FRIDAY, 15 OCTOBER 2010 BY HELEN OJI 

 

Shareholders of First Securities Discount Houses (FSDH) Asset Management Limited, yesterday, approved N15 and N22 dividend per unit for Coral Income Fund and Coral Growth Fund respectively, for the financial year ended December 31, 2009.

 

The Managing Director of FSDH Asset Management, Mr Kenneth Spurling, while addressing shareholders during the fourth and fifth yearly general meeting of the Funds, in Lagos, yesterday, told shareholders that net income of the Coral Income Fund’s stood at N65 million, compared to N2 million recorded in 2008, while net income after tax increased to N52 million, from N16 million posted in 2008.

 

The fund’s total expenses also stood at N12 million, from N14 million in 2008.For the Coral Growth Fund, according to Spurling, its net income stood at N299.5 million from N1.4 billion in 2008, while expenses stood at N100 million from N162 million in 2008.He attributed the reduction in the net income to the unprecedented lull in the Nigerian capital market, adding that the company “managed to avoid a negative issues in 2009.”

 

He said: “We don’t take view of only the market when buying our securities, we do analysis of companies, look at each individual assessment, look at the market value and the market share, before we invest our securities.”He assured investors of improved performance and good returns on investment in the next financial year.“Our asset allocation will continue to be skewed in favour of fixed income securities, with relatively high yields.“However, we will seek investments in selected securities in the manufacturing and banking sector of the equities market as we expect these securities to deliver moderate returns on investments during the next quarter.

 

“In 2010, we will make a lot of money for our shareholders because we will increase our revenue as a free-based company, as we expect gradual recovery in the share prices of selected securities and relatively low interest in the coming quarter, just as the Central Bank of Nigeria continues to ensure that the financial system remains liquid in the months ahead,” he added.

 

Source: Guardian