Q1 2023 Most Valuable Companies in Nigeria

Reports show that in the first quarter of 2023, the two largest traded businesses in Nigeria were the telecommunications firms with Airtel Africa and MTN Nigeria having market values of N5.56 trillion and N4.89 trillion respectively. These figures were observed by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX). 

Also in the report, Dangote Cement and BUA Cement were two of the most valued corporations in Nigeria, while BUA Foods and Nestle Nigeria followed.

Closing the list of the 10 most valuable corporations in the country are Zenith Bank, Geregu Power, Guaranty Trust Holdings, and Seplat Petroleum. The reports show that the top 10 companies controlled the market value of stocks traded on the NGX.

As of March 31, 2023, the 10 corporations are worth a total of N24.09 trillion, or around 82% of the market.

How the Market Performed

Reports from the first three months of 2023 show that the Nigerian stock market had an increase that was 5.82% higher than the previous year's record of 19.98% gains.

It also shows that the All-Share Index began the year with 51,251.06 points and finished the review quarter at 54,232.34 points. 

Also, the report also shows that the total value of the market capitalization increased by N1.63 trillion between January and March 2023, bringing it up to N29.54 trillion by the end of the quarter.

The market had a positive start, reporting an 8.9% year-to-date gain as of the 9th of March 2023, before it began to decrease, hitting 5.82% by the conclusion of the quarter. This was after it started the year with a year-to-date gain of 8.1%.

How MTN Surpassed Dangote Cement for the 2nd Position

In the first quarter of 2023, MTN Nigeria overthrew Dangote Cement to become the country's second-most capitalized firm on the stock market.

By the end of March 2023, the market capitalization of MTN Nigeria had increased by 11.6% to N4.89 trillion from its closing value of N4.38 trillion at the end of 2022, surpassing the 3.4% increase in Dangote Cement's share price.

Dangote Cement's market value rose from N4.45 trillion at the start of the year to N4.6 trillion at the end of the quarter. Showing a rise of N153.4 billion. 

However, the second position is not stable as both businesses change positions rapidly.

How Telecommunication Providers Top Chart in Stocks Lead

The two telecommunications businesses that are publicly traded on the Nigerian stock exchange continue to have the largest market capitalization, making up 35.4% of the entire market.

The expected rise in internet usage worldwide following the 2020 COVID-19 epidemic gave substantial growth in the market value.

In the past two years, there has been a rapid rise in the number of mobile and internet users. The current report shows that the overall number of GSM internet customers in Nigeria increased to 156.4 million as of February 2023, from 125.7 million at the end of 2019.

Similarly, the telecommunications industry has reported robust financial results. MTN Nigeria's revenue in 2022 was N2.01 trillion, up 21.6% from the previous year's figure of N1.65 trillion. The company's net income rose by 21.1% to N361.5bn.

For the nine months ending in December 2022, Airtel Africa reported $3.91 billion in sales, up 12.1% year over year, despite the company's profit after tax grew by only 1.7%, to $523 million.

Records of Top Gainers

Tripple Gee and Company's market value increased by 241.8% to N945.4 million, while International Energy Insurance's market value increased by 239.5% to N1.17 billion. As of the end of March 2023, Neimeth International's market capitalization rose 128.1% to N3.48 billion.

BUA Foods increased its market value by N666 billion, to N1.84 trillion, MTN Nigeria increased by N508.8 billion to N4.88 trillion, and Dangote Cement saw a growth of N153.4 billion, to N4.6 trillion.