The Nigerian stock market closed the month of July 2022 on a bearish note as the All-Share Index dipped 2.79% to stand at 50,370.25 index points at the end of the month. However, telco giant, Airtel Africa retained its position as the most capitalized firm listed on the equities market with a valuation of N7.16 trillion.
Cement company, Dangote and MTN Nigeria also retained their position on the list in second and third places with valuations of N4.52 trillion and N4.07 trillion respectively. This is according to analysis carried out by Nairalytics, the research arm of Nairametrics from data collected from Nigeria Exchange Group.
The total market capitalization of the local bourse declined by N777 billion in the review month to stand at N27.16 trillion from N27.94 trillion recorded as of the beginning of the month, representing a 2.78% month-on-month drop. This follows a 2.21% similar loss recorded in the previous month.
Of all the sub-indices tracked by the NGX, only the NGX-Main Board index, Oil and Gas index, and the Growth Index recorded positive movements in the month of July with 0.26%, 2.01%, and 0.74% respectively.
Biggest gainers in July 2022
- Airtel Africa recorded the highest gain in terms of valuation as its market capitalization rose by 9% from N6.51 trillion recorded as of the end of June 2022 to N7.16 trillion by the end of the review month as its share price rallied to N1,905 from N1,732.
- Seplat followed with a gain of N76.79 billion in the review month to close at N841.77 billion while Wema Bank recorded an appreciation of N1.29 billion in its market valuation to close at N42.3 billion.
- On the other hand, MTN Nigeria recorded the biggest loss, with a decline of N608.60 billion, followed by Dangote Cement and Nestle Nigeria with N170.41 billion and N109.15 billion losses respectively.
Top sectors by market capitalization
- The ICT sector topped the list with an aggregate market capitalization of N11.26 trillion as of July 2022, thanks to the likes of Airtel Africa and MTN Nigeria. The sector gained N42.9 billion in the review month.
- The industrial goods sector, which comprises the likes of Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, and Lafarge Africa ranks second with a valuation of N7.29 trillion, recording a decline of N314.69 billion in the review period.
- Also, the consumer goods sector ranks third with a valuation of N3.22 trillion, after losing N324.35 billion in market capitalization.
- Closely followed is the banking sector with a valuation of N3.17 billion, losing N211.4 billion from N3.59 trillion recorded as of the previous month.
Nairametrics presents the ranking of the most valuable listed companies in Nigeria as of the end of July 2022. Notably, the most valuable companies are calculated based on the largest market capitalization, which is the multiplication of their share price and their total outstanding shares as of the review period.
Top companies by market capitalization
The top companies are presented based on their market capitalization as of 29th July 2022 in descending order.
#5: Nestle Nigeria – N1.00 trillion
Nestle Nigeria ranked fifth on the list of most capitalized companies on the Nigerian Exchange with a market valuation of N1 trillion, maintaining the same position from the previous month despite a 10.91% decline in its share price.
#4: BUA Cement – N2.35 trillion
Nigerian cement company, BUA Cement, maintained its position in fourth place with a market valuation of N2.35 trillion as of the review period, recording a depreciation of 3.75% month-on-month, representing an N88.05 billion loss from N2.43 trillion recorded as of June 2022.
#3: MTN Nigeria – N4.07 trillion
MTN Nigeria was third on the list with a market valuation of N4.07 trillion, retaining the same position as at June 2022. This company recorded a 14.94% decrease in its market capitalization from N4.68 trillion recorded in the previous month.
#2: Dangote Cement – N4.52 trillion
Dangote Cement retained its second position, albeit with a drop in its share price. The valuation of the cement producing giant dipped from N4.69 trillion recorded as of June 2022 to N4.52 trillion in July 2022, representing a decline of N170.41 billion.
#1: Airtel Africa – N7.16 trillion
Airtel Africa remains the most capitalized company listed on the Nigerian Exchange with a valuation of N7.16 trillion as of the period under review. The company gained N650.91 billion in July 2022 and retained its position as the most capitalized company in Nigeria based on data on the NGX having recorded significant growth in its share price since the beginning of the year.
A further look at the data shows that Airtel is now more valuable than the combination of the agriculture, banking, consumer goods, insurance, and services sector.
Others include:
- BUA Foods – N914.4 billion
- Seplat Energy – N841.8 billion
- Zenith Bank – N649.9 billion
- GT Holdings – N584.2 billion
- Nigerian Brew – N392.1 billion
