The Nigerian stock market maintained a bullish trend in the first quarter of the year, consolidating on the 45.9% rally recorded in 2023.
According to data tracked by Nairalytics, the research arm of Nairametrics, Nigerian equities increased by a whopping N18.2 trillion in capitalization to stand at N59.12 trillion at the end of March 2024.
The All-Share Index, which is a barometer for measuring the performance of the market increased by 39.84% in Q1 2024 to close the period at 104,562.06 points from 74,773.77 points recorded as of 29th December 2023.
Nigerian equities remained attractive in most parts of the quarter despite the high interest rates in the fixed-income market. Recall that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the CBN raised the benchmark interest rate by a cumulative 600 basis points (bps) in February and March 2024, which led to increased yield in the bonds and treasury bills market.
The N18.2 trillion rally was largely driven by gains recorded by Dangote Cement, BUA Foods, BUA Cement, Geregu Power, and Airtel Africa. The top five gainers in terms of nominal value gained a stunning total of N13.85 trillion, accounting for 76.1% of the entire market gain during the period.
It is worth noting that the listing of Transcorp Power earlier in March, added a total of N2.83 trillion to the NGX capitalization, representing 15.5% of the gain recorded during the review quarter. Meanwhile, the dynamics of the largest companies in the Nigerian equities market changed in Q1 2024, as Dangote Cement overtook the likes of Airtel Africa and MTN Nigeria to snatch the top spot, having gained N6.25 trillion in three months.
Largest gainers
Dangote Cement – N6.25 trillion
- Nigerian cement giant, Dangote Cement recorded a whopping N6.25 trillion market valuation gain in Q1 2024, increasing from N5.45 trillion as of the end of December 2023 to N11.7 trillion by the end of March 2024.
- The increase was following 114% increase in the share price of the company, closing the period at N686.7 per share. The company released its audited results for the 2023 financial year during Q1 2024, which showed impressive performance across several indices of interest.
- Revenue rose by 36.4% compared to the previous year while profit after tax increased by 19.2% to N455.6 billion, hence, declaring a dividend per share of N30, an increase from the N20 paid for the 2022 financial year.
BUA Foods – N3.36 trillion
- BUA Foods saw its market valuation surge by N3.36 trillion between January and March 2024, bringing its total market capitalization to N6.84 trillion from N3.48 trillion recorded as of the end of December 2023.
- The FMCG’s share price rallied by 96.4% during the period, as it closed at N379.9 per share on 28th March 2024 from N193.4 recorded at the end of December 2023.
- Similar to Dangote Cement, BUA Foods also released its audited results for 2023, indicating increased top and bottom line. Specifically, revenue increased by 74.4% year over year while net profit increased by 22.7% to N112.1 billion. In the same vein, dividends to shareholders increased to N5.5k, in contrast to N4.5k paid for the 2022 financial year.
BUA Cement – N1.56 trillion
- BUA Cement recorded an increase of N1.56 trillion in its market value, settling at N4.85 trillion by the end of March 2024, following a 47.6% rally in the share price, which closed at N143.3 per share.
- Although the firm recorded a decline in its net profit, the stocks remained attractive to investors. Notably, revenue increased by 27.4% to N459.9 billion, while net profit declined by 31.2% to N69.45 billion.
- Meanwhile, BUA Cement declared a final dividend of N2 per share to be paid on 29th of August 2024.
Geregu Power – N1.5 trillion
- Geregu Power gained a total of N1.5 trillion in the review period as its market capitalization rose from N997.5 billion to N2.5 trillion, joining the ranks of Stocks Worth Over One Trillion (SWOOTs).
- The company’s share price increased y 150.6% during the period to close at N1,000 from an initial value of N399 per share. In terms of financial performance, the 2023 audited financial results shows increases in the top and bottom line.
- Revenue rose by 74.1% from N47.62 billion recorded in 2022 to N82.91 billion in 2023, while profit after tax increased by 57.8% to N16.1 billion. Hence, a final dividend of N8 per share was declared to the shareholders of the company.
Airtel Africa – N1.18 trillion
- Telco giant, Airtel Africa also made the list of the top value gainers in the review quarter with an increase of N1.18 trillion between January and March 2024 to stand at N8.27 trillion. Share price increased by 16.6% to trade at N2,200 as of the end of March 2024.
- Airtel Africa released its 9-month financial statement that ended December 2023, which shows mixed performances, largely as a result of FX devaluations in the member countries, particularly in Nigeria.
- Excerpts from the company’s result read: “Revenue in constant currency grew by 20.2%, with Q3’24 growth accelerating to 21.0%. Reported currency revenues declined by 1.4% to $3,861 million. In Q3’24, reported currency revenues declined by 8.3% as currency devaluation (primarily the Nigerian naira devaluation) continued to impact reported revenue trends.”
- Profit after tax was $2 million in the period, primarily impacted by significant foreign exchange headwinds, particularly the $330 million exceptional loss after tax following the devaluation of the Nigerian naira in June 2023 and the Malawian kwacha in November 2023 after the structural changes in their respective FX markets.