using the effective interest rate rose to N608.2 billion from N207.2 billion. On the flip side, the bank’s interest expense surged 160 percent to N219.9 billion from N94.5 billion driven by the high-interest rate environment.
Further breakdown of the financial statement disclosed that Ecobank’s interest income grew by 194 percent in Q1, as all major contributory lines recorded an increase in investment securities (248.5 per cent), loans and advances to banks (260.4 per cent), loans and advances to customers (178.7 percent) Treasury bills and other eligible bills (144.3 percent) and other investment (133 percent).
The bank recorded a 217 percent growth in net interest income to N388.3 billion in the first quarter of 2024 from N122.6 billion in the same period of 2023. Net fee and commission income increased to N18.7 billion from N5.7 billion during the period.
The bank also seemed to have gained from the Naira devaluation as Trading income and foreign exchange gains surged 202 per cent to N107.1 billion in the first three months compared to N35.4 billion in the same period last year.
ETI’s operating expenses stood at N357.9 billion in Q1’24, up 181 percent from N127.5 billion in the same period of 2023. This was driven by Staff expenses which stood at N152.4 billion, a 178 percent increase from N54.8 billion.
Depreciation and amortisation stood at N24.8 billion in the first three months of this year, indicating a 126 percent increase from N10.9 billion in the corresponding period of 2023.
However, operating income stood at N665.4 billion indicating a 205 percent increase from N217.8 billion.
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period increased to N5.2 trillion from N1.12 trillion. Movement in cash and cash equivalents reveals that net cash generated from operating activities stood at N135 billion from a negative N491 billion.
Net cash generated from investing activities stood at N477 billion from a negative N82.8 billion while net cash generated from financing activities amounted to N208 million from N73.3 billion.
Ecobank’s basic and diluted earnings per share rose to N374 in the first three from N117 last year.
By Ifeoluwakitan Afolabi
Shareholders of Total Nigeria Plc have praised the company for its consistent dividend payment despite the challenging operating environment.
At the company’s Pre-Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos, stakeholders commended Total’s entrenched safety culture, innovation, and good corporate governance for its impressive performance.
Mrs. Ifeyinwa Chinwe, a stakeholder, attributed the company’s success to its commitment to excellence and urged the government to create a more business-friendly environment to encourage companies like Total to thrive.
She also emphasised the importance of individual actions in promoting sustainability, encouraging everyone to adopt eco-friendly practices like recycling, conserving energy, and reducing plastic use.
The shareholders’ appreciation and Mrs. Chinwe’s call to action highlight the importance of collaboration between businesses and individuals in driving growth and sustainability in Nigeria.
Addressing the shareholders, the chairman Mr Jean-Phillipe Torres said he was glad to meet everyone once again, especially the fact that he’s back to Nigeria and that Nigeria has become a place where he could call home.
He encouraged everyone to please do better and ensure they are doing the right thing at the right time.
“In 2023, TotalEnergies reported a turnover of $281.7 billion. For 2024, their Q1 2024 results indicate a slight increase in turnover compared to Q1 2023, reflecting higher energy prices and increased production,” he said.
The equities market resumed from the Eid-El-Kabir holiday with investors losing N47 billion at the end of trading session on Wednesday.
This followed a dip in the share price of stocks like Caverton, ABC Transport, and NB amongst others on the trading floor today.
After five hours of trading at the capital market, the equity capitalisation crashed to N56.4 trillion from N56.5 trillion posted by the bourse on Friday.
Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased to 99,840.95 from 99,925.29 recorded the previous trading day.
The market breadth was positive as 40 stocks advanced, 15 declined, while 70 others remained unchanged in 9, 899 deals.
UPL, Guinness, and Champion led other gainers with 10 percent, 9.96 percent, and 9.83 percent growth in share price to close at N2.75, N66.25, and N3.24 from the previous N2.50, N60.25, and N2.95 per share.
On the flip side, Caverton, ABC Transport, and NB led other price decliners as they shed 9.62 percent, 9.52 percent, and 8.37 percent each to close at N1.41, N0.57, and N29.00 from the initial N1.56, N0.63, and N31.65 per share.
Veritaskap traded 55.731 million shares valued at N443 million in 103 deals.
On the value index, Fidelity Bank recorded the highest value for the day trading stocks worth N11.3 billion in 466 deals followed by Geregu which traded equities worth N1.09 billion in 61 deals.
MTN Nigeria traded stocks worth N596 million in 454 deals.
The naira, Nigeria’s currency on Wednesday traded flat at N1,490 on the parallel market, popularly called the black market, following improved dollar liquidity in the foreign exchange (FX) market.
When compared to last week’s rate of N1,495, the naira recorded a marginal gain of 0.33 percent per dollar on the black market.
A total of $5.95 billion from the World Bank and Afreximbank entered into the Nigerian economy, helping to strengthen Nigeria’s external reserves and the naira.
At the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the naira closed flat on Friday, gaining marginally by 0.06 percent as the dollar was quoted at N1,482.72 on Friday as against N1,483.62 closed on June 10, 2024, according to the data obtained from the FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited.
The dollar supply by willing buyers and willing sellers increased by 13.47 percent to $183.47 million on Friday, June 15, 2024 from $161.69 million as of June 10, 2024, according to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited.
Nigeria‘s foreign currency reserves have risen by 2.19 percent month-on-month, following streams of dollar inflows from international financial institutions.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that external reserves grew to $33.159 billion as of June 11, 2024 from $32.447 billion in May 10, 2024.
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