Dangote loses top position to Airtel as most valuable company

Dangote Cement lost the first position to Airtel Africa as the most capitalized company listed on the stock exchange despite a positive movement in its share price in the first half of 2022.

The cement producing giant grew its market capitalization from N4.38 trillion recorded as of December 2021 to N4.69 trillion in June 2022, representing an appreciation of N306.73 billion.

Telco giant, Airtel Africa moved from third place six months ago to grab the position as the most capitalized company in Nigeria based on data on the NGX with a market valuation of N6.51 trillion having recorded stellar growth in its share price in the first half of the year.

The market value of Airtel rallied by 81.38 per cent in the six-month period, representing a capitalization gain of N2.92 trillion from N3.59 trillion recorded as of December 2021.

MTN Nigeria as of the end of the first half of the year has a market valuation of N4.68 trillion, dropping by one place from second position at the end of last year to the third position.

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This is despite the 16.75 per cent increase in its market capitalization from N4.01 trillion. However, its industry competitor outpaced both MTN and Dangote Cement to the golden position on top.

In terms of market value, the two quoted telecommunication companies led the chart, after Airtel Africa saw its market capitalization surge by N2.92 trillion in the first six months of the year, accounting for 51.8 per cent of the total market gain in the review period.

MTN Nigeria followed in the same vein, gaining N671.69 billion in market valuation.  Seplat Energy, Dangote Cement, and BUA Foods gained N382.49 billion, N306.73 billion, and N270 billion respectively.

On the flip side, GT Bank recorded the highest loss, with a decline of N161.87 billion in its market valuation, followed by Nestle Nigeria and Zenith Bank with N124.05 billion and N108.32 billion losses respectively.

The ICT sector boasts of a valuation of N11.21 trillion as of June 2022, accounting for 40.1 per cent of the entire equities market. The sector recorded a growth of N3.59 trillion in the first six months of the year from N7.62 trillion recorded as of the end of December 2021.

The industrial goods sector, which houses the likes of Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, and Lafarge Africa ranks second with a valuation of N7.61 trillion, gaining N512.88 billion in the first half of the year. The consumer goods sector is a far third with a valuation of N3.55 trillion, having gained N407.16 billion in the review period.

On the other hand, the banking sector fell from the third position to stand in the fourth position with a valuation of N3.38 billion, attributed to an aggregate N215.52 billion loss recorded in the first half of the year.

Nestle Nigeria ranked fifth on the list of most capitalized companies on the Nigerian Exchange with a market valuation of N1.11 trillion, the position occupied at the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, the valuation of the company declined by 10.1 per cent (N124.1 billion) in the first six months of the year from N1.14 trillion recorded as of 31st December 2021.

Nigerian cement company, BUA Cement, also maintained its position in fourth place with a market valuation of N2.43 trillion as of the review period, despite gaining 7.23 per cent (+N164.24 billion) in the first six months of the year from N2.27 trillion recorded as of the beginning of the year.

On the 6th position stands BUA Foods with N990 billion, while Seplat Energy gained N764.9 billion.

In the banking sector, Zenith topped others with a market valuation of N681.3 billion while GT Holdings trailed with N603.3 billion.