November 18, 2024/CSL Research

Trading activities on the domestic bourse were mixed last week, with losses in two of the five trading sessions. However, a strong rebound on the final day propelled the NGX All-Share Index upward by 50bps w/w, closing at 97,725.64 points and lifting the year-to-date (YTD) return to +30.69% from +30.30% the previous week.

Investor interests in Tier-1 banking stocks such as UBA (+7.90% w/w), GTCO (+4.48% w/w), and ZENITHBANK (+3.10% w/w), alongside a 22.89% w/w gain in FLOURMILLS, underpinned the market’s performance. FLOURMILLS’ performance was boosted by a favourable adjustment in the buyout price following a court ruling on its minority buyout scheme.

Sector performances were also mixed in the week with the Insurance (NGXINS: +2.84% w/w), Banking (NGXBNK: +2.32% w/w), and Consumer Goods (NGXCNSMRGDS: +0.60% w/w) indices recording gains while the Oil & Gas (NGXOILGAS: -0.29% w/w) and Industrial Goods (NGXINDUSTR: -0.20% w/w) indices posted declines. ARADEL led the value chart, while ACCESSCORP emerged as the most traded stock by volume in the just concluded week.

On corporate actions, FLOURMILLS Plc got its court-ordered approval secured from existing minority shareholders for the buyout of their interests under a Scheme of Arrangement facilitated by Excelsior Shipping Company Limited at an offer of ₦86 per share. The company is set to delist from the NGX after the scheme’s eligibility date, while it also approved a final dividend of ₦1.80 per share to shareholders holding the company shares as of the 9 August 2024 qualification date. Elsewhere, Access Holding Plc’s banking subsidiary, The Access Bank UK Limited, entered into a binding agreement to acquire a majority equity stake in Afrasia Bank
Limited, Mauritius’ fourth-largest bank by total assets.

In the absence of significant positive catalysts, we expect mixed trading sentiments to persist in the coming week.

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