International Breweries Declares N9.4bn Loss in Q2 2020 Results

Esan Bolaji
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1
International Breweries Declares N9.4bn Loss in Q2 2020 Results

International Breweries Plc, Beverages-Brewers/Distillers company in the Industrial Goods sector announced 11.7% Revenue decline in Q2 2020 Result.

Highlights

  • Revenue declined by -11.7% to N60.6bn from N68.6bn in the previous quarter.
  • Loss before tax stood at N12bn.
  • Loss after tax stood at N9bn.
  • Net Assets grew by 1934% from N7.5bn to N151.8bn.

The brewer reported N12.711 billion loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. This was more than the N2.854 billion loss reported for the same quarter of 2019 due to the N9.040 billion loss incurred on other cash flow.

Revenue declined from N33.534 billion in the corresponding period of 2019 to N25.266 billion in the second quarter of 2020.

Administrative expenses stood at N5.941 billion, better than the N6.212 billion achieved in the same period of 2019.

The cost of sales improved with a decline in revenue to N21.899 billion from the N27.793 billion posted in Q2 2019.

The gross profit declined from N5.741 billion in Q2 2019 to N3.366 billion in Q2 2020.

However, the company posted a loss before tax of N4.288 billion for the period while tax credit of N577.02 million helped reduce the loss to N3.711 billion.

Still, higher than the N2.854 billion loss reported for the corresponding period of 2019.

The company also posted N9.040 billion loss for items that may be subsequently reclassified as profit or loss. Bringing its total loss for the period under review to N12.751 billion.

Total assets depreciated in value to N354.501 billion in the period, down from N365.147 billion posted during the corresponding period of 2019.

International Breweries reduced total liabilities from N357.683 billion to N202.659 billion. While the company’s total equities stood at N354.501 billion, down from N365.147 billion achieved in Q2 2019.

BBNaija Lockdown: Betway Honours Health Workers on This Week’s Arena Games (Photos)

George Martins
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0
BBNaija Lockdown: Betway Honours Health Workers on This Week’s Arena Games (Photos)

The fifth season of Big Brother Naija kicked off with a bang on Sunday, July 19, 2020. Yesterday marked the first Friday since the housemates joined the BBNaija Lockdown house, and you know what that means, right? The Betway Arena Games!

As the headline sponsor of the BBNaija show, premium online entertainment company, Betway is organising all of the Arena Games for the duration of the show.

The first-ever session of the Betway Arena Games in the BBNaija Lockdown House was held by 9 pm yesterday, Friday, July 24, and it was done in honour of health workers.

Big Brother tasked the housemates to move through a sort of health-themed ‘obstacle course’. The housemates had to dress up as medical workers and complete related tasks like labelling first aid boxes, separating pills by colour, etc. The first housemate to correctly complete all obstacles would win the game.

The game honoured health workers by displaying the hard work and attention to detail that is involved in their profession, especially in the light of a global COVID-19 pandemic.

As deceptively simple as the game sounds, remember that all housemates were racing to be the first to finish, so they could win.

Additionally, no one wanted to perform awfully to avoid a fine from their Betway Wallet. The tension of the moment caused lots of laughs and drama as the housemates rushed to complete their tasks.

In the end, no one finished their tasks and Big Brother penalised all Housemates by adding 10 extra seconds to their overall time in the Betway Arena games.

Nengi and Lilo received special recognition from Big Brother for making efforts to go the farthest in completing the challenge and were exempted from Big Brother’s penalty.

The drama began long before the Arena games when Big Brother asked the Housemates to dress up in their Betway jerseys in preparation for a Betway trivia.

Keep up with the action and don’t miss out on all of the twists, turns and action of the BBNaija house. With Betway, you know it’s always game on!

