Bonus Shares Lift Forte Oil Market Capitalisation to N280bn
The overall response rate for the quarter, at 97.9 per cent, was 0. 4 percentage point below the level attained in the previous quarter.
“A breakdown of the responses received by type of business showed that the neither importer nor exporter category of the respondents accounted for the highest (76.3 per cent) followed by the importer (14.1 per cent), both importer and exporter respondents accounted for 8.2 per cent, while 1.4 per cent represented the exporter category,” it stated.
The report further revealed that the overall confidence index (CI) which stood at 8.4 index points indicated the respondent firms’ optimism on the macro-economy.
“At 46.4 points, the overall CI for next quarter indicates that the respondents expect that the macro economy would improve. The drivers by size of business for the optimism on the macro economy in the current quarter are the small, medium and large firms whose contributions are 6.3, 1.3 and 0.7 per cent, respectively.
BAIWA: NIGERIA LOSES $6BN IN TRADE WITH UAE
ministry.”
THISDAY investigation revealed that countries like the United States, India, China and Kenya have regional trade centres independent of their country’s embassies.
The NTC in Dubai is a business development liaison office created to facilitate Nigeria’s international businesses, trade and product access into the UAE, the neighbouring Gulf states and the Asian continent markets. As part of its efforts to strengthen trade between Nigeria and the UAE, the federal government had approved the transfer of the NTC) in Dubai to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
The NTC, hitherto under the Nigeria –UAE Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was renamed Nigeria Trade and Investment Promotion. The bonus issue of one new share for every five shares made by Forte Oil Plc to shareholders for the 2014 financial year has lifted the market capitalisation of the petroleum products company on the Nigerian bourse.
Apart from a cash dividend of 250 kobo declared, Forte Oil also declared a bonus of one for five. The addition of the bonus, which translated to 217, 080,184 shares, lifted the outstanding shares of the company to 1,302,481,103 shares. This lifted the market capitalisation of the Forte Oil to N280 billion.
The company recorded a revenue of N170 billion in 2014, showing an increase of 33 per cent above the N126 billion posted in 2013. Cost of sale rose by 31 per cent from N116 billion to N152 billion. Other income dipped by 78 per cent from N6.388 billion to N1.39 billion.
Forte Oil as able to reduce distribution expenses by 15 per cent from N2.93 billion to N2.482 billion. Similarly, administrative expenses fell marginally by two per cent from N9.44 billion to N9.22 billion.
Operating profit went up by 29 per cent from N6.27 billion to N8.13 billion. However, net finance cost soared from N254 million to N2.13 billion. This led to a drop of seven per cent in profit before tax, which fell from N6.5 billion to N6.0 billion. Profit after tax fell by 11 per cent from N5 billion to N4.45 billion. Earnings per share fell from 430 kobo to 220 kobo.
Commenting on the results, the Group Chief Financial Officer, Forte Oil Plc, Mr. Julius Omodayo-Owotuga, said: “The 7.94 per cent drop in the group’s profit before tax is largely attributable to the 10 per cent devaluation of the Naira in November 2014 and increased finance costs caused by huge subsidy receivables from the Federal Government of Nigeria. These receivables were outstanding for an average of 270 days compared to the 45 days provided for in the PSF scheme. Also in 2013, we had non-recurring income of N2.11 billion from sale of property and interest received from PPPRA relating to late payment of subsidies in 2010 and 2011. We believe the business is resilient, stronger, sustainable and better positioned for the challenges ahead. This is evident in the 33% increase in turnover and 30per cent growth in our profit from core operations.
Also commenting, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Akin Akinfemiwa, said; “having successfully completed our record-breaking three-year business transformation in December 2014, we are set to consolidate our achievements as we grow our market to maximize value for our esteemed shareholders. We have now built a sustainable business model which has contributed to the Group’s profitability of N6.0 billion against the backdrop of a slowing economy, increased insecurity (which has led to revenue loss in the North eastern market), political uncertainty, weaker petroleum products demand and a volatile exchange rate to mention a few. We shall continue to navigate through an ever challenging business environment and industry in our quest to actualise our vision of being Africa’s foremost integrated energy solutions provider.”
He added: “We shall continue to innovate with respect to products and service offerings and diversify our revenue base, maximise our Non- Fuel Revenue (NFR) opportunities, as a part of our strong resolve to building a long-term successful company.”The Gascol Sugar-free was introduced as the first antacid in Nigeria, specially formulated for persons on low sugar diets and suitable for all health-conscious persons, as it does not contain sugar or any artificial sweeteners.