Author: Marketforces Africa

Naira Skids as Inflow Drops, CBN Sells Additional $116m The naira fell against the US dollar to close at N1602 as data showed that total inflows at the Nigerian foreign exchange market dropped by about 6% in April. Forex market players at the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) saw bids filled in the N1580–1603.50 range, with the pair closing at N1602.18, reflecting a marginal 16.5 basis points depreciation from N1599.54 at the beginning of the trading session last week. The CBN intervened multiple times, selling a total of about $116 million across sessions, while subdued FX demand and moderate foreign…

Afrinvest Opens N15bn Commercial Papers for Subscription Afrinvest Capital Limited has opened series 3 & 4 Commercial Paper Issuance of up to ₦15 billion for investors subscription. The investment firm priced 180-day commercial paper at discount rate of 20.6570% while 268 days to maturity attracted discount rate of 21.4785%. According to the investment firm offer document, the commercial paper is scheduled to close on Tuesday, 6th May 2025. The firm stated that the proceeds from the issuance will be used to support the working capital requirements and general corporate purposes. Afrinvest is a capital market holding company with a focus…

Analysts Set First Holdco Target Price at N41.75 after Earnings Bump Analysts at investment firm AAG Capital Limited have set a N41.75 target price for First Holdco Plc, reflecting more than 63% upside potential at the equities market reference price of N24.80. First HoldCo’s unaudited Q1 2025 results showed a strong performance, with interest income rising 40.2% year-on-year to N625.3 billion, driven by the sustained high-yield environment. Net loans and advances to customers increased by 4.95% compared to 2024, while interest expense also rose moderately by 18.6% year-on-year to N260.1 billion. Details from the group’s unaudited financials showed that customer…

Tax Reform Bills to Benefit Nigerian Workers—Oyedele The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Dr. Taiwo Oyedele, says some of the key provisions of the tax bills will improve the welfare of Nigerian workers. Oyedele, on Friday in a statement, said that lower taxes would enhance the disposable income of workers. He noted that provisions to benefit workers included full exemption for workers earning up to N1.3m p.a. (over N100,000 monthly), representing not less than 35 percent of all workers in the private and public sectors from Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax. He said…

NGX Index Drops Intraday as MTN, Banking Stocks Dip MTN Nigeria, Wema Bank, and Ecobank are among the stocks driving the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) index lower during the intraday trading session on Friday in the local bourse. MTN Nigeria is trending negative, just like some high-priced banking stocks, including Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc. Investors are currently taking profit on Oando, Jaiz Bank, FCMB, and Access Holdings amidst the first quarter of 2025 earnings release festival. The Nigerian stocks have seen successive price declines as investor sentiment nosedived. The market has seen profit-taking activities gaining momentum, while stockbrokers continue to facilitate…

Transcorp EPS Spikes 214.8% after Share Reconstruction Transnational Corporation Plc earnings per share (EPS) spiked by more than 214% year on year in the first quarter of 2025, following the group’s share reconstruction. Analysts noted that the recent share reconstruction reduced the number of outstanding shares to 10,161,998,000, significantly lifting EPS to 192 kobo from 61 kobo in Q1’24. The conglomerate that warehoused major listed companies like Transcorp Hotels and Transcorp Power is worth about N470 billion, though its subsidiaries weigh far more in the stock market. In the first quarter of 2025, Transcorp Plc net profit grew to N36.7…

Fitch Ratings Recalibrates Nigeria’s National Rating Scale Fitch Ratings has recalibrated its Nigeria National Rating scale to reflect changes in the relative creditworthiness among Nigerian issuers following Fitch’s upgrade of Nigeria’s sovereign Long-Term Local-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘B’ from ‘B-’/ Positive in April. The ratings agency said the recalibration may result in rating revisions for some issuers with Nigerian national ratings. These rating revisions will be announced soon, Fitch said. National scale ratings are a risk ranking of issuers in a particular market designed to help local investors differentiate risk. Nigeria’s national ratings are denoted by the unique…

GCR Affirms Providus Bank BBB-(NG)/A3(NG) Ratings Africa-focused ratings agency GCR has affirmed Providus Bank Limited’s national scale long and short-term issuer ratings of BBB-(NG) and A3 (NG) respectively. According to the rating note, the outlook on the rating is revised to Evolving from Rating Watch Evolving. The ratings affirmation reflects Providus Bank Limited’s (Providus Bank or the bank) improved but limited competitive position, stable funding and adequate liquidity, and modest risk position against deteriorating capitalisation metrics. The evolving outlook is hinged on uncertainties around the proposed merger of Providus Bank and Unity Bank Plc. The regional commercial bank, Providus Bank…

Zenith Bank Grows Profit by 21% in Q1-2025 Zenith Bank Plc grew profit by about 21% year on year in the first quarter of 2025 to N311.830 billion, according to its unaudited financial statement submitted on the Nigerian Exchange. The bank posted double-digit growth of 22% in gross earnings, from N781 billion reported in Q1 2024 to N950 billion in Q1 2025. The growth in the topline was driven mainly by a 72% increase in the group’s interest and similar income, which rose from N489 billion in Q1 2024 to N838 billion in the period under review. The growth in…

Brent Drops to $61 Amidst Supply Glut Expectations Brent price has dropped to $61 per barrel in the global commodity market as markets expect the organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies members (OPEC+) to increase supply in May, and this move has been projected to create a glut. Crude oil analysts are bearish on price movement due to demand concerns stemming from the trade war between the world’s two largest oil consumers, the US and China, and growing expectations of a supply glut. Brent crude fell by around 0.03%, trading at $61.04 per barrel, down from $61.06 at the…