African Thoughts: February 27, 2017


Nigeria:

It was another dull week in Lagos as proceedings continue to be dominated by the odd cross in a few select names. The highlight of the week was the release of NB’s FY 2016 results which saw PAT fall -25.3% to N28.4bn. The market was seemingly pleasantly surprised with the results as the brewer closed the week +13.04% higher (N130.00), and as such, the consumer sector managed to gain +4.08% for the week. The other winners in the sector included Guinness (+11.57%, N68.00) and PZ (+4.48%, N13.99). Banking stocks on the other hand came under a bit of pressure and closed -0.79% lower while the ASI gained +0.34%. Most banking names ended the week little changed. We are hearing that the Naira has made some gains in the parallel market and is trading between N480-N500 to the USD.

Kenya:

Safcom (-0.28%) completely dominated proceedings in Nairobi this week thanks to a number of chunky crosses in the telco over the course of the week as total market turnover amounted to a disappointing $26.8m. There was the odd cross in some of the other market heavyweights, but nothing worth writing home about. The market finally managed to close in positive territory with the NSE 20 Index gaining +2.52%. It was a mixed bag in the banking sector as KNCB closed +2.04% higher while EQBNK fell -0.92%. EABL managed to gain some traction and closed +0.89% higher.

Zimbabwe:

The lack of interest continues to permeate through the Zimbabwean market with turnover for the week amounting to a dull $2.34m, with most of the activity centered on Delta, CBZ and Innscor. The market also continues to come under pressure with the Industrial Index closing the week -1.56% lower as Econet being was a major drag on the market as the telco fell -17.65% (14c). Delta also slipped by 91bps to 81.25c. Both CBZ and BAT released FY numbers this week.

Mauritius:

It was an average week on the activity front in Mauritius due to the shortened trading week with the market being closed on Friday, and as such, turnover amounted to $4.87m, mainly geared towards the usual suspect MCBG. The two major banking stocks closed the week mixed with MCBG gaining +0.4% (Rs228.00), a new all-time high, while SBMH closed unchanged at Rs7.02. Hoteliers also experienced mixed fortunes with NMH and LUX closing unchanged, while SUN fell -0.8%. In economic news, the Bank of Mauritius’ Monetary Policy Committee kept the Key Repo Rate unchanged at 4.00%.

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