Dangote cement, MTN shareholders cash out as 24 firms generate N13.94 trillion in revenue

About 24 leading firms quoted on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) overcame strong headwinds to generate a combined N13.94 trillion in revenue in the nine months ended September 30, 2023, an increase of 53.1% from the N9.1 trillion recorded in the same period last year.

A breakdown of the companies' results showed that MTN Nigeria generated the highest revenue in the period under review, followed by Access Bank and Dangote Cement.

The telecommunication giant reported an N1.77 trillion revenue in the nine months of 2023, representing an increase of 22% from the N1.46 trillion in the nine months of 2022.

Access Bank earned about N1.59 trillion in revenue in the same period, a growth of 75.7% from the N906.93 billion generated in the same period of last year.

According to a ThisDay report, strong headwinds such as inflation impacted most stocks in Nigeria. The country's inflation rate hit an all-time high of 26.72% as of September 2023 from 20.77% recorded in September last year.

Also, the naira depreciation, which worsened as a result of the local currency float by the Nigerian government, affected the performance of most stocks in the country.

Most companies in Nigeria suffered Forex losses due to the economic reforms embarked upon by President Bola Tinubu's government.

However, the banking sector mainly benefited from the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) Forex policy, while manufacturing and FMCGs suffered heavy losses.

The 24 companies' financials showed that they declared a combined pre-tax profit of N3.05 trillion, an increase of N54% from N1.99 trillion reported in the nine months of 2022.

Banking stocks are top performers

Zenith Bank led the pack of companies with the most profits in the period under review, with N505.04 billion pre-tax profit in the first nine months of this year.

UBA followed with N502.09 billion profit before tax in the same period from N262.54 billion.

Banking stocks led the top-performing stocks, contributing the highest revenue and profit before tax. The sector recorded impressive financial performance in the nine months of 2023.

The eight leading banks on the local bourse had a combined revenue of N6.96 trillion in the nine months of 2023, representing a 93% growth from the N3.6 trillion recorded in the same period in 2022.

The eight banks contributed about 49.9% of the total N13,94 trillion generated by the companies.

The other eight banks, including Guaranty Trust Holdings Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, FCMB Group Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, and Sterling Holdings, declared N2.2trillion profit before tax in nine months of 2023, representing a 159.99% rise from N841.97billion reported in nine months of 2022.