It has been revealed that Dangote Cement Plc, Airtel Africa Plc, and 13 other blue-chip stocks contributed to an overwhelming 79.98% of the total N62.76 trillion market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) in 2024.
Along with Dangote Cement and Airtel Africa, the other 13 stocks that surpassed N1 trillion in market capitalisation in 2024 include BUA Foods Plc, BUA Cement Plc, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Seplat Energy Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc, and FBN Holdings Plc.
Other notable stocks in this category include Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), Aradel Holdings Plc, Transcorp Hotels Plc, Geregu Power Plc, and Transcorp Power Plc.
Dangote Cement led the pack, with a significant increase in its stock price, becoming the most capitalised stock on the NGX for 2024, followed closely by Airtel Africa.
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According to trading analysis, Dangote Cement’s stock price surged by 49.67% from N319.90 per share to N478.80 per share, closing the year with a market capitalisation of N8.16 trillion. Strong corporate earnings, including a profit before tax of N406.39 billion for the nine months of 2024, contributed to the stock’s growth. At its 52-week high, Dangote Cement’s stock reached N763 per share, pushing its market capitalisation to N13 trillion.
Meanwhile, Airtel Africa saw its market capitalisation rise to N8.11 trillion, driven by a 14.4% appreciation in its stock price, which closed 2024 at N2,156.90 per share, up from N1,887.00 per share. Despite a decline in profit for the half-year ending September 2024, analysts attributed the stock price increase to the company’s strong operational performance, including significant customer growth and improved network coverage, particularly in mobile money.
On the other hand, BUA Foods reached an impressive market capitalisation of over N7 trillion, with its stock price rising by 115% to N415 per share, up from N193.40 per share at the beginning of 2024.
MTN Nigeria Communications, despite experiencing losses in corporate earnings, closed 2024 with a market capitalisation of N4.2 trillion. Its stock price fell by 24% to N200 per share, down from N264.00 per share.
Other companies with significant market capitalisation include Seplat Energy, which increased its stock price from N2,310 per share to N5,700 per share, and BUA Cement, which saw a slight dip of 4.1%, closing at N93 per share.
Aradel Holdings, a newly listed oil and gas company, along with Geregu Power and Transcorp Power, all surpassed N2 trillion in market capitalisation. These companies closed the year at N2.88 trillion, N2.7 trillion, and N2.68 trillion, respectively.
Additionally, six out of the 15 blue-chip stocks ended 2024 with over N1 trillion in market capitalisation, including GTCO (N1.68 trillion), Zenith Bank (N1.43 trillion), Transcorp Hotel (N1.19 trillion), United Bank for Africa (N1.16 trillion), Lafarge Africa (N1.13 trillion), and FBN Holdings (N1.01 trillion).
Analysts attribute the strong performance of these stocks, including Dangote Cement and Airtel Africa, to their solid fundamentals, such as consistent dividend payouts to shareholders and impressive corporate earnings.
