Chinwendu Obienyi
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has granted a 60-day grace period to companies for the submission of 2019 Audited Financial Statements (AFS) due March 30, following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
NSE Head, Listings Regulation Department, Godstime Iwenekhai, in a statement, said there would be no sanctions for companies that were unable to file the AFS during this period.
He said: “We refer to the Nigerian Stock Exchange Circular of March 19, with reference number NSE/RD/LRD/CIR4/20/03/19 wherein listed companies were advised on measures to put in place for the conduct of their Annual General Meetings (AGM) due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Further to the said Circular, the Exchange understands that some of the internal governance, auditing and other procedures and processes of listed companies may have been disrupted by COVID-19. Therefore, the Exchange is granting listed companies a 60-day grace period for the submission of their AFS for the year ended Dec. 31 2019, which are due to the Exchange on March 30”.
Meanwhile, activities on the bourse closed on a positive note yesterday as the market capitalisation rose by N65 billion to close Thursday’s session at N11.338 trillion.
Investors’ appetite for stocks particulary in the banking index (Zenith and Access Bank) grew, thus resulting in a 0.13 per cent increase in the market’s All Share Index (ASI) which closed at 21,757.47 points.
Also, the volume of stocks traded stood at 172.16 million units while the value of stocks traded closed at N1.88 billion, exchanged in 3,542 deals. On the price chart, 24 stocks recorded gains while eight others recorded losses.
Morison led the gainers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at 0.55 kobo per share. UCAP was next with 10 per cent to close at N2.20, Union Bank of Nigeria gained 10 per cent to close at N6.60, Transcorp increased by 9.84 per cent to close at 0.67 kobo while Access Bank rose by 9.82 per cent to close at N6.15.
On the other hand, Nestle led the losers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at N765 per share. Glaxosmithkline followed with a loss of 7.89 per cent to close at N3.50, Julius Berger dropped 7.19 per cent to close at N22, Stanbic lost 6.90 per cent to close at N24.30 while Oando depreciated by 2.27 per cent to close at N2.15.