Dangote Cement and MTN Nigeria have both crossed the N3 trillion (Ghs 45,473,665,500) market capitalisation mark, while GT bank also hit N1 trillion (Ghs 15,264,852,700) during the week, as their Investors gained N1.93 trillion from January to date.
As at the close of trading session on Tuesday, November 10, 2020, MTN Nigeria was worth N3.18 trillion (Ghs 48,542,231,586) to be the most capitalised firm on the Stock Exchange, Dangote Cement closed with a valuation of N3.15 trillion (Ghs 48,084,286,005).
GT Bank also closed with a market capitalization of N1.03 trillion (Ghs 15,722,798,281).
Together, the three companies boast of an aggregate value of N7.36 trillion (Ghs 112,349,315,872), representing 43.2 per cent of the total equity value of the stock exchange.
Highlights
- Dangote Cement grew its market capitalisation by 30.28 per cent year-to-date, from N2.42 trillion (Ghs 36,940,943,534) recorded as at the end of trading on the 31st December 2019 to N3.15 trillion (Ghs 48,084,286,005) as of 10th November 2020.
- MTN recorded a year-to-date growth of 48.76 per cent from N2.14 trillion (Ghs 32,666,784,778) as of December 2019 to a current valuation of N3.18 trillion (Ghs 48,542,231,586), hitting a record high at N156.2 (Ghs 2.38) per unit of share.
- The most capitalised financial institution on the Stock Exchange, GT Bank saw its market capitalisation grow by 17.85% year-to-date, with a cost per share of N35.
- The Stock Exchange Equity cap is currently valued at N17.06 trillion (Ghs 260,418,387,062).
- Investors in Dangote Cement, MTN and GT Bank gained a sum of over N1.9 trillion, from January to date.
MTN
A cursory look at the financial performance of MTN in the 9-month period between January and September 2020 showed that the Telco giant boosted its revenue by 13.9 per cent as it generated a sum of N975.8 billion (Ghs 14,895,443,264) and posted an operating profit of N307 billion (Ghs 4,686,309,778).
However, it recorded a 3.3 per cent drop in profit after tax from N149.2 billion (Ghs 2,277,516,022) in the comparable period of 2019 to N144.2 billion (Ghs 2,201,191,759.34) while its earnings per share also dropped by the same margin to close at N7.09 9Ghs 0.11) as at the end of September.
According to the report, the 7.8 per cent growth in operating profit was largely impacted by the increase in finance costs as a result of increased borrowings (September 2019: N381 billion, September 2020: N509 billion) leading to 0.6 per cent decline in profit before tax to N211.6 billion (Ghs 3,230,042,831.32).
Dangote Cement
Dangote Cement grew its revenue by 12.2 per cent from N678.8 billion (Ghs 10,361,782,012.76) recorded in the corresponding period of 2019 to N761.4 billion (Ghs 11,622,658,845.78) as of September 2020. It also recorded a marginal increase in gross profit margin from 57.4 per cent as of September 2019 to a current margin of 58.3 per cent.
The Industrial giant, posted a profit after tax of N208.7 billion (Ghs 3,185,774,758.49) in the review period, representing a 35.2% increase when compared to N154.4 billion (Ghs 2,356,893,256.88) recorded in 2019 while earnings per share grew by 34.6 per cent to N12.25 (Ghs 0.19).
Nairametrics earlier reported that the Nigerian government has given Dangote Cement the approval to export Cement to West African countries through the Nigerian land borders, which has been closed for over a year, an avenue to increase revenue, reduce cost of transportation, hence profitability.
GT Bank
The banking giant, which just received approval from the Central Bank to operate as a financial holding company boasted of 1.5 per cent revenue growth as of June 2020 despite the COVID-19 induced lockdown in the country for most parts of the second quarter.
GT Bank however, recorded a 4.9 per cent decline in profit of N94.3 billion (Ghs 1,439,475,609.61) as against N99.1 billion (Ghs 1,512,746,902.57) in 2019 half-year.
This reflected in the earnings per share as it declined by 5.1 per cent to stand at N3.31 (Ghs 0.051). It should be noted that as at the time of writing this article, GT Bank is yet to release its Q3 financial report.
Below is the table of the top 10 most capitalised companies on the Stock Exchange and their sectors, as of November 10, 2020;
Bottom line
As these Stock keeps appreciating in value, it is a sign of the confidence investors have in the companies as buying pressure was seen across major listed stocks. This is likely to continue in the short-term as many Investors will look to take their share of the market gain before the end of the year.