Unilever Nigeria Plc Declining Market Share Reflects on Earnings

George Martins
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0
Unilever Nigeria Plc Declining Market Share Reflects on Earnings

Unilever Nigeria Plc recently released its second-quarter results, which showed a rather disappointing, but expected numbers. Specifically, revenue declined by 40% year-on-year (YoY) from N23.42bn in Q2’19 to N14.01bn in Q2’20.

The Company recorded an operating loss of N1.86bn in Q2’20, compared to an operating profit of N2.54bn in Q2’19. The loss incurred stemmed from the lower revenue generated in Q2’20.

In our view, we believe that the poor revenue performance was partly driven by the double-whammy of lower demand and lower supply induced by the outbreak of the COVID-19.

However, we note that prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Company was faced with a declining market share, particularly on its Food business segment. In an earnings conference call organised by the Company after the release of Q1’20 earnings result, the management revealed that cheaper alternative products from China were eroding market share for the Company.

In addition to the impact of increased competition in the market, the sustained land border closure also took its toll on revenue performance. The land border closure limited export sales to neighbouring countries such as Ghana and Ivory Coast.

The decision of the Company to tighten credit to distributors resulted in a significant decline in the wholesale channel of the Company, thus resulting in lower sales. However, on a positive note, the decision resulted in higher cash flows generated in H1’20.

The Company’s cash balance grew by 46% YoY from N30.61bn as of H1’19 to N44.57bn as of H1’20. The increase in cash resulted from lower receivables, lower inventory levels, and delayed payments to creditors.

Furthermore, we believe that the pressure on consumer spending in the economy resulted in the downgrading of products from premium to lower-tiered products.

Overall, the Company recorded a loss before tax of N1.52bn in Q2’20, from a profit before tax of N2.67bn in Q2’19. A loss after tax of N1.63bn was incurred as well, relative to a profit before tax of N1.99bn in Q2’19.

Outlook

As stated in our previous report after the release of the Company’s Q1’20 earnings result, we expected to see continued pressures on revenue due to increased competition and lower demand.

We also expected the Company to optimise costs to protect margins. In Q2’20, operating expenses lowered by 18% YoY from N4.93bn in Q2’19 to N4.02bn in Q2’20.

Based on our assessments, we maintain our outlook. Although we note the gradual reopening of the economy, we yet remain cautious about a significant rise in the level of economic activities.

In our view, we do not see an immediate significant rise in consumption levels. Also, we posit that the tight credit policy by the Company will be sustained, however, we think that the impact would be less severe in H2’20 due to a low base in H2’19.

On the decision to tighten credit terms, we postulate that the policy is aimed at maintaining quality assets. The Company also decided on a tighter credit policy to enhance liquidity and reset its industrial and cost base.

As of H1’20, a total cash balance of N44.57bn sat on the Company’s balance sheet. The bulk of the cash came from the N57.75bn net proceeds from the Rights Issue done in FY’17.

During the capital raising exercise, the Company intended to deploy capital to deleverage its balance sheet, support its working capital needs and position the Company to invest in growth opportunities.

While the first two objectives have been achieved, the Company is yet to invest in growth opportunities due to the weak industry growth amid macroeconomic vulnerabilities. However, we think that holding excess cash could result in value destruction for shareholders.

Valuation

We maintain our SELL rating on the stock; however, we raise our fair value from N1.07 to N2.91. The higher fair value was due to our expectations of an improved cash flow generation during our forecast years.

We lowered our capital expenditure assumptions due to the low demand and low industry growth. Our cost of equity estimate was also adjusted to reflect the currently lower risk-free rate in the fixed income market.

In our view, the fundamentals of the industry are very weak, and we see the low growth being sustained in the near to medium term. At current market prices, the stock trades at a 77% premium to our fair value.

WSTC RESEARCH

Hyundai Motor Group Develops Air-Conditioning Technologies to Maintain Clean Air in Vehicles

George Martins
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1
Hyundai Motor Group Develops Air-Conditioning Technologies to Maintain Clean Air in Vehicles

Hyundai Motor Group announced today new technologies to improve the quality of air in vehicles and create a more pleasant indoor environment for customers.

