The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) ended the first quarter of the year on a negative note. In the first quarter of 2019, the index closed in the red posting a decline of 1.24 percent. Regardless of the index drop, two stocks on the local bourse have returned in excess of 50 percent and Mc Nichols is a close third recording a 48.94 percent increase since the beginning of the year.
ABC Transport, local bus service providers, led the market in terms of returns, recording 82.76 percent increase from N0.29 at the start of the year to close at N0.53 at the end of the first quarter on Friday. This stellar performance started in the last week of January and the stock recorded positive growth in all but one week in February and closed at a year high of N0.57 on the 25th of February, 2018.
On Friday, ABC Transport Plc released results showing the financial performance for the 2018 calendar year. The result was not appealing as the company posted a post-tax loss in excess of N100 million compared to a N500 million profit in 2017.
Dangote Flour was the second-best performing stock quarter-to-date closing at N10.20 at the end of the first quarter of 2019 from its year opening price of N6.85. This 53.28 percent return in the first three months of the year would have had investors smiling regardless of the fact that on the 26th of February, the stock hit a year high of N12.05.
At the close of business for the first quarter of the year, Dangote Flour had not released the full year statement of the 2018 financial performance.
Other top performers in the first quarter were Mc Nichols (48.94 %), Julius Berger (36.82 %), Union Diagnostics (32.00%), Royal Exchange Plc (31.82 %), Redstar Express (30.95%), Livestock Feeds (28.57 %), Wema Bank (26.98 %) and Sterling Bank completes the list of companies that recorded gains in excess of a quarter of their year start market capitalization with 25.79 percent.
There were 46 stocks that recorded positive gains in the first quarter of the year which is 27 percent of the companies listed on the local bourse. On the flip side, 56 stocks were in the red led by Resorts Savings and Loans who lost 60 percent of its market value in January and has not recovered since then.
Four other stocks lost more than a quarter of their market value since January, Academy Press lost (34.0 %), E-Tranzact (33.16 %), Champion Breweries (27.14%) and GSK Consumer Nigeria (25.52%)
Investors lost over N48 billion as the All Share Index lost 389.08 index point in the first quarter of 2018, closing with a market capitalization of N11.67 trillion from N11.72 trillion at the beginning of the year.
Ifeanyi John
