The listing of Notore Chemicals Industries Plc shares by introduction yesterday (Thursday) on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has added about N100.75billion to the entire market capitalisation of The Exchange, further deepening the Nigerian Capital Market.
Notore listed by introduction its 1.61 billion ordinary shares at N62.50 per share. The listing is a culmination of several months of hard work by all parties to the transaction including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The listing which is the first this year was done in the industrial goods sector of the NSE. It has a Free Float of 16 percent on the Mainboard of The Nigerian Stock Exchange under agro-allied & chemicals subsector.
The Financial Advisers to the listing are FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited and Vetiva Capital Management Limited; while the Stockbrokers are FBNQuest Securities Limited and Vetiva Securities Limited. The Registrar is Datamax Registrars Limited while Banwo & Ighodalo and Templars are the Legal Advisers.
Formerly O-Secul Fertilizer Company Limited, Notore was established in 2005 to acquire the core assets of the National Fertilizer Company of Nigeria (NAFCON).
Its core business is the production and sale of fertilizer products, which is traded locally (within Nigeria) and exported to West Africa, Southern Africa and Europe.
For President Yakubu Gowon led the board and executive management of Notore Chemical Plc to the Exchange for the listing on Thursday, August 2, 2018 where they met with capital market stakeholders and presented the facts behind the company’s listing. On the trading floor, they performed bell ringing ceremony commemorating the listing of Notore shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Gowon, who thanked the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for making Notore listing possible, said “The process has been ongoing and we have now taken this step in steering the Company in the right direction. Our story is one that will impact the lives of each and every one of us here, either directly or indirectly. We believe the Company will be stronger than ever.”
“This listing will provide an avenue for growth and provide liquidity for the business. We can now continue to improve and expand upon our current activities, seek out other areas for growth and continue to impact the lives of the average farmer/farming family. Let us also recognise the efforts each party has put in ensuring the listing happened, the Issuing Houses, the Stock Brokers, Legal Advisers and the Registrar. We look forward to working with you again in the future to achieve more milestones for the organization,” Gowon told the capital market stakeholders.
Notore, which is a vertically integrated agro-allied, chemical and power group based in Onne Rivers State has six subsidiaries. They are Notre Supply & Trading Mauritius Limited, Notore Power Limited, Notore Seeds Limited, Notore Foods Limited and Notore Industrial City Limited.
While speaking on the reasons for the listing on the NSE, Onajite Okoloko, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Notore Plc, said it is to support the Nigerian government’s effort to deepen the capital markets, improve liquidity and tradability of the company’s shares, and increase its visibility and credibility in the Nigerian market and beyond.
“The listing will also increase access to capital in order to fund the company’s future growth initiatives and grant Nigerians the opportunity to participate in the Notore’s growth history,” he said.
“Our core business is the production and sale of fertilizer products, which is traded locally (within) Nigeria and exported to West Africa, Southern Africa and Europe. Our key strength lies in our huge potential to diversify our revenues due to our favourable location within a prolific gas hub and access to a jetty, which guarantees easy export of any products manufactured in the facility,” he said.
Disclosing the value proposition of the company, Okoloko said Notore is the only urea producer in sub-Sahara Africa with control over gas supply and has vast distribution network in the local Nigerian market.
According to him, it currently produces 1,000 metric tons of urea fertilizer on a daily basis.
“Notore sells 75 per cent of its urea fertilizer locally and export 25 per cent to leading international traders such as Helm Ag, Ameropa and Yara. Notore is a licensed independent power producer, which generates electricity for use in the fertilizer plant and residential estate with excess capacity available for sale to nearby off takers. Total capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) with own use requirements of between 8-13MW,” he said.
On the financial performance of the company, Okoloko said revenue grew from N21.285 billion in 2013 to N35.985 billion in 2017, while profit after tax rose from N1.694 billion to N8.652 billion in the respective years.
Looking ahead, the GCEO said Notore has secured approval for $37million facility to fund its turnaround maintenance program, acquire and install back-up power supply and acquire critical plant spares.
“In the medium term, Notre will develop new compound fertilizer blends specifically for key growth crops, expand the company’s seed business and develop a crop protection business. We will also leverage the company’s free zone developer status to develop the proposed industrial complex into a gas hub and an integrated logistics service provider to the oil and gas sector,” Okoloko said.
Oscar Onyema, CEO Nigerian Stock Exchange said the listing “This listing shows the confidence Notore Chemicals Industries Plc has on our platform which has a total market capitalisation of N23.34 trillion ($76.32Bn) across all of our asset classes.”
