Flour Mills of Nigeria to cut capex as economy falters

LAGOS (Reuters) – Flour Mills of Nigeria expects to cut capital expenditure by almost half this year, down from 40 billion naira a year ago, as the slowdown in the economy, caused by the oil price collapse and the weakening naira, hurts consumer spending. Chairman John Coumantaros told Reuters Africa Investment Summit that Flour Mills had spent around $750 million over the past 3-5 years to build capacity but would expected to spend around 19…

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Guaranty Trust Bank Earnings up 14.8%

Guaranty Trust Bank Earnings up 14.8%

Guaranty Trust Bank (“GTBank” or “the Bank”) today, March 5, 2015 published its audited FY:2014 result on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), recording impressive growth in top and bottom lines amidst harsh operating environment. We present the highlights of the result and our 2015 estimates. Leading the Pack: Earnings and PAT up 14.8% and 9.6%Y-o-Y GTBank reinforced its leadership role in the banking space to be the first bank to publish its…

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African Market Watch: Thursday, 5th March 2015

African Market Watch: Thursday, 5th March 2015

Egypt: The Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) indices advanced collectively today as the benchmark index EGX30 added 1.21% or 115pts to close at 9575.98 points. However, the market capitalization has lost around EGP 1.1 billion ($143 million). Today, EGX indices rebounded on the return of the purchasing power, particularly the blue chip stocks, where the benchmark surpassed level of 9500 points. The EGX70, which measures small and mid-cap stocks, went up 0.90% to 566.52pts and the…

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South Africa’s Standard Bank posts flat 2014 earnings

South Africa’s Standard Bank posts flat 2014 earnings

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank by assets, reported a 1 percent rise in full-year profits on Thursday, roughly in line with expectations, thanks to increases in lending, fees and trading. Stripping out its London-based division, in which Standard Bank is selling a controlling stake to China’s ICBC, headline earnings rose 20 percent. Standard Bank raised its dividend 12 percent to 598 cents per share. The lender said headline earnings per share (EPS)…

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World Bank sees Kenya’s GDP growth at 6.0 pct in 2015

World Bank sees Kenya’s GDP growth at 6.0 pct in 2015

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya is due to become one of the fastest-growing economies in east Africa, with a growth forecast of 6.0 percent in 2015 and 6.6 percent in 2016, the World Bank said on Thursday, citing falling oil prices and bigger infrastructure investments. Kenya’s economy grew by an estimated 5.4 percent in 2014, the bank said in its latest economic update, while growth could accelerate to 7.0 percent in 2017. “After growing an estimated…

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Diamond Bank sees “minimal” loan growth as economy falters

LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria’s Diamond Bank said it plans to build up cash reserves to ride out a slowdown in the economy that will depress lending after a sharp drop in global oil prices and the weakening naira.Abdulrahman Yinusa, the chief financial officer of Nigeria’s sixth biggest lender by assets, told Reuters Africa Investment Summit on Wednesday that overall loan growth would slow this year compared with last year. The bank will release its results…

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African Market Watch: Wed, 4th March 2015

African Market Watch: Wed, 4th March 2015

Egypt: The Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) indices retreated collectively on Wednesday, while the market capitalization added EGP 727mn amid buy spree by Local institutions and Arab retail investors. The benchmark index EGX30 inched down by 0.15% or 14.2pts to end at 9461.06 points. Likewise, the EGX70, which measures small and mid-cap stocks, went down 0.16% to 561.49pts and the broader index EGX100 lost 0.19% at 1122.37pts. Today’s turnover amounted to EGP 531mn, while traded volume reached…

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