Despite the relatively weak economic growth recorded in 2018, the top 10 most profitable companies on the Nigeria made a total of N1.26 trillion as profit after tax for the 2018 financial year.
This amounts to a 32.8% increase from the N950 billion recorded in the comparative period of 2017.
The Companies
The companies that made the list include: Dangote Cement, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank and UBA.
Others are: Ecobank Trans International (ETI), Stanbic IBTC Holdings, FBN Holdings, Seplat and Nestle.
Dangote Cement leads the pack
Dangote Cement was the most profitable firm on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, with a profit after tax of N390 billion recorded in the 2018 financial year. The firm’s profits were boosted by a tax credit of N89 billion.
Zenith Bank was next with a profit after tax of N193 billion.
Guaranty Trust Bank follows closely with a profit after tax of N184 billion.
Banks dominate the list
Banks were the dominant firms, in terms of absolute numbers, accounting for 7 of the 10 most profitable firms on the NSE. Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Ecobank, Access Bank, UBA, Stanbic IBTC and FBN Holdings all made the list.
The 7 banks accounted for 62.1% or N784.2 billion of profit made by the top 10 listed firms.
Which firm had the biggest growth?
Dangote Cement had the biggest jump in terms of profit, with a 91.1% increase in profit year on year.
Access Bank was next, with a 58.1% increase in profit year on year.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings takes third place with a 56.1% increase in profit year on year.
Odd one out
Seplat Petroleum Development Company was the only firm among the top 10 firms that had a year on year decline. The upstream operator’s profit after tax fell by 81% from N81.1 billion in 2018 to N44.8 billion in 2019. Seplat had a spike in tax payments due to deferred tax payments made.
Only FMCG
Nestle Nigeria Plc was the only Fast Moving Consumer Good (FMCG) company on the list. The company made a profit after tax of N43 billion for the 2018 financial year.
