LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria’s Unity Bank increased half-year pretax profit 81 percent to 7.89 billion naira from 4.35 billion naira in the same period of last year. Gross earnings rose to 30.85 billion naira during the six-month period, against 30.17 billion naira a year ago, it said in a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Thursday.
The most interesting thing in this interview, I think, is the point that Clive Ramathibela-Smith makes when discussing the platinum strike. He notes that the same issues keep rearing their heads, and comments, “It’s a prosperous country and a prosperous nation, and we’re still dealing with issues that should have been deal with, I reckon, … Read more
The story of Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy and one of the world’s fastest growing and most dynamic economies, is often seen as a simple tail of oil and gas resources. But there’s a lot more to the Nigerian economy, from the small businesspeople who ply their wares in the country’s bustling markets to people like … Read more
The steel business, like most primary industries, is highly cyclical, and very vulnerable to swings in the economy. When GDP is booming, and capacity is expanding, the steel industry booms, but when a nation’s animal spirits wane, steel companies can see dramatic falls in sales, prices, and value. Right now, steel companies in South Africa … Read more
One of the reasons why Africa has failed to develop a vibrant manufacturing sector and other markers of a modern economy is that far too many of Africa’s best and brightest see a career in politics as the best and even only way to make money, have influence, and exercise power. If the African century … Read more
LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria’s Sterling Bank said on Tuesday its first-quarter pretax profit rose to 3.54 billion naira ($21.8 million), up 17.3 percent from 3.02 billion Naira a year earlier. Gross earnings at the mid-tier bank climbed to 24.62 billion Naira during the three months to March 31, as against 19.84 billion Naira in the same period of … Read more
Earlier this week we received this email from a “usually reliable source” who is close to Tiger Brands. Its content is self explanatory, claiming that Tiger Brands’ R1,5bn Nigerian investment is turning sour – and that the  South African FMCG business is set to repeat Telkom’s disastrous Multilinks misadventure. While the company’s response suggests our … Read more