Friday, August 2, 2013

Fan Milk's revenues drop ahead of Abraaj takeover

The gross revenues of ice cream manufacturer, Fan Milk Ghana Limited (FML), dropped by 2.7 per cent in the first half of the year relative to the same period last year.
Its yet-to-be audited first half results, released last week, showed that revenues declined from GHC73.32 million in the first six months of 2012 to GHC71.42 in the same period this year.
This comes ahead of the propose takeover of Fan Milk's operations by Dubai-based equity investor, Abraaj Group, later this year.
The takeover was made possible through Abraaj's acquisition of a 100 per cent in Fan Milk International (FML), the parent company of FML earlier this year.
FMI owned about 56.6 per cent stake in FML, its Ghana subsidiary, but lost that following the conditional sale and purchase agreement it entered into with Abraaj, an equity investor that operates in emerging markets such as Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
Notwithstanding the slight decline in FML's gross revenues in the first six months of the year, its gross profit rose from GHC37.87 million in the first half of 2012 to GHC42.80 million in the period under review.
Its after tax profit also inched to GHC14.85 million from the 2012 first half figure of GHC13.05 million.GB

All-Time Capital launches bond fund for investors

ALL-Time Capital, an investment advisory service, established three years ago, has launched a mutual bond fund targeted at corporate and individual investors who are conscious of the risks associated with investments in the country.
The fund, the All-Time Bond Fund (ABF), is a medium to long-term fund investment instrument that will invest mainly in government and corporate bonds as well as in stable but high yielding money market instruments.
It has Stanbic Bank as its custodians and will be regulated by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The Chief Executive Officer of All-Time Capital, Mr Peter A. Iliasu, said at the launch in Accra that the introduction of the ABF was part of the company's desire to bring well class investment banking services to its clients nationwide.
He said although All-Time Capital started as small company, about three years ago, its high caliber of service delivery had won it big clients in the industry within the short pace of time.
"Our staff know the market well, we have invested in state-the-art technology and that is reflecting in the service delivery," Mr Iliasu, formerly with the Export Development and Agricultural Fund (EDAIF), said.
The Manager of the ABF, Mr Aseye Akotia, explained at the launch that about 60 per cent of the fund's net assets would be invested in bonds and the remaining 40 in money market instruments.
Mr Akotia (left) and Mr Iliasu after the launch in Accra.
This categorisation, he said, is, however, not definite as prevailing circumstances can cause his outfit tot alter the amount of assets earmarked for each category.
Although there are promising returns on real estate sector, given the current yawning housing deficit, Mr Akotia said the fund will be investing a maximum of 10 per cent of its assets in that area due to the associated risks.
The initial public offer (IPO) of the fund is expected to run from July 31 to August 28 when individuals, fund managers and the investing public will have the opportunity to buy into it.
The IPO has five million shares and interested individuals and institutions can buy a minimum of GHC100 shares after which they qualify to buy in multiples of GHC50.
The expected average return on yields on the fund will be around 28 per cent, according to its Manager, and yields will can be redeemed without a fee charged.

HR seminar undergoes slight changes

The two-day seminar on Human Resource (HR) to be graced by world acclaimed HR person, Prof Dave Ulrich, has been  revised to a one day full seminar and a dinner with chief executive officers (CEOs) and top captains of business in the country.
The events now starts on the evening of July 30 at the La Palm Beach Hotel in Accra and continue on the following day with a full day seminar on human resource activities in Ghana. 
Prof Ulrich, who will be in the country for the first time, will be the guest speaker.
The seminar is part of the 'Strategic Management in Action' series and will be on the theme 'From Cost-Cutting to Value Creation: Driving Workplace Performance Through Best HR Practices".
The Project Manager for the summit, Madam Freda Addu, said the objective of the conference is to help shape the future of the HR practice in Ghana and Africa by examining the latest trends in the profession, define the contributions it makes to the success of businesses, and offer actionable ideas and tools needed to move it from a transactional role to a transformational one.
 The conference is also set to enlighten business and organisational leaders on how to create real and measurable value for their businesses though values, long term leadership plans and on how to attract and maintain the right talent.
2SL Limited and Corporate Aims Services Limited, both HR Advisors and Consultants are the organisers of the event.

TECNO launches Phantom PAD

TECNO Ghana has Phantom PAD to the range of devices it currently distributes in the country.
 The Phantom PAD offers is a combination of a phone and tablet with its features made to suit the customers.
It has a one slot for a SIM card device was unveiled at season two of the MTN Spoons Competition held at the Celebrity Golf Club in Sakumono.
The outgoing CEO of MTN Ghana, Mr Michael Ikpoki, and TECNO Ghana CEO, Mr Maxwell Techie, jointly launched the device.
It is equipped with 4.2 Android Jellybean OS and a Quad Core 1.2 GHz CPU and supports both 2G and 3G networks.
It also comes with an 8.0 XGA Touchscreen, 5.0 MP Back Camera/2.0 MP Front Camera, Dual Camera and speakers, and has a 16GB ROM and 16 GB RAM, among other exciting features.
The Phantom PAD would be available in TECNO and Mobile Zone retail outlets, according to TECNO Ghana's CEO, and comes with a free 1200 MB worth of Data, spread across 6 months.
Techie added.
The launch of the new device comes months after the successful unveiling of the Phantom A earlier this year.