Company news in brief

Vivo Energy reports solid growth

African fuel retailer Vivo Energy said yesterday its annual adjusted core earnings rose 8%, as sales rose at its Engen and Shell-branded filling stations and the company continued to expand its network rapidly.

The company, which operates across 23 African countries, said its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose to US$431 million for the year ended Dec. 31, compared with US$400 million a year ago.

The company also said it was recommending a final dividend of 2.7 cents per share, up from 1.3 cents in 2018, bringing the full year dividend to 3.8 cents, 15% higher than a year earlier. – Nampa/Reuters

Dangote to start exports from Congo

Dangote Cement said yesterday it planned to start exports from its Congo Republic plants to neighbouring states, while its Nigerian exports fell 41% in 2019 when Nigeria's government closed its borders.

Nigeria shut its land border in August to curb the smuggling of rice to neighbouring states where it sells for more and an illegal arms trade. The closure has also hurt other Nigerian businesses, including cement exports, and stoked inflation.

Joseph Makoju, Dangote's outgoing chief executive, said the border closure led exports to drop to 0.5 million tonnes in 2019 from 0.7 million tonnes in both 2018 and 2017. He said the company had exported to West and Central Africa from Nigeria.

Makoju said total production volumes last year were flat at 14.1 million tonnes. Higher discounts, marketing and haulage cost caused core profit to fall 9.1%, while margins slid 59.2%, he said.

Dangote now plans to commence export of clinker, the main raw material to make cement, from Congo in 2020 and promote its Nigerian production more heavily to support growth. – Nampa/Reuters

Nigerian exchange to become listed company

The Nigerian Stock Exchange said on Tuesday it had won approval from members to become a listed company and had appointed a board of directors, paving the way to offering shares to the public.

The exchange began changing its ownership structure from a mutual company of stockbrokers in 2017, adding new shareholders in a process known as "demutualisation".

It will now re-register as a profit-making entity owned by shareholders, called the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, with a share capital of 1.25 billion naira (US$4 million). It had been operating as a not-for-profit entity.

The exchange, the second biggest in Sub-Saharan Africa and one of the main entry points to invest in Africa, has around 200 listed companies, all included in its benchmark share index.

Nigeria is Africa's largest economy, but the equities market has gone from being one of the world's best-performing frontier markets to one of worst after currency restrictions and low liquidity in 2015 deterred foreign investors.

This year, shares in the oil-producing nation had started to rally. But fears that a coronavirus outbreak could hit demand in China, one of Nigeria's major trading partners, have reversed sentiment. – Nampa/Reuters

Peugeot ready to adjust Huawei partnership

Peugeot Chief executive Carlos Tavares said on Tuesday the French carmaker would adjust its partnership with China's Huawei if authorities in the United States make it a precondition for approving a merger with Fiat Chrysler.

Peugeot needs the consent of US authorities to complete a US$50 billion merger with Fiat Chrysler at a time when Washington is urging its European allies to exclude Huawei from the continent's telecoms infrastructure.

So far, France has ruled out discriminating against Huawei as a vendor for the country's 5G networks.

Peugeot in 2017 partnered with Huawei to develop a cloud-based connected vehicle system which has been deployed on six million cars in Europe and China. – Nampa/Reuters

Chevron could return billions in capital

Chevron Corp said on Tuesday it could return as much as US$80 billion to shareholders over five years even if oil prices remained low.

Chevron and other energy companies have pledged to curb spending after the collapse in oil prices earlier this decade forced many to borrow to cover costs of long-term projects.

The oil major said it had the potential to distribute between US$75 billion and US$80 billion over the next five years and would maintain its capital spending in a range of US$19 billion to US$22 billion annually through the period.

"We remain focused on a returns-driven approach to capital allocation, investing in lower-risk projects," chief financial officer Pierre Breber said.

Reuters reported on Monday that the company is offering buyouts to reduce its US oil exploration and production workforce as it moves to cut costs in the face of sharply lower oil and gas prices. – Nampa/Reuters

Intu's planned equity raise falls through

Britain's Intu said yesterday it was unable to go ahead with a planned equity raise as uncertainties in equity and retail property markets prevented investors from committing capital into the debt-laden mall operator.

The owner of Manchester's Trafford Centre was planning a cash call of between 1 billion pounds and 1.5 billion pounds by the end of February to shore up its balance sheet after being hit by a spate of high-profile failures in the retail industry. – Nampa/Reuters