Thread by @Nairametrics

Hello everyone and welcome to @Nairametrics Corporate News Roundup for the week ended July 11, 2020. This thread is brought to you by @BluechipTechNG.

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1/ Let us begin with news about Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc taking over full ownership of Savannah Sugar Company Limited. Dangote Sugar’s board of directors convened in Lagos during the week for a court-ordered meeting to approve the acquisition’s scheme of arrangement.

In line with the completion of the acquisition process, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc took over all of Savannah Sugar’s assets, capital allowances, tax losses, withholding tax credits, liabilities and business undertakings, including real property and intellectual property rights.

Also, as part of the fulfilment of the scheme of arrangement, some 146,878,241 ordinary shares of N0.50 each are to be issued by Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc and allotted to the now former shareholders of Savannah Sugar Company Limited.

The new shares will serve as replacement for the 162,756,968 ordinary shares which the former shareholders of Savannah Sugar held in the company prior to the acquisition by Dangote Sugar.

In the meantime, Dangote Sugar’s lawyers have been directed to work towards getting the court to sanction the scheme and all the resolutions that were reached during the court-ordered meeting.

The company’s directors were also directed to take all necessary actions towards giving effect to the scheme and to the foregoing resolutions.

2/Still on corporate deals, Canada-based Fairfax Africa Holdings Corporation, and Nigeria-owned Helios Holdings Ltd, reached a purchase/merger agreement that would help in creating a truly pan-African investment firm.

Nairametrics reported that Fairfax Africa disclosed the development in a detailed press statement which also noted that the company’s name would be changed to Helios Fairfax Partners Corporation.

Meanwhile, the company will remain listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, even as Helios Holdings’ co-founders (Tope Lawani and Babatunde Soyoye) will become joint Chief Executives of the new company.

The terms of the deal will also require Helios to exchange 45.6% of equity and voting interest in the new company. Helios will contribute its performance and management fees through its present and future holdings under the Helios funds,

…thereby making Helios Fairfax Partners Corporation one of the biggest Africa-focused asset management firms.

3/Moving on, Access Bank Plc disclosed last week that it had been in talks with a Zambian bank over a possible merger.

The merger talks, which had been ongoing between Access Bank Zambia Ltd (a subsidiary of Nigeria’s Access Bank Plc) and Cavmont Capital Holdings Zambia Plc, had reached an advanced stage.

A corporate disclosure that was signed by Sunday Ekwechi, Access Bank Plc’s Company Secretary, specifically revealed that Access Bank’s target was Cavmont Bank Limited, currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cavmont Capital Holdings Zambia Plc.

Apparently, Access Bank wants to acquire a 100% stake in the Zambian bank.

In the meantime, Access Bank informed its stakeholders that there were no guarantees as to whether the actual transaction would eventually happen, despite the ‘advanced discussions’ that had been happening.

Part of the statement by the company said “the completion of a transaction would be subject to formal regulatory approvals.” But going by its precedent of successfully acquiring banks both within and outside of Nigeria, this one might just as well become a reality in no time.

The bank promised to update its stakeholders as events continued to unfold regarding the proposed merger.

4/Conoil Plc announced a final dividend payout of N2.00 per ordinary share of 50 kobo each for the full-year ended December 31, 2019.

A notice sent by the company to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) noted that the final dividend would be paid to only shareholders whose names appear in the Register of Members as at close of business on Monday, July 13, 2020.

Note, however, that payment will be subject to the appropriate withholding tax deduction and the approval of the shareholders.

Note also that no date has yet been announced for the payments. The company said that the date would be announced soon.

The shareholders were also advised to be aware that dividends would be paid electronically to only those who had completed the e-dividend registration.

5/Meanwhile, quite a number of listed Nigerian companies announced their closed periods and board meeting dates, ahead of the release of their half-year 2020 financial statements.

The likes of Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, and more, all announced dates for their closed periods and board meetings.

As Nairametrics reported, Cornerstone Insurance informed its stakeholders that its directors would meet on July 22nd to consider the company’s Q2 2020 financial statements as well as the proposed issuance of bonus shares to existing shareholders.

The company also declared a closed period on its stock which started on July 7th, 2020 and is expected to last until 24 hours after the release of the company’s Q2 2020 financial statements. No date was given for the release of the Q2 financial report.

Lafarge Africa Plc also notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the investing public that its closed period commenced on Wednesday July 8th...

…and would remain in effect until the unaudited financial statement for the second quarter ended 30th June 2020, is released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, the company’s Board of Directors is scheduled to meet on Thursday, 23rd July 2020 to consider its second quarter financial results for the quarter ended 30th June 2020.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc commenced its closed period on June 1st, 2020. Its directors are scheduled to meet on July 29 to consider the H1 2020 financial statements as well as a proposal to pay interim dividend to shareholders.

This is @Nairametrics thread BTU by @BluechipTechNG

6/Speaking of financial statements, African Alliance Insurance Plc offered an explanation as to why it had not released its full-year 2019 and Q1 2020 financial reports.

According to the insurance company, the financial statements (particularly that of FY 2019), had not been filed because the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) had not given approval to that effect.

African Alliance was supposed to release the full-year 2019 financial statements in March this year. However, it obtained permission from the Nigerian Stock Exchange to extend the deadline to June 30th, 2020.