Recognizing the growing concern about air quality, the Group unveiled three new air-conditioning technologies – ‘After-Blow’, ‘Multi-Air Mode’, and ‘Fine Dust Indicator’. The technologies will be introduced initially on select models in Korea and expand to upcoming Hyundai, Kia and Genesis vehicles worldwide in the future.

After-Blow Technology

‘After-Blow’ dries the condensate on the evaporator and suppresses mould growth in the air-conditioning system, which can cause an odour during hot weather.

After the engine is turned off and the condensate on the evaporator drains naturally for about 30 minutes, ‘After-Blow’ activates for 10 minutes to dry the evaporator and any condensate leftover in the air passage.

The air-conditioning system automatically allows influx of outside air during this time to prevent humidity from building up.

The technology uses an intelligent battery sensor (IBS) to monitor the battery and stops functioning when the battery is low, allaying any concerns about battery discharge.

It also de-activates when the air conditioning system is not in use for a certain period of time, or when the outside temperature is low.

Multi-Air Mode Technology

‘Multi-Air Mode’ uses multiple vents for air conditioning and heating to create a more pleasant indoor environment with the gentle wind.

When this mode is activated, the air is dispersed to the newly added multi-air slots in the driver and passenger seats in addition to the normal air vents.

The overall wind volume remains the same, but the dispersion of wind reduces direct air contact and softens the air.

This mode can be switched on and off based on the preference of the driver.

Fine Dust Indicator Technology

‘Fine Dust Indicator’ measures the air inside the vehicle in real-time and delivers digitized information, allowing the driver to better manage the air quality.

The indicator displays the concentration and pollution level of ultrafine particles (PM 2.5) inside the vehicle using integer numbers and colours for better visibility to the user: blue for 0 to 15 μg/m3, green for 16 to 35 μg/m3, orange for 36 to 75 μg/m3, and red for 76 μg/m3 or higher.

If the level of ultrafine particles exceeds 36 μg /m3 while the function is active, the air-cleaning mode will run to purify the air in the vehicle.

The air-cleaning system automatically sets the air volume between 3 and 8 and switches to the air-recirculation mode and activates the air conditioning system to reduce indoor humidity.

If the air does not improve in air-cleaning mode, it can also serve as a reminder to the driver to replace air-conditioner filters or to clean contaminated seats and mats.

Julius Berger Nigeria Reports N1.9bn Loss in Six Months

Esan Bolaji
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0
Julius Berger Nigeria Reports N1.9bn Loss in Six Months

Julius Berger Nigeria Plc has reported a loss of N1.931 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2020, in its Q2 2020 Unaudited results, compared with a profit of N2.835 billion in the corresponding period of 2019.

Highlights

  • Revenue declined by -22.6% to N102bn from N132bn in the previous quarter.
  • Loss before tax stood at N1.5bn.
  • Loss after tax stood at N1.9bn.
  • Net Assets grew by 3.6% from N36bn to N38bn.

Details of the unaudited results made available at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that the construction firm recorded revenue of N102.055 billion in 2020, down from N131.783 billion in 2019. Gross profit fell from N29.849 billion to N18.633 billion in 2020.

The firm was able to reduce administrative expenses to N15.748 billion in 2020, compared with N22.446 billion in 2019. However, a foreign exchange loss of N3.102 billion in 2020 led to loss after tax of N1.931 billion as against a profit after tax of N2.835 billion in 2019.

But the N1.931 billion loss in six months is an improvement on the N2.344 billion loss posted in the first quarter of the year. Market analysts said given the performance, it would be difficult to say if the shareholders would receive a dividend at the end of the year.

Julius Berger Nigeria recorded a profit of N8.7 billion in 2029 and recommended a dividend of N3.6 billion, which translated to 275 kobo per share but later reduced it to 200 kobo per share.

