With the sustained bearish performance witnessed by equities listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which extended into the third straight week last week, BusinessDay reviews the year-to-date performance of NSE 30 companies’ stocks to show how they fared in delivering value for their shareholders.
NSE 30 is the price index that tracks the top 30 companies in terms of market capitalisation and liquidity. The companies are reviewed based on their closing prices at the end of trading on Friday which marked the last trading session in the first quarter of 2019.
Interestingly, the ranking is bothered by the two leading flour millers in the country. While one of the millers delivered the most value for investors within the review period among the NSE big firms, the performance of the other remains unimpressive.
In all the thirty (30) companies, thirteen including Dangote Flour Mills, Sterling Bank, Union Bank of Nigeria, Oando, National Salt Company of Nigeria, and Nestle Nigeria outperformed the NSE 30 index which has so far lost 1.73 percent.
Others include Unilever Nigeria, Okomu Oil Palm, Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Fidelity Bank, Dangote Cement and United Bank for Africa.
On the flipside, the other seventeen firms, which include Seplat, 11 Plc, tier-one lenders – Access and Zenith Bank – and the three major players in Nigeria’s beer space – Guinness, Nigerian Breweries and International Breweries – are currently underperforming the NSE 30 broad index.
Dangote Flour Mills Plc delivered the most value since the start of the year despite losing 30 kobo on Friday, the flour miller appreciated by almost half of its market value to close at N10.20 last week. The company is yet to release its 2018 financial result, but in the first nine months of the year, its profit after tax fell to N3.26 billion from N13 billion recorded in the same period in 2017.
The flour miller was trailed by mid-tier lender Sterling Bank which has gained more than a quarter of its value within the last three months. In February, the bank hit N2.50, its highest level in over four years. Sterling Bank grew its profit by almost 15 percent to N9.22 billion in 2018.
Union Bank of Nigeria which stood at N6.60 came third having returned 18.75 percent this year.
Flour Mills Nigeria shed 22.08 percent, making the miller the biggest loser among the 30 most capitalised firms since the year began, Nigerian Breweries followed with 21.93 percent loss, while P Z Cussons Nigeria slumped 19 percent.
