Nigeria’s most profitable companies wrapped up 2024 with a remarkable display of resilience, collectively posting record-breaking earnings.
Despite macroeconomic challenges, these companies delivered strong bottom-line growth, outperforming previous years and sustaining investor confidence.
For the full year 2024, Nigeria’s GDP grew by 3.40%, an increase from 2.74% in 2023.
In nominal terms, aggregate GDP for Q4 2024 stood at N78.37 trillion, reflecting an 18.91% increase from N65.91 trillion recorded in Q4 2023. Despite the positive momentum, inflationary pressures remained high.
Nairametrics Research has compiled a list of the top 10 most profitable companies in Nigeria in 2024 based on their profit after tax (PAT).
PAT is the net earnings a company retains after settling all tax obligations; it represents the actual profit available to shareholders and for reinvestment.
The companies posted a combined Profit After Tax (PAT) of N8.19 trillion, a significant jump from the N5.76 trillion recorded in 2023, reflecting improved earnings performance across key sectors
An analysis of the top 10 most profitable companies in 2024 shows that the banking sector dominated the list, accounting for 70% of the companies. Cement manufacturing, consumer goods, and oil and gas sectors each made up 10% of the ranking.
So far in the first quarter of 2025, these 10 top-performing companies have collectively recorded a PAT of N1.76 trillion.
Below is the list of the 10 most profitable companies in Nigeria in 2024
Group Managing Director/CEO, United Bank for Africa Plc, Oliver Alawuba
United Bank for Africa (UBA), a leading pan-African financial services institution ranked as the third most profitable company in 2024, with a Profit After Tax (PAT) of N766.57 billion. This marked a 26% growth from the N607.70 billion recorded in 2023.
UBA, a member of the elite Stocks Worth Over One Trillion Naira (SWOOTs) in market capitalization, also reported strong top-line growth. Its revenue rose by 54% year-on-year to N3.19 trillion, up from N2.07 trillion in 2023.
While profit after tax grew significantly, the Profit Before Tax (PBT) saw only a modest uptick of 6%, reaching N803.73 billion compared to N757.68 billion in the previous year.
The bank declared an interim dividend of N2 per share, a final dividend of N3.00 kobo for every ordinary share of 50 kobo, with a total dividend payment of N95,758 million for the financial year ended December 31, 2024
For the first quarter of 2025, UBA delivered solid growth as its PAT increased from N142.58 billion in Q1 2024 to N189.84 billion, a 33.1% rise, while PBT grew from N156.34 billion the previous year to N204.27 billion.