The company had explained that these trying times for corporates globally, is expected to force a rethink of spending plans by corporate boards to protect liquidity and ensure long-term sustainability while balancing the needs for return to shareholders.

Julius Berger is a Nigerian construction company, headquartered in Abuja, with additional permanent locations in Lagos and Uyo. The company is represented across Nigeria in structural engineering and infrastructure works, and in southern Nigeria through domestic and international oil and gas industry projects.

Poly Leads Industry with the Most Microsoft Teams Certified Headsets Available

Media Outreach
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0

The choice is now yours – Poly offers 2X more Microsoft Teams certified headsets and personal speakerphones than the next leading provider

 

SINGAPORE
– Media OutReach – July
28, 2020 – Plantronics,
Inc. (“Poly” — formerly Plantronics and
Polycom) (NYSE: PLT), a global communications company that powers meaningful
human connection and collaboration, today announced that Poly now has
the largest portfolio of Microsoft Teams certified headsets available, offering greater flexibility
and choice with more than twenty headsets and personal speakerphones certified
for Teams. This solidifies Poly as having the most comprehensive end-to-end suite of
Teams certified headsets, video devices, phones and speakerphones available.

Poly has sold nearly 17 million Microsoft compatible devices over the
last three years. Our latest portfolio of certified devices with the dedicated
purple Teams button includes the Voyager 4200 Office Series and Voyager 5200
Office Series headsets, Calisto 3200 and 5300 speakerphones,  Blackwire 3300 Series, and the recently
announced Blackwire 8225 headsets. The dedicated Teams button allows you to
instantly invoke your Teams meeting as well as receive alerts and notifications
so you never miss a beat.

“We understand that every
worker – from executives to the entry-level — may have their own preferred
workstyle. Instead of a one-size-fits-all solution, organizations should cater
to each individual, aligning their tools and endpoints with the different
workstyles to enhance productivity and efficiency,” said Pierre-Jean
Châlon, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific, Poly. “That is why we are
committed to providing a wide range of high-quality solutions that seamlessly
integrate with Microsoft Teams, providing the flexibility and choice to meet
the needs of any worker.”

With the significant
increase in home working here to stay, our need to collaborate at a distance will
remain essential. As such, Microsoft Teams usage continues to skyrocket,
having gone from 32 million users in early March 2020[1] to 75 million users by April 2020[2], creating an even greater need for
Teams integrated devices.

“As distance and remote
working continues for many organizations, the need for a wide variety of UCC
integrated devices, including Microsoft Teams, will remain a top priority,”
said Alaa Sayed, industry director, Frost and Sullivan. “No other vendor comes
close to Poly’s deep portfolio of Teams certified devices for home, office, and
everywhere in between. Poly’s ability to offer simple, flexible and reliable
communications endpoints is just one of the reasons Poly continues to be a leading
provider of global enterprise headsets.”

Poly’s portfolio offers Teams
certified devices ranging from wireless DECT™ headset systems like Savi 8200 Office and UC Series, to premium Bluetooth® headsets
that connect to PCs and
mobiles like the Voyager family, to portable USB speakerphones like Calisto 5300.
All certified products have been rigorously tested and Microsoft certified to
ensure the best audio and user experience and have been thoughtfully designed
to work flexibly and seamlessly with Microsoft Teams — creating a one-stop shop
for your organization’s collaboration device needs whether you’re a Microsoft
Teams aficionado or just starting your journey to leverage Microsoft Teams.

For a full list of Poly
Microsoft Teams certified devices now available for order and shipping, please visit here for more information.


[1] “Microsoft announces new Teams features as usage
skyrockets nearly 40 percent in a week” (The Verge, March 2020)

[2] “Microsoft Teams now has 75 million daily active
users” ( Business Insider, April 2020).

