Many Nigerian companies braved the economic headwinds in the first half of 2023, with Fidelity Bank, Seplat Energy, TotalEnergies, and Okomu Oil emerging as the companies with the highest earnings per share on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) as of August 2023.
The first half of 2023 was a tough year for companies in Africa’s biggest economy: a spike in the cost of production combined with foreign exchange scarcity and high input costs forced some firms to close shop while many others struggled to stay afloat.
Although some companies are yet to release their financial statements, BusinessDay’s findings showed Fidelity Bank, Seplat Energy, Total Energies, Okomu oil, Presco, Dangote Cement, MTN Nigeria, BUA Foods, First City Monument Bank(FCMB) and Geregu Power are companies with the highest earnings per share.
Earnings per share (EPS) is a company’s net profit divided by the number of common shares it has outstanding.
It also indicates how much money a company makes for each share of its stock and is a widely used metric for estimating corporate value.
A higher EPS indicates greater value because investors will pay more for a company’s shares if they think the company has higher profits relative to its share price.
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Fidelity Bank
Fidelity Bank recorded an earnings per share of N184 in the first half of 2023 from N79 in the first half of 2022.
The shares outstanding stand at 32.01 million, with a price which stood at N7 and a traded volume of 32.15 million as of 12:59 p.m. on Friday.
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.
Fidelity Bank’s cash and cash equivalents rose to N501.54 billion in the first half of 2023 from N276.07 in the first half of 2022.
Seplat Energy
Seplat Enery recorded an earning per share of N37.6 in the first half of 2023 from N58.19 in the same period of 2022.
The shares outstanding stand at 588.44 million, with a price which stood at N1670.8 and a traded volume of 139,942 as of 1:05 p.m. on Friday.
The firm’s earnings per share grew to N42.03 billion in the first half of 2023 from N35.45 billion in the first half of 2022.
Seplat Energy’s cash and cash equivalents increased to N286.67 billion in the first half of 2023 from N145.48 billion in the corresponding period of 2022.
Total Energies
Total Energies’ earnings per share grew to N25.88 in the first half of 2023 from N25.12 in the first half of 2022.
The shares outstanding stand at 339.52 million, with a price which stood at N385 and a traded volume of 95,298 as of 1:09 p.m. on Friday.
The energy firm saw its profit after tax at N8.79 billion from N8.53 billion in the comparable periods.
Total Energies’ cash and cash equivalents increased to N111.69 billion in the first half of 2023 from N64.73 billion in the same period of 2022.
Okomu oil
Okomu oil recorded earnings per share of N16.98 in the first half of 2023 from N17.65 in the similar period of 2022.
The shares outstanding stand at 953.91 million, with a price which stood at N250 and a traded volume of 149,029 as of 1:29 p.m. on Friday.
The oil palm’s profit after tax dipped 4 percent to N16.2 billion in the first half of 2023 from N16.84 billion in the similar period of 2022.
Okomu oil’s cash and cash equivalents dropped to N8.34 billion in the first half of 2023, a 53.3 percent decline from N17.85 billion in the first half of 2022.
Presco
Presco recorded earnings per share of N15.1 in the first half of 2023 from N13.47 in the first half of 2022.
The shares outstanding stand at 1 billion, with a price which stood at N220 and a traded volume of 40,595 as of 1:31 p.m. on Friday.
The firm’s profit after tax increased to N15.08 billion in the first half of 2023, indicating a 12 percent growth from N13.47 billion in the first half of 2022.
Presco’s cash and cash equivalents stood at N17.71 billion in the first half of 2023, a 2 percent increase from N17.37 billion in the same period of the prior year.
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Dangote Cement
Dangote Cement recorded an earnings per share of N10.39 in the first half of 2023 from N10.1 in the first half of 2022.
The shares outstanding stand at 17.04 billion, with a price which stood at N360 and a traded volume of 96,931 as of 1:33 p.m. on Friday.
The cement company recorded a profit after tax of N178.6 billion in the first half of 2023 from N172.1 billion in the first half of 2022.
Dangote Cement’s cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period rose to N303.03 billion from N108.89 billion in the comparable periods.
MTN Nigeria
MTN Nigeria reported earnings per share of N6.33 in the first half of 2023 from N8.95 in the same period of 2022.
The shares outstanding stand at 21 billion, with a price which stood at N274.5 and a traded volume of 21.34 million as of 1:33 p.m. on Friday.
The telecommunication firm saw its profit after tax drop to N128.69 billion in the first half of 2023 from N181.63 billion in the first half of 2022.
MTN Nigeria’s cash and cash equivalents increased to N499.38 billion in the first half of 2023 from N166.8 billion in the same period of 2022.
BUA Foods
BUA Foods earnings per share arrived at N5.29 in the first half of 2023 from N2.18 in the same period of 2022.
The shares outstanding stand at 18 billion, with a price which stood at N165 and a traded volume of 275,400 as of 1:37 p.m. on Friday.
The consumer goods firm recorded N95.2 billion net profit after tax in the first half of 2023 from N39.31 billion in the similar period of 2022.
BUA Foods’ cash and cash equivalents arrived at N65.85 billion in the first half of 2023 from N23.28 billion in the comparable period of 2022.
First City Monument Bank (FCMB)
First City Monument Bank recorded earnings per share of N3.58 in the first half of 2023 from N1.38 in the similar period of 2022.
The shares outstanding stand at 19.8 billion, with a price which stood at N5.64 and a traded volume of 17.73 million as of 1:40 p.m. on Friday.
The tier-2 bank recorded a growth in profit after tax to N35.41 billion in the first half of 2023 from N13.66 billion in the first half of 2022.
FCMB’s cash and cash equivalents grew to N384.01 billion from N257.77 billion in the comparable period.
Geregu Power
Geregu Power recorded an earning per share of N3.22 in the first half of 2023 from N3.64 in the first half of 2022.
The shares outstanding stand at 2.5 billion, with a price which stood at N339.5 and a traded volume of 4,679 as of 1:42 p.m. on Friday.
The energy firm saw its profit after tax at N8.05 billion in the first half of 2023 from N9.1 billion in the similar period of 2022.
Geregu Power’s cash and cash equivalents stood at N44.3 billion in the first half of 2023 from N9.51 billion in the first half of 2022.
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