Following the release of ZENITHBANK’s H1’21 audited result and the subsequent conference call, we engaged further with the bank’s management to ascertain its strategic direction. This report highlights our view on the bank’s retail strategy, key performance drivers, and long-term value proposition. Overall, we reaffirm our positive outlook for the counter with a 12-month target price of N29.83 and a BUY rating. ...
Earlier, major indigenous upstream player, Seplat (‘SEPLAT’ or ‘The Company’) released its H1-2021 financials, which showed a 32.1% y/y and a 404.4% y/y increase in topline and bottomline to close at $303.8m and $36.1m, respectively. The strong performance was mainly bolstered by increased crude and gas sales which were spurred by the global economic recovery (following relaxation of pandemic-related restrictions), low base effect from 2020, and increased vaccination rollout which has enabled sustained demand recovery. Below we take a critical look at the company’s performance and present our outlook.
BUA Cement Plc (“BUACEMENT” or “The Group”) recently reported its financials for H1-2021 which showed a 26.9% y/y and 24.6% y/y growth in PBT and PAT to N49.7bn and N43.4bn, respectively. This was largely supported by strong growth in topline (+22.7% y/y), which outpaced the increase in Cost of sales (+19.1% y/y), on account of lower energy cost-per-tonne (-1.4% y/y). Profitability was also aided by lower financing charges (-49.9% y/y) and subdued tax charges. Below, we assess the cement manufacturer’s H1-2021 numbers and provide our outlook for FY-2021 and beyond.
Recently, Unilever Nigeria Plc (“UNILEVER” or “the company”) published its Unaudited H1-2021 financial result. According to the report, Revenue grew strongly in H1-2021, up by 43.2% y/y to N39.2bn from N27.3bn in H1-2020. Similarly, Q2-2021 Revenue performance grew 40.8% y/y indicating revenue resilience. However, the company continues to face noticeable cost pressures which exerts sustained pressure on profitability. Nevertheless, the company turned a corner on profitability after posting a Net income of N0.7bn in H1-2021, from a loss of N0.5bn in H1-2020 ...
Major downstream player ARDOVA ("the company or the firm” from henceforth) released its unaudited financial result for H1-2021. It was evident to note, that the rebound in economic activities and improved margin efficiency drove double-digit y/y bottomline growth for the major petroleum product marketer. Revenue declined marginally by 0.6% y/y to N86.7bn in H1-2021, Cost margin improved to 91.5%, in H1-2021 from 94.9% in H1-2020, due to increased Lubricants sales and improved economies of scale. Furthermore, improved margin efficiency boosted Gross profit and Operating profit by37.8% and 188.3% y/y to print at N7.4bn and N2.6bn, respectively. Overall, the company recorded a Profit before and after tax of N2.6bn and N1.7bn respectively (vs Profit before and after-tax of N1.1bn and N1.0bn respectively in H1-2020). Earnings per share (EPS) increased to N1.36 in H1-2021, from N0.78 in H1-2020. Below, we highlight key details of the downstream operator’s performance and our expectations for H2-2021 and beyond.
DANGCEM’s H1'21 result reflects its superiority over domestic peers in terms of capacity, market coverage, and cost management. We raise our FY'21 earnings forecast to N366.5 billion (vs N333.1 billion previously) on potential impact of higher than expected volumes and prices. Aided by its strong cash position, the company is also likely to continue providing the highest dividend yield within its sector. This dividend yield and potential share buyback is likely to keep investors interested in the ticker.
