Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Forte Oil Plc and 25 other quoted companies have been listed by the Nigerian Stock Exchange as performing above the minimum listing standards.

Thus, the companies, which have emerged early filers as a result of the timely disclosure of their audited financial performance, have been commended by the Exchange.

A statement on the NSE’s website explained that early filers are companies that file their financial statements at least two weeks before the due date.

The list posted by the NSE, showed various companies from different sub-sectors of the NSE banking, manufacturing, oil and gas and healthcare.

Other companies that made the list are Access Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Berger Paints Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Livestock Feeds Plc and Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc.

Paints and Coating Plc, Chemical and Allied Products Plc, Tantalisers Plc, Capital Oil Plc, Morison Industries Plc, FCMB Group Plc and First Aluminium Nigeria Plc are also involved.

However, Forte Oil Plc and Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc are the only companies in the petroleum marketing segment to beat the deadline.

The NSE statement said, “Quoted companies on the Exchange are required to file their financial statements on a timely basis in accordance with Appendix 111 of the Listing Rules.

“The Exchange has identified the companies listed on Schedule One as companies that have exceeded the minimum listing standards in terms of timely disclosure of their audited annual and quarterly financial performance.

“The NSE is extremely proud of these companies and will continue to showcase quoted companies that imbibe high corporate governance practices.”

The compliance report is a transparency initiative of the Exchange designed to maintain market integrity and protect the investors by providing compliance related information on all listed companies.

Companies listed on the Exchange are required to adhere to high disclosure standards prescribed in the listing rules.

Financial information, which is a periodic disclosure and ongoing material events disclosure, should be released to the Exchange in a timely manner to enable it to efficiently perform its function of maintaining an orderly market.

It states, “The Exchange is extremely proud of these companies and will continue to showcase quoted companies that imbibe high corporate governance practices,” the NSE stated.

Within the last one year, not less than 136 companies have been sanctioned by the NSE for varying offences.

The affected companies, which ranged from dealing member firms to companies quoted on the Daily Official List of the NSE, were fined, sanctioned or blacklisted for various levels of market infractions and inability to submit their returns as and when due.

Source: Punch (by Udeme Ekwere)