Equities Market sustains losses… ASI Down 91bps

The bears remained unrelenting as sell-offs in MTNN (-4.0%), GUARANTY (-2.9%) and ACCESS (-2.0%) drove the All-Share Index southwards by 0.9% to 29,110.90 points. As a result, YTD return moderated to 8.5% while market capitalisation fell ₦137.9bn to ₦14.9tn. Activity level declined as volume and value traded fell 3.3% and 4.9% to 242.8m units and ₦4.6bn respectively. The most active stocks by volume were ZENITH (46.6m units), UNILEVER (25.0m units) and GUARANTY (24.3m units) while MTNN (₦1.3bn), ZENITH (₦980.7m) and GUARANTY (₦740.2m) led by value.  

Performance across sectors was bearish as 4 of 6 indices under our coverage lost. The Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas indices gained, up 0.4% apiece, buoyed by price appreciation in NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+1.9%), FLOURMILL (+5.7%) and OANDO (+2.8%). On the flip side, the AFR-ICT (-2.3%) index declined the most, due to price depreciation in MTNN (-4.0%). More so, profit-taking in MANSARD (-6.1%), NEM (-8.3%) and WAPIC (-5.4%) dragged the Insurance index down 2.8%. Likewise, sustained sell pressures in GUARANTY (-2.9%), ACCESS (-2.8%) and WAPCO (-1.5%) resulted in declines in the Banking (-1.3%) and Industrial Goods (-0.2%) indices. 

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) improved to 0.6x from the 0.4x recorded in the previous trading session as 10 stocks advanced relative to 18 decliners. The best performers were LASACO (+7.7%), AIICO (+6.3%) and FLOURMILL (+5.7%) while BOCGAS (-9.1%), NEM (-8.3%) and MANSARD (-6.1%) led the laggards. Also, with the commencement of corporate earnings releases, we believe investor sentiment would be influenced by the corporate performances. However, we expect to see more profit-taking activities in the local bourse in the near term.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today launched Growth Board for High-Growth Companies. The Growth Board is expected to attract small to medium-sized companies that exhibit the potential for fast growth in their corporate earnings and are in the growth phase of their business cycle. This brings the total number of boards maintained by the NSE to four (Main, ASEM, Premium and Growth Boards)

Highlights of Some Corporate Earnings Disclosures Announced Today:

SKYWAY AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC (Unaudited FY:2019): Revenue up 24.9% Y-o-Y to ₦7.7bn; profit after tax (PAT) recovered from 2018 losses, up 179.6% Y-o-Y to ₦530.2m.

TOTAL NIGERIA PLC (Unaudited FY:2019): Revenue down 5.6% Y-o-Y to ₦290.9bn; PAT also fell 69.6% Y-o-Y to ₦2.4bn.

CHEMICAL and ALLIED PRODUCTS PLC (Unaudited FY:2019): Revenue up 9.7% Y-o-Y to ₦8.4bn; PAT down 12.2% Y-o-Y to ₦1.8bn.

NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC (Unaudited FY:2019): Revenue up 7.0% Y-o-Y to ₦27.6bn while PAT  dipped 56.1% Y-o-Y to ₦1.9bn.

11PLC (Unaudited FY:2019): Revenue up 16.1% Y-o-Y to ₦191.7bn while PAT declined 5.1% Y-o-Y to ₦8.9bn.

VITAFOAM NIGERIA PLC (Unaudited Q1:2020): Revenue fell 6.3% Y-o-Y to ₦6.0bn; PAT surged 126.5% Y-o-Y to ₦819.7m.

STANBIC IBTC PLC (Unaudited FY:2019): Revenue up 5.1% Y-o-Y to ₦233.8bn; PAT rose marginally by 0.8% Y-o-Y to ₦75.0bn.

Market Statistics for Wednesday, 29th January 2020 

Source: Afrinvest