MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN) Plc and Dangote Cement Plc, led the list of most profitable companies on the Nigerian Exchange Limited in 2022 in term of revenue growth.
This is based on information gathered from the companies audited results released on the NGX. MTNN posted a revenue of N2.00 trillion, while Dangote cement achieved revenue o N1.62 trillion in 2022.
Access Holdings posted a revenue of N1.33 trillion, while Zenith Bank declared N921.13 billion revenue. Others are United Bank of Africa (UBA), Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), BUA Foods, Seplat Energy, BUA Cement and Stanbic IBTC Holdings with a revenue of N748.29 billion, N490.13 billion, N418.35 billion, N403.90 billion, N360.99 billion and N287.53 billion respectively.
It will be recalled that the domestic macroeconomic narrative did not change much in 2022. While domestic economic activities appear more resilient than envisaged, inflationary pressures remain entrenched, pressuring consumer wallets. Similarly, FX pressures persisted, and foreign investments remained frail.
Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, companies on the NGX have continued to record impressive financial performance.
CEO of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola said, “2022 was challenging due to global macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility, resulting in higher inflation, supply chain uncertainties, foreign exchange volatility and availability.
“In Nigeria, Inflation reached a 17-year high of 21.5 per cent in November before moderating slightly to 21.3 per cent in December, bringing the average for the year to 18.8 per cent and putting pressure on consumer spending.
“To curb rising inflation, the Central Bank of Nigeria increased interest rates four times in 2022, bringing the Monetary Policy Rate to 16.5 per cent; up by five pp during the year. This was further raised in January 2023 to 17.5 per cent.”
Toriola stated that “we continued to manage and invest in the resilience of our business and networks, expanding coverage and capacity with a focus on expense efficiencies and disciplined capital allocation.
“We became the first mobile network operator to launch a 5G network in Nigeria, providing coverage in key cities in the six geopolitical regions. Since its commercial launch in September 2022, we have rolled out 588 sites and brought the 5G network to 5G-enabled smartphones, starting with iPhone users.
“In this regard, we made good progress towards the execution of Ambition 2025 while delivering commercial and financial performance in line with our medium-term guidance.”
Also, the chairman of Dangote Cement, Alhaji Aliko Dangote stated that “2022 came with unexpected challenges. The geopolitical tensions arising from the Russian-Ukraine crisis and shifts in monetary policy led to a volatile global environment and a dramatic pickup in global inflation.”
He noted that “during the year, concerns about faster pace interest rate hikes strengthened the United States Dollar, and weakened many African currencies. This resulted in higher interest rates as monetary policy authorities attempted to stabilise local currencies and wade off inflationary pressures.
“To address these challenges, we implemented robust cost-reduction strategies to manage the inflationary environment. We invested in improving our operational efficiencies and optimising our production processes. These efforts enabled us to enhance our competitiveness while maintaining high levels of quality and customer service.
“In addition, we achieved giant strides in transitioning to cleaner energy, with our cost containment initiative propelling the use of alternative fuel to replace more expensive fossil fuels, such as coal and gas. We also increased the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for our trucks due to the rising diesel cost environment. These efforts have helped us reduce our cost base and enhanced our flexibility, enabling the Company respond more effectively to changes in the market.”