About Poly

Plantronics,
Inc. (“Poly” — formerly Plantronics and Polycom) (NYSE: PLT) is a global
communications company that powers meaningful human connection and
collaboration. Poly combines legendary audio expertise and powerful video and
conferencing capabilities to overcome the distractions, complexity and distance
that make communication in and out of the workplace challenging. Poly believes
in solutions that make life easier when they work together and with our
partners’ services. Our headsets, software, desk phones, audio and video
conferencing, analytics and services are used worldwide and are a leading
choice for every kind of workspace. For more information visit www.Poly.com.

Poly, the
propeller design, and the Poly logo are trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. Bluetooth
is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use by Plantronics,
Inc. is under license.  All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Prudential and PAI Health enter partnership to deliver a new way to measure physical activity on digital health app, Pulse

Media Outreach
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0

Prudential enhances customer offerings and engagement by introducing the science-backed Personal Activity Intelligence score across 11 Asian markets

 

HONG KONG, CHINA and VANCOUVER, CANADA – Media OutReach – 28 July 2020
– Prudential Corporation Asia (Prudential)
and PAI Health today
announced that PAI Health’s science-backed activity metric for heart health,
known as Personal Activity Intelligence, will be featured in the Pulse by
Prudential (Pulse) digital health app, the first of its kind to offer holistic
health management to consumers in Asia.

PAI Health services will be available to
Pulse users across 11 markets in Asia. PAI
adds to a growing suite of services on Pulse, which provides access to health
and wellness tools and real-time information to consumers across the region.
Since the launch of Pulse in August last year, the app has already been
downloaded over 6.5 million times.

Mr. Nic Nicandrou, Chief Executive of Prudential
Corporation Asia, said, “It has never been a more important time than now to
help people build health resilience and boost immunity by adopting a more
active lifestyle. Through Pulse, we are committed to providing leading
technology, content and services to help people live healthier lives. We are excited to add PAI Health’s programme
to our platform and provide new actionable heart health insights to users, so we
can help them live healthy and well, for longer.”

The collaboration will allow Pulse users to
benefit from a ground-breaking new activity score and health programme that guides
people to better health, by quantifying the exact level of physical activity
each person needs to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality. Derived from
one of the most comprehensive health studies (the HUNT Study), and recently
validated with a large US population of over 56,000 participants, maintaining a
PAI score of 100 or more has been associated with a reduction of mortality risk
from cardiovascular disease and other lifestyle diseases by an average of 25%,
with the potential to extend people’s lives by an average of five years.

Users require a compatible heart monitor
wearable to enable the PAI feature in the Pulse app. The PAI feature is device-agnostic,
meaning it can be used with any leading wearable brands including Apple, Garmin
and Fitbit devices. Users can set and achieve health
goals, track physical and nutrition activities, receive feedback, coaching and
guidance on their health and fitness, as well as access useful content and
insights. For those without an existing device, Huami, a healthcare services
technology company and world-leading maker of smart wearables, will be a featured partner enabling customers to purchase their
affordable Amazfit devices directly via the Pulse app. 


“PAI is becoming the new health standard for physical activity,
addressing the global health problem of inactivity that has reached concerning proportions,”
says Sally Powell, General Manager of PAI Health. “Given that PAI is so
inclusive, being suited to all fitness levels and recognising all forms of
physical activity, we are delighted that Prudential will be introducing PAI in
the Pulse app. This will motivate millions of users to become more active with
a potential to make profound improvements in public health.”

About Pulse by Prudential

Pulse by Prudential is a digital health app and the first
of its kind in the region to offer holistic health management to consumers.
Using AI-powered self-help tools and real-time information, the app serves as a
24/7 health and wellness partner to users, helping them prevent, postpone, and
protect against the onset of diseases. Pulse is part of Prudential’s region-wide strategy to provide affordable
and accessible healthcare to everyone across Asia by leveraging digital
technologies and best-in-class partnerships. 

Following the regional launch of Pulse in Malaysia in
August 2019, Pulse is now available in a total of 11 markets across the region
and includes a growing suite of value-add services, such as a symptom checker
and health assessment, personal wellness services, and video consultations with
certified doctors and specialists.

