Companies - Finance - October 8, 2020

Nigerian Bourse Gives Transcorp Hotels Plc 3 Years to Comply with Free Float Requirement

October 8, 2020

3 min read

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has given Transcorp Hotels Plc additional three years (until October 2023 to be precise), to meet up with the required free float of 20% issued and fully paid up share capital. This is in compliance with expectations set forth for companies listed on the NSE’s Main Board.

Apparently, Transcorp Hotels Plc had requested and obtained permission from the Nigerian bourse for the extension. A statement signed by Acting Company Secretary, Chike Anikwe, as seen by Business Elites Africa, partly reads:

“The Board of Directors of Transcorp Hotels Plc (“the Company”) wishes to notify all its esteemed shareholders that the National Council of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (“The Exchange”) approved the Company’s free float compliance extension request of three (3) years (ending October 3, 2023). This is to enable the Company to comply with The Exchange’s free float requirements of 20% issued and fully paid share capital or Twenty Billion Naira free float market capitalization for companies listed on its Main Board.”

It should be noted that the NSE’s Rule 3.1.4 which governs Free Float Requirements, expects companies listed on the Main Board to have a market capitalisation of N20 billion. At the moment, the company’s market capitalisation is not up to N20 billion, even as its stock is said to be Below Listing Standard (BLS), according to information obtained from the NSE website.

Meanwhile, Transcorp Hotels’ stock could get suspended if it does not meet the requirement within the extended timeframe.

Transcorp Hotels Plc, which is a subsidiary of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, was established on July 12, 1994. The company operates in the hospitality industry and was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on January 15, 2015. Its latest earnings report for H1 2020 showed that it made a loss after tax of N3.6 billion, no thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic which shot down business activities in the hospitality sector for several months.