By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, has emerged the first Nigerian company listed on the main board of the London stock exchange (LSE).
Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian stock exchange (NSE) Monday said this at the historical ‘’Facts behind the Listing’’ of the upstream oil exploration company on the Nigerian bourse.
‘’Today we celebrate many milestones with this listing, Seplat becomes the first Nigerian company listed on the main market of the LSE and the first pure play upstream listing on the NSE,’’ he said.
Onyema said Seplat’s initial public offering (IPO) was the first since the market crash of 2008 which exemplifies the company’s leadership and commitment to support and promote Nigeria.
According to him, the recent rebasing of the Nigerian GDP further highlighted the low market cap of listed companies-to-GDP ratio, and the listing of Seplat will boost the NSE’s market capitalisation by $1.9billion, bringing the ratio to 15.86%. ‘’This ratio indicates the significant opportunity for growth in the capital market in the country,’’ Onyema said.
‘’We applaud the board and management of Seplat for their determination to be identified as first and foremost a Nigerian success story. The company chose to have its primary listing on the NSE and to maintain its Nigerian status by opting not to list on the Premium board of the LSE, though it was qualified to do so. We call on the Petroleum ministry and regulators to recognize the NSE primary listing status of Seplat and other oil and gas companies for Local Content purposes,’’ the Nigerian bourse CEO said.
Onyema affirmed that the NSE is aiming to become the African exchange of choice for African issuers and global investors and by implementing forward looking initiatives the Nigerian bourse has regained the confidence of investors after the global financial meltdown.
He further affirmed that the increase in total market capitalisation from a low of N9 trillion in 2008 to the current level of over N16 trillion is an attestation to this fact.
Seplat listed over 543 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N576 per share, and has over the years maintained a track record of profitability, growing profit after tax by 278.11% y/y to $452.77 million in 2013 from $109.09 million in 2012.
Onyema says with this listing, Seplat apart from being the first Nigerian firm to be listed on the LSE main market, has also become the first company in Nigeria’s exploration and production (E&P) subsector of the oil and gas sector on the main board of the Nigerian bourse.
‘’ It is against this backdrop that I wish to encourage exploration and production companies in the oil & gas sector and other unlisted companies in Nigeria, to take advantage of the benefits that exist in the capital market, which include continuity of the company after the founder has retired, lower cost of long term funding, visibility, enhanced branding, diversified risk of ownership, and enhanced corporate governance amongst others,’’ Onyema said.
Seplat shareholders have received increasingly impressive return on investment as return on equity (ROE) spiked to 71.33% in 2013 from 60% in 2012, and it paid a cash dividend of N16.5 per share in 2013.
