By Goddy Egene
The Deputy Managing Director, Meristem Securities Limited, Sulaiman Adedokun, has said the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic benefitted healthcare, telecoms and technology stocks, saying the outlook for telecoms sector was largely positive.
Adedokun stated this while speaking on the economic outlook report for the second half (H1) of the year by Meristem titled: ‘Unmasking value in a scourge.’
According to him, the share prices of healthcare, telecoms and technology companies rose, while stocks of firms operating in sectors like oil & gas, aviation and hospitality were the worst hit.
“Notwithstanding, our outlook for the telecoms sector is largely positive, given that the implementation of social distancing and remote working policies have accelerated the adoption of technological solutions across the country. We expect this to positively impact data revenue in subsequent periods. However, the growth in top-line will be tempered by weaker voice revenue (which contributes 65 per cent to revenue) due to shrinking subscriber wallets, along with growing adoption of cheaper Voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP) alternatives like WhatsApp calls,” he said.
He said with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic mid-March, Meristem had offered forward guidance to investors on strategic investment prospects that existed within the capital market, emphasizing that pocket of opportunities existed within the fixed income environment.
He said that the new outlook report further extends the scope on valuable strategies that investors could adopt to realize value across various asset classes.
“The Meristem research outlook has been able to unearth profound insights for our clients, investors and the general public, who seek to revise their investment strategies for the remaining part of the year. We congratulate our efficient team of analysts who have been able to delineate every section of global and domestic economies to offer a refreshing view of the investment landscape and thus predict a course of action amid a pandemic that has exhausted some global and economic superpowers,” Sulaiman said.
He said Meristem firm has remained a leading player in Nigeria’s competitive investment market with a solid reputation as a highly professional and client-centric firm, helping to take their clients farther.
The company offers a wide a range of services that cater to all classes of investors regardless of the stage in their financial journey, services like stockbroking, wealth management and financial advisory help clients to access various opportunities within the capital.
