By Nkiruka Nnorom

On the top 10 performing stocks last week were the shares of UAC of Nigeria Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Mansard Insurance Plc, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, N.E.M Insurance Co (Nig.) Plc and Lafarge Africa Plc.

File photo: The floor of Stock exchange

Others were Unilever Nigeria Plc, Zenith International Bank plc, UACN Property Development Co Plc and Airline Services and Logistics, ASL plc.

UACN, which ranked second on the top 10 stocks two weeks ago, came top on the list last week, rising by 19.43 percent or N6.02 to close at N37.00 from N30.98. It had risen by10.33 percent or N2.90 to close at N30.98 the previous week. UAC has made a number of acquisitions over the last few years in a bid to strengthen its footprint in the key sectors of the economy and achieve a conglomerate structure. Among the acquisitions recently made were the take over of Livestock Feeds, where it has 51 percent equity stake, Chemical and Allied Products Plc, where it also has 51 percent interest and Portland Paints & Products Plc, where it has 51 percent interest as well.

Available 2013 financial statement of the company showed that the intrinsic value in the acquisitions intrinsic is being unlocked as indicated by improved financial outing. It grew its turnover by 13 percent from N69.6 billion in 2012 to N78.7 billion in 2013, while operating profit rose from N11.5 billion to N15.3 billion. Livestock Feeds and Portland Paint, which became members of the company in 2013 contributed N6.30 billion to the group’s turnover. The chairman, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, attributed the growth to innovative and proactive measures the company adopted to tackle market dynamics and competitive pressures in the operating environment, while expressing optimism that the company will record modest growth in 2014.

UAC of Nigeria Plc (UAC) is a leading diversified company, operating in the food and beverages, real estate, paint and logistics sectors of the economy.

GTB closed as the second most active stock with 17.32 percent or N3.10 price increase to close at N21.00 from N17.90. GTB is one of the banking stocks that has managed to break into the two digit region after the blow dealt the stock market by 2008/2009 crash, even standing as the most priced besides Stanbic IBTC holdings Plc, which now listed in Other Financial Institutions sub-sector.

The bank opened the year with accolades, clinching the ‘Best Corporate Governance Africa, 2015, an award that recognizes outstanding companies that have exhibited exceptional leadership in the area of governance and professional ethics to ensure protection and long-term value for all their stakeholders. The award, according to the organizers, Ethical Boardroom Magazine UK, is an acknowledgement of the bank’s strong corporate governance practices, commitment to high standards of ethical leadership and compliance with regulatory standards. Despite the minimal increase the bank achieved in turnover in third quarter in 2014, the bank’s profit is on the decrease.

The bank’s gross earnings for the period climbed by 9.5 percent to N199.2 billion from N182 billion in the Q3 of 2013. However, its profit before tax (PBT) declined 2.0 percent to N81 billion from N82.3 billion recorded the corresponding quarter of 2013, while the profit after tax (PAT) dropped by 3.6 percent to N66.7 billion from N69.2 billion in the same period of 2013. Similarly, the fully diluted earnings per share dropped to a negative 3.7 percent from N2.44 in the Q3 of 2013 to N2.35 in the review period of 2014.

Mansard Insurance followed with 10.53 percent or N0.30 appreciation to close at N3.15 from N2.85 per share. The underwriter just completed the acquisition of 60 percent interest in of Penman Pensions Limited, which extended its subsidiaries to four. It recently informed the investing public through the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, that the process of transferring the ownership of Assur Africa Holding Limited (AAH) to AXA was completed on December 8, 2014.