The share price of Oando Plc rebounded on Thursday, the first day of trading after the court granted the firm an injunction restraining the Securities and Exchange Commission from executing sanctions imposed on it.
The company emerged the sixth biggest gainer as its share price rose by 5.26 per cent to N4. It lost 9.52 per cent or N0.40 on Monday to close at N3.80 per share.
The nation’s stock market resumed trading on Thursday on a bearish note after a two-day holiday as the All Share Index of the Nigerian Stock Exchanged dipped by 1.30 per cent to close at 30,527.07 basis points.
Investors lost N179.1bn in value as market capitalisation of equities listed on the NSE fell to N13.44tn from N13.622tn on Monday.
Twenty-three stocks, led by Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, recorded price appreciation at the end of trading on Thursday, while 16 firms saw the share prices decline withThomas Wyatt Plc leading the pack.
“Following the continuous bearish performance, our outlook remains unchanged as investors are still in search of economic stimulus to spur investment in equities,” analysts at Afrinvest Securities Limited said.
Following its order last Friday that the company’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Wale Tinubu, and other affected board members should resign, SEC announced on Sunday night that it had set up an interim management team, headed by a former Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company, Mr Mutiu Sunmonu, to oversee the affairs of Oando.
It said the team would conduct an extraordinary general meeting on or before July 1, 2019 to appoint new directors to the board of Oando who would subsequently select a management team for the company.
On Monday, staff members of the company were forced to stay away from work as policemen stormed the head office of the company at the Wing Office Complex located on Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, Victoria Island.
However, the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos granted an interim injunction following an application by Oando’s GCEO and his deputy, restraining SEC from executing the sanctions.
But Oando, in a statement on Thursday, said armed security personnel were still present in the company’s head office building as of 3.00pm on Thursday.
“The presence of the armed men on the directives of the SEC has intimidated the company’s employees and disrupted normal business activities in Oando. The disruption to normal business activity will not only impact the company but will also impact the country at large; specifically, since the release of the SEC’s directives, the company has seen a downward spiral in its stock price,” it said.
It added, “If SEC’s interest is in protecting the company, its employees and shareholders, then how does having armed men barring normal business activity achieve this?”
