Airtel Africa, Second Largest by Market Valuation, Hits N4.34trn
A heavy buying interest in Airtel Africa Plc share has pushed the Telecom giant valuation on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) by 10 per cent to N4.342 trillion on Wednesday. Among trillion naira capitalised stocks, Airtel Africa ranks second.
Amidst a fresh bullish run in 2022, equity market capitalisation is currently trending above N24 trillion amidst bargain hunting in top dividend aristocrats on the local bourse. The market index has inched higher above 45,000 points.
Market data shows that Airtel Africa Plc share price has maintained an uptrend after the company repurchased its share from local investors, thus volatility appears to have been curtailed.
The telecom company share price inches higher to N1,155.50 today following the firm’s announcement that its 9-months 2021 financial statement will be pushed out.
Some analysts see buying interest in Airtel Africa being driven by positioning effect after the management revealed a plan to announce its results for the nine months to 31 December 2021 on Friday 4 February 2022. The firm has healthy dividend payment history, according to equity analysts.
With an outstanding share of 3.758 billion, Airtel is now the second-largest most capitalised stock on the local bourse, trailing Dangote Cement with a market capitalisation of N4.59 trillion.
Dangote Cement has 17 billion outstanding shares, according to data from the Nigerian Exchange. The value of Airtel Africa has exceeded MTN Nigeria which is currently priced at N3.867 trillion.
Explaining its share buyback, Airtel told MarketForces Africa that the minority buyback offer related to its Nigerian subsidiary, Airtel Networks Limited, and has nothing to do with Airtel Africa Plc.’s listing on the NGX.
“All that has happened is that we have reduced the minority holdings in our Nigerian subsidiary to 0.04%.
That means that all of our public shareholders in Airtel Africa Plc (those invested on the LSE and the NGX) now receive the benefit of 99.96% of the performance of our Airtel Nigeria subsidiary”. #Airtel Africa, Second Largest by Market Valuation, Hits N4.34trn
Read: Airtel Africa levels Up Earnings, Upgrades Dividend Despite FX Loss
