By Goddy Egene
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema, has restated the commitment of the exchange towards the provision of a platform for companies and other issuers to meet their strategic business objectives through access to funding and other services.
Onyema stated this during the ‘Facts Behind the Figures,’ presentation of Capital Hotels Plc, which was held virtually. This marked the first virtual edition in the series since the exchange transitioned to remote trading in March 2020.
Speaking through the Head, Listing Business Division, NSE, Mr. Olumide Bolumole, the CEO said: “It is our pleasure to host Capital Hotels Plc and we commend the management for championing the maiden edition of this vital series given that the market is driven by timely, relevant and accurate information. We recognise the efforts made by Capital Hotels Plc aimed at improving business operations and restoring investor confidence in the company despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the exchange, we remain committed to providing a platform for the company and other Issuers to meet their strategic business objectives.”
According to him, in spite of the challenging business environment, Capital Hotels Plc has consistently delivered value to shareholders as evident in its dividend policy over the last three years and demonstrated by a final dividend of five kobo per ordinary share for 2019.
The Chairman, Capital Hotels Plc, Chief. Anthony Idigbe, and the managing director of the company, Mr. Robert Itawa, thanked the exchange for the opportunity to engage the capital market community on its platform. They highlighted the performance of the hotel in 2019 and shared some of their plans to further engage with their shareholders and improve compliance with the 20 per cent free float requirement of the exchange.
In light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the hospitality industry in 2020, Capital Hotels Plc has also committed to take advantage of the lay time investment opportunity the pandemic has provided to raise capital on the exchange.
Meanwhile, the stock market closed on a bearish note as sell-offs in Zenith Bank Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated led to a decline of 0.07 per cent in the NSE All-Share Index to close at 25,532.74. Similarly, market capitalisation shed N9.2 billion to close at N13.3 trillion.