Since
its launch, Pulse has been downloaded more than 6 million times in Asia to
date. Pulse is currently available on the Apple/Google Play stores in Cambodia,
Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

For
more information, and to download Pulse, log on to www.wedopulse.com. 

About PAI
Health

PAI Health allows organizations to assess, monitor and
guide their people to better health, providing individuals with motivational
guidance on personalized recommended physical activity levels. Our mission is
to optimize anyone’s path to better health by making the science-backed
Personal Activity Intelligence (PAI) metric a global health standard through
partnerships with insurers, employee wellness programs, technology platforms,
health care providers and other industry partners. For more
information, please visit www.paihealth.com.

 

About Prudential Corporation Asia

Prudential Corporation Asia is a business unit of Prudential
plc (United Kingdom)*, comprising its life insurance operations in Asia and
Africa, and its asset management business, Eastspring Investments. It is
headquartered in Hong Kong.

Prudential is a leading life insurer with operations spanning
six markets in Africa and 13 markets in Asia, covering Cambodia, China, Hong
Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Through a robust multi-channel distribution
platform, Prudential provides a comprehensive range of savings, investment and
protection products to meet the diverse needs of Asian families.

Eastspring Investments manages investments across Asia on
behalf of a wide range of retail and institutional investors. It is a leading
Asia-based asset manager with on-the-ground presence in 11 major Asian markets
as well as distribution offices in North America and Europe. It has over US$241
billion in assets under management (as at 31 December 2019), managing funds
across a range of asset classes including equities and fixed income.

 

*Prudential
plc is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc. of the
United States or with the Prudential Assurance Company, a subsidiary of M&G
plc, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom.

 

Prudential
plc is listed on the stock exchanges of London (PRU.L), Hong Kong (2378.HK),
Singapore (K6S.SG) and New York (PUK.N).


CakeRush kicks off to spread the sweetness around the Philippines

Media Outreach
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0

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Media OutReach – 27 July
2020 – CakeRush – an industry leader in
delivering sweet treats across Malaysia, has now spread its’ wings over to the
Philippines. A subsidiary of Limitless
Technology Sdn Bhd, CakeRush’s holding brand boasts a portfolio of the best
gifting resources across South East Asia — including Flower Chimp, a flower
delivery service operating in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and more.

 

Launched on the
7th of July 2020, CakeRush Philippines intends to become the country’s
top platform for customers looking for cakes of all sorts — partnering with a wide
variety of bakers, right from humble home-bakers to well renowned local
favourites to meet every sweet need in the market.

 

CakeRush’s
array of offerings include all sorts of decadent cakes, cookies, brownies, and
unique cakes that come inside of a can; all of which come in a variety of
flavours — with plans of further extending their range of offerings.

 

With the use of
proprietary logistics technologies, CakeRush provides a seamless stream for
both, its customers and bakers, eliminating every hassle involved in the
ordering a cake — right from its creation to reaching to its recipient.

 

CakeRush prides
itself in being the most efficient in the online cake delivery realm — with not
only the best quality and range of offerings, but also in terms of service and
speed.

 

With a
frictionless channel for its bakers, and an array of choices for its consumers,
CakeRush covers all bases of the cake process, including free delivery on all
orders across Metro Manila — and plans of spanning across all of the
Philippines in the near future.

 

Providing a
superior alternative to going out to purchase a cake, especially during these
trying times, CakeRush is set to successfully spread the sweetness across the
Philippines.

About Limitless Technology

Founded in 2016
by German entrepreneurs Maximilian Lotz and Niklas Frassa, Limitless Technology
saw its beginnings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — eventually expanding across South East Asia
through Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, and Singapore. 

Specially
catering to consumers in the gifting and lifestyle e-commerce segment, the group
strives to serve the growing demand for gift delivery services across South
East Asia with high caliber technologies, services, and teams.

