A multinational telecommunications company, Airtel Africa, has surpassed Dangote Cement to become the most capitalised company listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
For the first time, Airtel Africa hit an all-time high of N1,271 per share during the week with a market capital of N4.7 trillion at the end of Friday’s trading — sealing its 10 percent gain week-on-week.
With this market cap, Airtel Africa has outstripped Dangote Cement, the cement producing company owned by Aliko Dangote.
At the end of trading on Friday, Dangote’s market capitalisation stood at N4.44 trillion as its shares closed flat.
In one year, Airtel’s share price has gained over 46 percent on account of improved operational performance, share buybacks, and investor sentiments.
On January 5, its share price recorded an all-time high of N1,050 after announcing the disposal of its tower assets in Tanzania.
Last November, Airtel Africa had received approval in principle to operate a payment service bank (PSB) and as a super-agent in Nigeria, expanding its business beyond the telecoms frontier.
Earlier in the week, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) announced that Airtel Africa Plc will be joining the FTSE 100 (Financial Times Stock Exchange) index.
The FTSE 100 Index comprises the 100 most highly capitalised blue chip companies, representing approximately 81 percent of the UK market.
It is used extensively as a basis for investment products, such as derivatives and exchange-traded funds.
Segun Ogunsanya, CEO of Airtel Africa, said the company have continued to invest in infrastructure and distribution network across the countries where they operate supporting their economies and communities.
“Sustainability is at the core of our strategy, driven by our guiding purpose of Transforming lives’ across Africa, with people, businesses and governments seeking access to more and better connectivity and improved financial inclusion,” he said.
“I am immensely proud that Airtel Africa will be joining the FTSE 100 only two and a half years after we listed on the London Stock Exchange.”
