October 9, 2009 Market Report
Source: Nigerian Stock Exchange

A turnover of 3.2 billion shares worth N22.11 billion in 33,985 deals was recorded last week, in contrast to a total of 2.2 billion shares valued at N16.14 billion exchanged the previous week in 27,236 deals.

There were no transactions in the Federal Government Development Stocks, State Government Bonds and Industrial Loans/Preference Stocks sectors.

The Banking subsector was the most active during the week (measured by turnover volume), with 2.02 billion shares worth N16.35 billion exchanged by investors in 19,701 deals. Volume in the Banking subsector was largely driven by activity in the shares of Access Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc. Trading in the shares of the three banks accounted for 974.03 million shares, representing 48.2% of the subsector’s turnover.

The Insurance subsector, boosted by activity in the shares of International Energy Insurance Plc and Cornerstone Insurance Plc, followed on the week’s activity chart with a turnover of 383.95 million shares valued at N386.9 million in 2,432 deals.

Last week, the Banking subsector led on the activity chart and was followed by the Insurance subsector.

Price Movement
The NSE All-Share Index rose by 3.44% to close on Friday at 23,271.69. The market capitalization of the 197 First -Tier equities closed higher at N5.42 trillion. Also, The NSE-30 Index rose by 2.5% to close at 871.34.

As in the preceding week, all the four sectoral indices appreciated – The NSE Food/Beverages Index rose by 0.53% to close at 460.66. The NSE Banking Index rose by 5.65% to close at 396.35. The NSE Insurance Index rose by 1.63% to close at 319.29. The NSE Oil/Gas Index rose by 0.52% to close at 288.48.

Sixty-Two (62) stocks appreciated in price during the week, higher than the fifty-two (52) in the preceding week. Oando Plc led on the gainers’ table with a gain of N4.70 to close at N92.20 per share while Nigerian Bottling Company Plc followed with N2.83 to close at N20.88 per share. Other price gainers’ in the Top 10 category include:
+ Ecobank Transnational Inc. Plc – N2.70
+ UACN Property Dev. Co. Plc – N2.05
+ RT Briscoe (Nig) Plc – N1.61
+ 7-Up Bottling Co. Plc – N1.42
+ Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc – N1.40
+ Guaranty Trust Bank Plc – N1.37
+ Vitafoam Nigeria Plc – N1.01
+ First City Monument Bank Plc – N1.01
Forty – Three (43) stocks depreciated in price during the week, lower than the forty –eight (48) of the preceding week. Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc led on the price losers’ table, dropping by N3.95 to close at N30.05 per share while Conoil Plc followed with a loss of N3.51 to close at N32.49 per share. Other price losers in the Top 10 category include:
- Julius Berger Nig. Plc – N1.69
- Guinness Nigeria Plc – N1.55
- Eterna Oil & Gas Plc – N1.40
- The Okomu Oil Palm Plc – N1.25
- Nigerian Breweries Plc – N0.91
- Nig-German Chemicals Plc – N0.79
- United Bank for Africa Plc – N0.59
- African Petroleum Plc – N0.50

New Listing
The 3,716,976,580 shares of N0.50 each in favour of Beco Petroleum Products Plc were admitted at a price of N2.50 per share on Wednesday, October 7, 2009. The Company was listed in the Petroleum (Marketing) subsector. By this action, the number of listed companies and securities increased to 212 and 295, respectively.

Technical Suspension
Bank PHB Plc and Spring Bank Plc were placed on technical suspension on Monday, October 5, 2009 following the takeover of the banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday, October 2, 2009. The suspension would be reviewed after one week.

Review of The NSE-30 Index
The Index Committee held its quarterly meeting to review and rebalance The NSE 30 Index. At the end of deliberations, Wema Bank Plc and FinBank Plc were dropped from the index while Pinnacle Point Group Plc and Ecobank Nigeria Plc were included.

Company News
ASO SAVINGS & LOANS PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st March 2009 shows Gross Earnings of N10,090.14 million as against N7,063.13 million in 2008. Profit after tax stood at N873.5 million compared with N1,061.8 million in 2008. The Board of Directors is recommending a dividend of N0.05 per share. The date of closure of register was October 12, 2009 while payment date is November 10, 2009. The 11th Annual General Meeting is scheduled to hold on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 by 11.00a.m.
NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st March 2009. The date of closure of register is October 21, 2009. The 51st Annual General Meeting is scheduled to hold at Lagos Airport Hotel Limited, Ikeja on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 by 11.00a.m.
NATIONAL SALT COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC: Unaudited result for the half year ended 30th June 2009 shows Turnover of N4,276.14 million, as against N3,602.8 million in the comparable period of 2008. Profit after tax stood at N763.21 million compared with N642.74 million in 2008.
COMPANY FORECASTS
ASO SAVINGS & LOANS PLC: The Company forecasts Interest Income of N11,992.5 million and profit after tax of N2,025.5 million during the year ending March 31, 2010.
UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC: The Company forecasts Turnover of N13,730.9 million and profit after tax of N2,110.5 million during the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2009.
STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC: The Company forecasts Gross Premium of N1,531.8 million and profit after tax of N1,265.25 million during the year ending December 31, 2009.
VONO PRODUCTS PLC: The Company forecasts Turnover of N669.2 million and loss after tax of N119.53 million during the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2009.

Report On The OTC Market For FGN Bonds
A turnover of 257.33 million units worth N N276,696.6 million in 2,100 deals was recorded this week, in contrast to a total of 361.5 million units valued at N402,852.3 million exchanged in 2,513 deals during the week ended Wednesday, September 30, 2009. The most active bond (measured by turnover volume) was the 5th FGN Bond 2013 Series 4 with a traded volume of 37.4 million units valued at N39,912.4 million in 237 deals. This was followed by the 5th FGN Bond 2018 Series 2 with a traded volume of 32.2 million units valued at N36,538.1 million in 279 deals. Twenty-Four (24) of the available thirty – seven (37) FGN Bonds were traded during the week, compared to twenty–eight (28) in the preceding week.