The company has consequently attracted significant venture funding from local
and international investors, and is currently venturing out into new markets
and additional brands.

Infor and Nippon Systemware Forge Alliance to Market Infor CloudSuite Industrial ERP Package for Japan’s manufacturing Industry

Media Outreach
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0

Partnership to build core business systems to accelerate the digital shift for customers

 

TOKYO,
JAPAN – Media OutReach – 27
July 2020 – Infor/Infor
Japan K.K. and Nippon Systemware Co., Ltd. (NSW; Headquarter: Shibuya-ku,
Tokyo; President and Chief Executive Officer: Shoji Tada) today announced the provision
of Infor CloudSuite Industrial, Infor’s enterprise resource planning (ERP)
package for the manufacturing industry in a newly-inked partner agreement to
help Japanese customers accelerate their digital journey. Under the
partnership, NSW can sell or otherwise provide Infor CloudSuite Industrial as a
supply chain solution (ERP) for managing sales and production planning. This
will enable both Infor and NSW to provide even higher value-added solutions
that span both the engineering chain and supply chain.

With multi-language,
multi-currency, and multi-site support, Infor CloudSuite Industrial is an ERP
package for manufacturing companies with global. operations It is already used
in over 6,000 locations globally, including over 1,400 locations in the
Asia-Pacific and over 200 locations in Japan alone.

NSW has a long history of
achievement and expertise across the engineering chain (product lifecycle
management and product data management), managing data related to design and
manufacturing in the manufacturing industry. In recent years, it has combined
the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide
solutions for delivering instructions and collecting performance data in
production environments, while supporting its customers through their digital
transformation (DX).

This alliance is off to a
promising start to fulfil current market and business needs, with the ERP
package having already been trialed by a medical devices manufacturer in a
project to rebuild its core business system, including its global sites. Going
forward, Infor and NSW will continue collaborating in the areas of Infor
CloudSuite Industrial and other solutions for the manufacturing industry as
both parties help build core business solutions that support digital
transformation for customers.

“We welcome Nippon Systemware to the Infor Partner Network. With
Infor’s continued commitment to deliver finely-tuned, industry-specific
solutions in the cloud to help our customers maximise efficiencies and
accelerate growth, and NSW’s years of experience in the manufacturing industry
in Japan, we are confident that our combined strengths can help to accelerate
digital transformation within the manufacturing industry here”, says Shinya
Miura, Country Manager & Vice President, Infor Japan K.K.

“We are excited about the partner
agreement with Infor. This partnership will enable us to offer comprehensive
range of solutions for the manufacturing industry, covering both the engineering
and supply chains. Furthermore, together with Infor, we will provide high-value-added
services to our customers in the manufacturing industry by leveraging synergies
with our strength in IoT, AI and embedded software development.”, says Takeshi
Yamada, Executive Corporate Officer, Nippon Systemware Co., Ltd.

Media contact

Phyllis Tan

Infor Asia Pacific

+65 9799 9133

phyllis.tan@infor.com

NSW (Nippon Systemware)

Corporate Division

Planning Department, PR: Someha, Kaneko

E-mail：kouhou@gw.nsw.co.jp

About Nippon Systemware

Nippon Systemware (NSW) was
founded in 1966. It is a one-stop provider of solutions, from building systems
to support manufacturing, distribution, and other industries, to designing and
operating IT infrastructure, and providing cloud services from in its own data
centers. It is also engaged in embedded system development, and LSI and circuit
board design and development, in the in-vehicle, communications and facilities
fields. With a focus on the fields of IoT and AI, which leverage these
capabilities, it aims to become a company that leads the digital transformation
of customers through the provision of solutions and services underpinned by its
Toami IoT platform.

For more details, see https://www.nsw.co.jp/ .

About Infor


Infor
is a global cloud business software provider specializing by market sector.
With 17,300 employees and over 68,000 customers in more than 170 countries,
Infor software is designed for progress. For more information, visit https://www.infor.com/ja-jp.

