MTN, Dangote, Zenith Bank among Nigeria’s most profitable companies

NTN Nigeria, Dangote Cement and Zenith Bank are among Nigeria’s five most profitable companies in Nigeria, demonstrating resilience and achieving impressive financial results in 2022 despite economic challenges.

MTN Nigeria emerged as the most profitable company with significant revenue growth and increased dividends to shareholders.

According to its audited 2022 financial report, the telecom giant recorded a profit before tax of N533.97 billion in 2022, representing a 22 per cent increase from N436.7 billion in 2021.

Revenue surged by 22 per cent to N2.01 trillion, making it the first Nigerian company to post revenue above N2 trillion. Its operating profit despite rising costs increased by 25 per cent to N733.29 billion while Profit after tax was stated at N175.1 billion.

The company’s total dividend summed up to N317.53 billion from N267.1 billion in the previous year.

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Dangote Cement came second, posting a profit before tax of N524 billion in 2022, down marginally by 2.7 per cent from N538.4 billion in 2021.

The cement firm, which made most of its revenue from the sales of cement and clinker, saw its revenue increase by 17 per cent to N1.62 trillion from N1.38 trillion a year ago, despite a decline in sales volume.

Operating profit improved slightly by 0.6 per cent to N585.9 billion as net income increased by 4.9 per cent to N382.3 billion, due to a decline in income tax expenses, which fell by 18.5 per cent to N141.7 billion.

Dangote Cement declared a total dividend of N20 per share, amounting to a payment of N340.8 billion in 2022.

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Airtel Africa Plc, which earns about 40 per cent of its revenue from Nigeria, recorded a profit before tax of N461.3 billion in 2022 compared to N513.5 billion in the previous year.

This makes the telecom firm the third most profitable company in Nigeria.

Revenue surged by 18.5 per cent to N2.34 trillion, while operating profit also increased by 21.7 per cent to N783.8 billion. However, net profit increased by 5.6 per cent to N334.6 billion in the review year compared to 2021.

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The firm declared $0.05 as total dividends in the review year, translating to a dividend payment of N91.4 billion.Fourth on the list is Zenith Bank Plc, which recorded a pretax profit of N284.7 billion in 2022, a slight increase of 1.5 per cent compared to N280.4 billion recorded in the previous year.

The bank, which was awarded the top bank in the country by Tier-1 capital posted a 23.5 per cent Year-on-Year increase in gross earnings. It declared a total dividend payment of N100.5 billion, up from the N97.3 billion paid in the previous year.

Guaranty Trust Holdings ranked fifth on the list of most profitable companies in the country with a pretax of N214.2 billion, slightly lower than the N221.5 billion recorded in the previous year.

GTB posted revenue growth of 20.4 per cent to N539.4 billion. Profit after tax also declined slightly by 3.2 per cent to N169.2 billion from N174.8 billion recorded in the previous year.

It declared a total dividend of N88.29 billion to its shareholders in 2022.