Fidelity Bank, Seplat, TotalEnergies, 6 others emerge companies in Nigeria with highest earnings per share

Many Nigerian companies overcame the economic headwinds in the first half of 2023, with Fidelity Bank, Seplat Energy, Total Energy, and Okomu Oil becoming the top Nigerian companies with the highest earnings per share on the Nigerian Exchange Limited as of August 2023.

Nigeria's economy faced tough times in 2023, as most people and businesses battled the high cost of living, and companies saw a spike in the price of production caused by the petrol subsidy removal, which drove the costs through the roof.

Top Nigerian companies with highest earnings per share

However, companies in Nigeria managed to stay afloat despite a tough first half year.

Some companies are yet to release their half-year financials. However, a report showed that Fidelity Bank, Seplat Energy, Total Energies, Okomu Oil, Presco, Dangote Cement, MTN Nigerian BUA Foods, FCMB, and Geregu Power are some firms in Nigeria with the highest earnings per share.

Earnings per share (EPS) is a company's net profit divided by the number of outstanding common shares. Earnings per share also indicate how much money a company makes per share of its stock and is a widely used metric for calculating corporate value.

Higher earnings per share show excellent value because investors will pay for a company's share if they believe the firm has higher profits than its share price.

Fidelity Bank

The Bank recorded earnings per share of N184 in the first half of 2023 from N79 in the same period of 2022. The company's outstanding shares stand at 32.01 million, with a price of N7 and a volume of 32.15 million as of 12.59 p.m. on Friday.

Fidelity Bank's profit for the period stood at N53.5 billion in the first half of 2023 from N22.84 billion in 2022.

The Bank's profit for the period stood at N53.3 billion in the first half of 2023 from N22.84 billion in the similar period of 2022.

Seplat Energy

The oil firm recorded N37.6 in the first half of 2023 from N58.19 in the same period of 2022. The outstanding shares for the company stand at 588.44 million, with a share price of N1,670.8 and a traded volume of 139,942 as of Friday, August 24, 2023.

The company's earnings per share grew from N35.45 billion in H1 of 2022 to N42.03 billion in H1 of 2023.

The company's cash and cash equivalents spiked to N286.67 billion in the first half of 2023 from N145.48 billion in the year before.

Total Energies

The oil firm's earnings per share grew to N25.88 in the first half of 2023 from N25.12 in the first half of 2023.

The company's outstanding shares stand at 339.52 million with a price of N385 and a traded volume 95,298 as of Friday, August 24, 2023.

Seplat saw its profit after tax at N8.79 billion from N8.53 billion in the periods under review.

The company's cash and cash equivalents increased to N111.69 billion in the first half of 2023 from N64.73 billion in 2022.

Total Energies' cash and cash equivalents increased to N111.69 billion in the first half of 2023 from N64.73 billion in 2022.

Okomu oil

The company recorded earnings per share of N16.98 in the first half of 2023 from N17.65 in the same period last year.

The company's outstanding shares stand at 953.91 million, with a price which stood at N250 and a traded volume of 149,029.

The company's profit after tax declined by 4% to N16.2 billion in the first half of 2023 from N16.84 billion in 2022.

The palm oil company's cash and cash equivalent dropped to N8.34 billion in the first half of 2023, a 53.3% drop from 17.85 billion in H1 2022.

Presco

It recorded earnings per of N15.1 in H1 of 2023 from N13,47 in the first half of 2022. The share outstanding stands at 1 billion.

It has a share price of N220 and a traded volume 40,595 as of Friday.

Presco's profit after tax increased to N15.08 billion in H1 of 2023, showing a 12% increase from N13.47 billion in H1 2022. Its cash and cash equivalents stood at N17.71 billion in H1 2023, a 2% increase from N17.37 billion in the same period of the year before.

Dangote Cement

Africa's largest cement company recorded earnings per share of N10.39 in the first half of 2023 from N10.1 in H1 2022. The company's shares outstanding stand at 17.04 billion, with a price standing at N360 and a traded volume of 96,931 as of Friday.

The company recorded a profit after tax of N178.6 billion in the first half of 2023 from N172.1 billion in H1 2022.

The cement company's cash and cash equivalent at the end of the period increased to N303.03 billion from N108.89 billion in the periods under review.

MTN Nigeria

The telecommunication company reported earnings per share of N6.33 in H1 of 2023 from N8.95 in the same period of 2022. The shares outstanding of the company stand at 21 billion, with a price standing at N274.5 and a traded volume of 21.34 million as of Friday.

MTN saw its profit after tax decline to N128.69 billion in H1 of 2023 from N181.63 billion in H1 of 2022.

The telco's cash and cash equivalent increased to N499.38 billion in the first half of 2023 from N166.8 billion in 2022.

BUA Foods

The consumer goods company recorded earnings per share of N5.29 in the first half of 2023 from N2.18 in the same period of 2022.

The shares outstanding of the company stand at 18 billion, with a price of N165 and a traded volume of 275,400 as of Friday.

It recorded N95.2 billion net profit after tax in H1 of 2023 from N39.31 billion in the same period of 2022. The company's cash and cash equivalent arrived at N65.85 billion in H1 2023 from N23.28 billion in H1 2022.

FCMB

The Bank recorded earnings per share of N3.58 in H1 2023 from N1.38 in the same period of 2022. The Bank's outstanding shares stand at 19.8 billion, with a price of N5.64 and a traded volume of 17.73 million as of Friday.

The Bank recorded growth in profit after tax of N35.41 billion in the first half of 2023 from N13.66 billion in the first half of 2022. Its cash and cash equivalent grew to N384.01 billion from N257.77 billion.

Geregu Power

The electricity generating company recorded earnings per share of N3.22 in H1 of 2023 from N3.65 in H1 of 2022. Its outstanding shares stand at 2.5 billion, with a price of N339.5 and a traded volume of 4,679 as of Friday.

The company saw its profit after tax stand at N8.05 billion in the first half of 2023 from N9.1 billion in H1 2022. The power company's cash and cash equivalent stand at N44.3 billion in H1 of 2023 from 9.51 billion in H1 2022.