Airtel Africa Plc, one of the major telecommunications companies quoted on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) recorded a loss of N752 billion at the end of weekly trading to rank among the top losers of the week, following sustained sell pressure witnessed on the stock.
Checks by newsmen show that the telecoms company’s stock dropped by 10% to N1,800 per share, from N2000, which was the opening figure for the trading week.
The market opened for four trading days this week as the Federal Government of Nigeria declared Monday 3rd October 2022 a Public Holiday to mark the nation’s 62nd Independence Anniversary.
Share price drop
The NGX All-Share Index depreciated by 3.41% to close the week at 47,351.43 while Market Capitalization depreciated by 2.50% to close at N25.791 trillion.
Similarly, all other indices finished lower, with the exception of the NGX ASeM, NGX Growth, and NGX Sovereign Bond indices, which closed flat.
Eleven equities appreciated in price during the week, lower than twenty-five equities in the previous week.
Airtel Africa Loses N752 Billion In Market Valuation In One Week
Forty-six equities depreciated at a price higher than thirty-three in the previous week, while one hundred equities remained unchanged, higher than ninety-eight equities recorded in the previous week.
The market sentiment for the telecom firm has remained very low amidst buy-interests and sell-offs as bears dominated proceedings during the period under review following the build-up to the 2023 general election and interest rate hike.
Airtel Africa
Checks by Nirametrics reveal that Airtel Africa closed its last trading day (Friday, October 7, 2022) at N1,800 per share and N6.764 trillion in market capitalization on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as against N2,000 per share and N7.516 trillion in market capitalization at the beginning of trading on October 4, 2022, falling N752 billion or 10% week to date.
Airtel’s loss of N752 billion in market valuation is larger than the market valuation of GTCO and Zenith Bank which both trade less than N700 billion.
Among other top losers include Nascon Allied Industry Plc, which shed 13.64% to close at N9.50 per share from N11.00, Presco Plc with a loss of 9.99% to close at N128.35 per share from N142.60 per share, and Okomu Oil Plc that dropped by 9.98% to close at N169.50 per share from N188.30 per share among other losers.