By Rotimi Asher, Lagos
Oando Plc, one of the oil and gas companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, reported a substantial market gain of approximately N361.13bn at the close of weekly trading, emerging as the top performer of the week.
This increase reflects a sustained demand for Oando’s shares, which concluded trading on Friday with a 60.71% rise, elevating its market capitalisation to N955.98bn.
An analysis reveals that the company’s stock price surged by 60.71%, reaching N76.9 per share by the weekend, up from N47.85 at the start of the trading week on Monday, August 26.
Investor interest in Oando has been bolstered following the company’s completion of the acquisition of 100 per cent shareholding interest in Nigerian Agip Oil Company ,NAOC, from Eni, an Italian energy firm.
The acquisition, valued at $783., includes both the asset purchase and related reimbursements, as detailed in Oando’s regulatory filing.
This acquisition represents a significant step in Oando’s long-term strategy to expand its upstream operations and enhance its position within the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
According to a statement signed by Chief Compliance Officer and Company Secretary, Ayotola Jagun the transaction increases Oando’s participating interests in Oil Mining Leases 60, 61, 62, and 63 from 20 per cent to 40 per cent.
Further analysis indicates that Oando ended the trading week with a market capitalization of N955.98bn, compared to N594.84bn at the beginning of the week, resulting in a gain of N361.13bn, or 60.71%.
Oando Plc’s share price reached N15.50 on July 4, 2024, its highest level since June 22, 2015, when it traded at N15.75. After reaching its peak in June 2015, the company’s stock experienced a significant downturn, falling to an all-time low of N2.08 on March 30, 2020.
However, in 2024, Oando Plc began showing signs of recovery, driven by the release of its annual financial statements for the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years.
Other three notable gainers included shares of Deap Capital Plc which experienced a 57.14% gain from 0.56 kobo per share to 88 kobo at the close of trading on weekend.
Similarly, MC Nichols Plc witnessed a 56.57% increase to close trading at N1.55 per share from an opening figure of 99 kobo. Additionally, Daar Communication Plc’s shares increased by 55.32% to close at 73 kobo per share from the opening price of 47 kobo per share.
The local bourse registered a 0.63% higher week-on-week, with the benchmark index settling at 96,579.54 points.
Market analysts attribute this positive trajectory to investors’ demand pressure on the stocks listed on the NGX after a bearish trend.
The overall market performance for the week showed that the NGX All-Share Index and Market Capitalisation appreciated by 0.63% to close the week at 96,579.54 and N55.48trn respectively.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the exception of NGX CG, NGX Premium, NGX AFR Div Yield and NGX Pension Broad which depreciated 0.42 per cent, 1.72%, 2.38 per cent, and 0.07 per cent respectively, while the NGX ASeM and NGX Sovereign Bond indices closed flat.
A total turnover of 2.82bn shares worth N53.05bn in 50,488 deals was traded this week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 5.64bn shares valued at N33.05bn that exchanged hands last week in 42,006 deals.
The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 1.86bn shares valued at N15.83bn traded in 19,937 deals; thus contributing 65.82% and 29.83% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The Oil and gas industry followed with 288.81 million shares worth N11.3bn in 9,365 deals. The third place was the Services Industry, with a turnover of 177.67m shares worth N437.17m in 3,604 deals.
Trading in the top three equities namely Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc, Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc and Access Holdings Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 862.49m shares worth N 3.79bn in 3,511 deals, contributing 30.57% and 7.15% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