Interestingly, the FY 2019 financial report was not still filed within the extension period due to the reason stated above.

The company said that it was deeply regretful of the inconvenience the delay might have caused its stakeholders.

In the meantime, it promised to work towards ensuring that the financial statements were filed latest by the end of July.

7/Guinea Insurance Plc announced an optimistic earnings’ forecast for the third quarter of 2020. In specific terms, the insurer projected a 78.6% rise in gross premium written to N1.8 in Q3 2020, up from N1 billion during the comparable period in 2019.

The firm also forecasted a profit after tax of N185.8 million for the period, indicating an expected positive performance when compared to N735 million loss recorded in Q3 2019.

The forecast also estimated that reinsurance expense for Q3 would be at N337.5 million.

Claims expenses, underwriting expenses, and other operating experiences were equally put at N331.3 million, N292.6 million, and N692.2 million, respectively.

In Q1 2020, the company reported gross premium written of N207 million and a profit after tax of N12.6 million. The company’s consolidated half-year 2020 financial has not been released and is expected sometime between this month and next month.

8/In financial services news, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited shut down all its contact centre locations for fear of the Coronavirus.

In a statement addressed to its shareholders, the bank explained that the shutdown was only temporary and intended to serve as a precautionary measure aimed at preventing further spread of the contagious virus.

As Nairametrics reported, the statement, did not clarify whether there had been any reported cases of infection at those contact centres.

The bank’s customers were informed that FCMB’s contact centres would only remain active virtually.

However, customers might experience delays in being attended to. Customers were also advised to explore the self-help options offered by the bank’s electronic banking channels in order to resolve their challenges.

9/The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the approval of Stirling Trust Company Limited’s bid to commence cash-in-transit operations in the country.

The approval had actually been given in April this year, but was disclosed publicly just last week in a circular that was addressed to all deposit money banks and licensed CITs and CPCs in Nigeria.

The circular encouraged all respective stakeholders to “assist” Stirling Trust Company Limited in the discharge of its new duty.

Stirling Trust Company Limited specialises in financial services, investment, logistics & human capital management services.

The new license by the CBN authorises it to transport cash across the country using armoured vehicles otherwise known as bullion vans. Already, Stirling Trust Company Limited has a notable list of clientele which includes First Bank of Nigeria Limited.

10/Moving on to appointment news, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc’s Chief Executive Officer, Segun Agbaje, was elected as an independent member of PepsiCo’s Board of Directors. PepsiCo is an American soft drink manufacturer whose popular brands include Pepsi and Mountain Dew.

Following his election into the board, Agbaje will join PepsiCo’s board and the Audit Committee effective July 15, 2020. Note that 56-year old Agbaje will soon step down as the CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank, following the expiration of his tenure.

He currently serves as a director of MasterCard Advisory Board Middle East and Africa. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco.

This is @Nairametrics thread BTU by @BluechipTechNG

11/Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) announced the appointment of Alain Nkontchou as its new Chairman of the board of directors.

Nkontchou, who is Cameroonian by nationality, has been serving as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the pan-African banking group since 2015. A statement made available to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) confirmed that his latest appointment took effect on June 30, 2020.

The Cameroonian took over from Nigeria’s Emmanuel Ikazoboh, whose six-year tenure as Chairman of Ecobank’s holding company ended last month, even as he just reached the retirement age of 70.

Alain Nkontchou is the Co-founder of Enko Capital Management LLP, a London-based asset management company which specialises in prospecting investment opportunities in Africa. He currently serves as the firm’s Managing Partner.

He has many years of banking/financial services experience, which he will now bring to fore as he leads the pan-African banking group’s board. While commenting on his appointment,...

…Nkontchou said that he was quite honoured, and looked forward to working with the rest of the board members.

12/ Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc announced the appointment of Emeka Onwuka as its new Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director.

In a statement announcing the appointment, Seplat’s board of directors said that it was confident that “the wealth of knowledge and experience Onwuka brings will be a great addition to the Company.”

The newly appointed CFO has over 30 years’ experience in financial services across Sub-Saharan Africa. He is also a Partner at Andersen Tax Nigeria and holds various board positions, including that of Chairman at FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited,...

…Director at FMDQ Holdings Limited, Director at Ecobank Nigeria Limited, and Director at Bharti Airtel Nigeria.

13/On a sombre note, there was a deadly explosion at a facility operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. As many as seven employees on the facility lost their lives following the explosion, with others sustaining major injuries that required hospitalisation.

The unfortunate incident occurred at Gbetiokun, OML 40, which is operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (a subsidiary of NNPC), on behalf of the NPDC/Elcrest Joint Venture.

Confirming the explosion, the NNPC’s head of public affairs division, Dr Kennie Obateru, said in a statement that ‘’the incident, which occurred on Tuesday during the installation of a ladder on a platform (Benin River Valve Station)...

...for access during discharging of Gbetiokun production, unfortunately caused 7 fatalities.’’

A detailed investigation into the cause of the explosion was immediately instituted, even as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) was duly notified.

In the meantime, Form 41 was being prepared for the industry regulator as required in circumstances of this nature. 

That's our thread for this week.

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