Infor
customers include:

  • The top 20 companies in the aerospace
    sector
  • 9 of the top 10 companies in the
    high-tech sector
  • 14 of the 25 largest healthcare
    networks in the United States
  • 19 of the 20 largest cities in the United
    States
  • 18 of the top 20 automotive companies
  • 14 of the top 20 companies in
    industrial distribution
  • 13 of the top 20 retailers globally
  • 4 of the top 5 brewing companies
  • 17 of the top 20 banks
  • 9 of the 10 largest hotel chains
  • 7 of the top 10 best luxury brands 

Interbank System Awash With Liquidity As Apex Bank Holds Back On OMO Issuance

George Martins
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0
Interbank System Awash With Liquidity As Apex Bank Holds Back On OMO Issuance

FGN Bonds

The FGN bonds space opened the week on a very hushed tone as yield continued to drop across the benchmark curve. With the bulls still in the market, one would have expected exciting actions, however, we saw them scramble for bonds at a very slow pace while hoping for more profit-taking actions from the bears which might aggress slight uptick in yield.

Few of the market actions were on the 2026s and 2035s bond with trades settling around 5.45% and 8.90% on both bonds respectively.

The 2049s and 2050s on the other were largely quoted at 9.75%/9.67% for the most of the trading session albeit few trades consummated at those levels. Subsequently, the average yield on the benchmark curve compressed by c.4bps compared to Friday’s closing.

For tomorrow, we expect the market to continue to trade at this pace although most of the actions would most likely be skewed towards the longer-dated papers, with exception to the shortest-dated auction paper (2026 maturity).

Treasury Bills

At the OMO space, it was a dull day for the bulls as we saw market offers dried up due to the non-issuance of OMO by the APEX bank despite the robust system liquidity available to gulp large bill sizes.

The trading session opened the day one-way all bids and no offer across the benchmark curve, however, by mid-day, we saw slight actions on December and January bills albeit in low volumes with trades settling at 3% mid.

At the long-end, we saw most of the market bids for May/June bills at 4.80% with no offer to match for a trade. Consequently yields compressed by an average of c.9bps on the benchmark curve.

For tomorrow, rates will most likely drop further, and offers remain scarce as the bulls continue to scramble to invest in the few bills available to buy.

Money Markets

The robust interbank system liquidity of +c.N604.45BN continues to tapper down rates with no major funding need to drag rates upward. OBB and OVN rates lost approx. 22% compared to Friday’s levels closing the day at 1.13% and 1.88% respectively.

With no significant funding pressures and reduced probability of an OMO auction, we expect the market rate to remain around this level at the interbank trading session tomorrow.

FX Market

The I&E FX window remained less active as the market volumes continue to dwindle while participants stayed bided between N385.00/$ and N389.00/$, causing the closing rate to depreciate by 0.06% from Fridays’ closing.

At the cash and transfer window, FX pressure continues to mount as the shortage of supply took a major toll in that space with Naira depreciating by an average of N1.5k for both markets closing the day at N473/$ and N474/$ respectively.

Eurobonds

The NGERIA Sovereign tickers opened the week better offered, with less aggressive bids seen across the curve, especially for the mid and longer-dated papers. By and large, yield expanded by an average of c.7bps across the curve.

At the SSA space, Angola’s bond continued to gain positive vibes following the announcement by Finance minister on their government intentions to participate in the G20’s debt service suspension Initiative.

Although we saw no immediate reactions in the Angola bonds, offer prices reprised higher by the close of the business especially on the 25s and 28s papers.

At NGERIA Corps tickers had a mixed session, with a few of the tracked papers moving in opposite directions based on the market interest. Yields on the Zenith 22s and SEPPLN 23s headed south to lead the pack compressing by -11bps and -10bps respectively while the ACCESS 21s headed north expanding by a whooping +59bps.

ZEDCREST CAPITAL

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