Dangote Cement, MTN 8 other companies lose over N630bn in 6 months after Tinubu, CBN naira decision

Several companies listed on the Nigerian exchange have reported significant foreign exchange (FX) losses due to the devaluation of the Naira.

You will recall that on June 14, the Central Bank of Nigeria, under the instruction of President Bola Tinubu, announced the floating of the naira, giving room for market forces to determine the exchange rate.

The decision has led to a serious depreciation of the Naira against different foreign currencies, taking a severe toll on the financials of Nigerian companies.

Companies forex losses According to data compiled by Staitisense, a reputable data company- 10 publicly listed companies have recorded combined forex exchange losses of N630.42 billion in their half-year 2023 financial result.

These companies include International Breweries, Unilever, Sterling Bank, Jaiz bank, Guinness Nigeria, MTN, Nigerian Breweries (NB), Nestle Nigeria, Dangote Cement, and Dangote Sugar.

The breakdown revealed that MTN, Nestle Nigeria, and Dangote Cement were hit the hardest, with a combined FX loss of N368.85 billion, representing 58.5% of the total FX loss among the 10 companies surveyed.

Expert speaks Reacting to the development, Dr. Omobola Adu, an Investment

Research Analyst with Afrinvest Research and Consulting, explained to Legit.ng that Nigerian companies are heavily affected due to exposure to foreign markets adding that Nigeria is largely an import-dependent market.

He said: "For manufacturing firms and consumer goods, most of their raw materials, including machinery, are imported. They will need dollars to buy them. If they used to spend N1 million to buy around $2,000 at the N460 exchange rate, with the rate hitting as high as 800, that N1 million can now only get just over $1,000.

"Also, some of these companies have loans in foreign currencies for their business. When you factor in the exchange rate, the cost of servicing the loans will automatically be doubled"

Here is how much each companies reported as forex loses after H1, 2023

Unilever: N14.36bn

Sterling Bank: N3.63bn

Jaiz Bank: N11bn


International Breweries: N40.67bn Guinness Nigeria: N49.10bn MTN: N131.45bn Nigerian Breweries (NB): N70.60bn Nestle Nigeria: N123.77bn Dangote Cement: N113.63bn Dangote Sugar: N83.10bn