Naira
• Records 133% over-subscription
C&I Leasing Plc has announced that N7 billion Series I bond which opened on Monday May 21, 2018 recorded 133 per cent over subscription.
The Managing Director of the company, Andrew Otike -Odibi while addressing parties to the bond at the signing ceremony held in Lagos on Tuesday explained that the N7 billion raised will largely boost its business expansion exercise and restructuring of the company’s debts over a period of five years.
According to him, this would consequently relieve the current debt profile on the group’s balance sheet while increasing profit margins and returns for shareholders.
“We closed at 16.54 per cent and that is going to trip off about three per cent of our borrowing cost which you take the portion of the bond suppose to be for refinance existing debt that is significant savings talking about between N20 and N25 million in a year.
“It will positively impact our profit margin by adding another N20 or N25 million to our bottom-line over a twelve-month period. We have sustained our result for 2017 and hopefully surpassed it and this will hopefully help us in the performance of the business in 2018 and beyond.
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He continued: “The success of the bond is indicative of the market’s confidence in our business, they have seen our structure, focus and consistency with corporate governance in 27 years of operations and they can tell we have a good story unfolding.
“There is a niche market for Nigerian businesses in the maritime sector to serve Oil and Gas companies, but it is not enough to be a Nigerian Company. Proper structure is also very critical, and this is one of our strengths at C & I Leasing Plc,” he added.
The Managing Director of Planet Capital- the Lead Issuing House; Efe Akhigbe pointed out that the offer was very successful because of the track record of the firm has demonstrated over 25 years of operations in Nigeria.
He added that the company’s investment in marine assets, serving the oil and gas companies in various mid to long term contracts, which was attractive to investors, in addition to the timing of the issuance was instrumental to the success of the bond which was largely patronized by top pension fund managers and insurance companies.
The bond, which is the first series in a N20 billion debt issuance programme, is a Senior Secured Bond with a fixed rate of 16.54%. It was issued at a price of N1,000 per unit with December 2023 as maturity date.
C&I Leasing Plc has evolved to become a valuable resource and business partner for several indigenous and multinational blue-chip organizations. The company currently provides support services along three lines; Fleet Management, Personnel Outsourcing and Marine Services.
The C&I Leasing group of companies, which has its operational offices in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja, is also invested in subsidiaries – Leasafric Ghana and Epic International FZE.
Source: G Business
