Author: Julius Alagbe

Dangote Cement Gains N1.18trn as Share Price Soars by 16.5% Dangote Cement Plc’s market value increased by N1.181 trillion in the equity market as the company’s share price soared by 16.5% in an all-week rally. The cement industry leader attracted investors attention throughout holiday-shortened trading sessions that lasted for four days last week. Reflecting improved macro indicators and expectations of further economic growth, investors are anticipating earnings growth for the second quarter of the year. Dangote Cement Plc is expected to release first half earnings results in the coming days. Data from the Nigerian Exchange revealed that Dangote Cement Plc’s…

Fitch Affirms Kaduna State Rating at ‘B’, Outlook Stable Fitch Ratings has affirmed Kaduna government’s ability to honour the state’s financial obligations on a timely basis at ‘B’ with stable outlooks. The ‘B’ rating indicates that material default risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. In the rating note, Fitch said its affirmation reflects the unchanged ‘b’ standalone credit profile (SCP), resulting from Kaduna’s ‘Vulnerable’ Risk Profile and a financial profile assessed in the ‘bbb’ category. The ratings also factor in the state’s growing debt to fund necessary capital expenditure for the development of basic infrastructure and…

Barbican Capital Limited Sells 15% Shareholding in FirstHoldco Barbican Capital Limited, a company related to First Holdco Plc’s former chair, Oba Otudeko, has offloaded its approximately 15.01% shareholding in the group. According to regulatory filings on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Barbican Capital sold 6,314,116,229 at N31.00 in a block transaction that failed to negatively affect First Holdco Plc’s market value. The transaction that happened was reported to be conducted outside the Nigerian Exchange trading platform, and it is noted to be a truce between warring influential shareholders of First Holdco. On Wednesday, First Holdco’s market value surged as its share…

Money Market Rates Increase as System Deficit Expands Money market rates increased as the liquidity deficit in the financial system expanded to N672.71 billion ahead of fresh inflows on Friday. The liquidity stress triggered a marginal spike in money market rates as a result of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) activities. Data from the FMDQ showed that open repo and overnight lending rates climbed 17 basis points apiece. The outflow that plunged the liquidity position into a deep deficit in the money market was driven by the CBN foreign exchange market intervention settlements and deposit money banks obligations. The market…

FirstHoldco Jumps on Significant Off-market Block Trade The equity market value of First Holdco Plc soared by about 10% on Wednesday following a sizeable transaction conducted outside the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). Data from the Nigerian Exchange showed its share price rose to N32.2 as 33.199 million units of First Holdco valued at N1.021 billion exchanged ownership in the market. This fueled a sharp increase in total volume traded on the NGX, up by 807.03% to 11.67 billion units, while total value traded soared by 1,028.44% to N363.41 billion. According to CardinalStone Securities Limited, this is largely on the back of…

US Dollar Falls Ahead of Consumer Price Index The US dollar fell against its major trading partners early Tuesday, except for a gain versus the yen, ahead of the release of consumer price index data for June. U.S. policy shifts dominate the dollar’s tone this week, along with inflation readings. The market also weighing tariffs on certain countries, namely Brazil, Canada, the EU, and Mexico, and targeted products, such as pharmaceuticals and copper, will keep uncertainty high. A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Tuesday showed that USDEUR rose to 1.1677 from 1.1668 at the Monday US close…

Zenith Bank Now Value at N3trn in Nigerian Bourse Zenith Bank Plc’s potential caught the eye of investors, causing its market worth to reach approximately N3 trillion in the stock market. The bank’s shares briefly reached a yearly peak of N72 on the Nigerian Exchange but ended the trading day at N71.50 after a slight dip. The money-making banking stock has delivered on shareholders expectations ahead of the second quarter earnings release, while investors are yearning for its interim dividend, which has become annual ritual. A growing number of equity analysts have upgraded their estimates and target price after as…

FIRS to Combat Illicit Financial Flows, Boost Revenue The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has expressed commitment to combating Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and strengthening the country’s domestic resource mobilisation. The Executive Chairman of FIRS, Dr Zacch Adedeji, expressed the commitment in a statement by Dare Adekanmbi, his Special Adviser in Media. According to Adedeji, before now, the FIRS had set in motion machinery to tackle IFFs by approving capacity building programmes for staff members of the agency. He said that the programmes were on how to identify and block IFFs and how to increase revenue collection from the multinational…

Africans Will Develop Africa, Dangote Tells Global CEOs President/Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has urged African entrepreneurs, business leaders, and wealthy individuals to invest in the development of the continent. Speaking while hosting participants of the Global CEO Africa Programme from Lagos Business School and Strathmore Business School, Nairobi, after a tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, Dangote emphasised that with the right investments, Africa has the potential to grow and compete globally. He asserted that what the continent needs are bold and transformative projects capable of addressing its long-standing challenges. Citing…

Lafarge Africa Hits 52-Week High, Analysts Adjust Target Price Lafarge Africa Plc has 48% upside at the current market price of N106 per share in the equities market. In its stock recommendation, Cowry Asset Limited sets N156.90 as the new target price for Lafarge after it broke out of the previous estimate. The cement company’s share price surged by 14.59% week on week, from the opening price of N92.50, according to data from the Nigerian Exchange. Investors are showing confidence as they anticipate Lafarge Africa will maintain earnings growth and boost market share amidst heightened competition in the cement industry.…