By Cynthia Ezekwe

Following investors renewed interest in large-medium cap companies on the bourse, the stock market in November appreciated by N2.08 trillion,as  Airtel Africa Plc, led others in most capitalised stocks on the bourse as of November 2022.

Airtel Africa added N657.67 billion in market capitalisation to close November at N5.45 trillion, as it witnessed N175 per share gain in stock price to N1,450.00 per share in November from N1,275.00 it opened for trading.

The pan-African provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, in its half year ended September 30, 2022 reported $2,565million in revenue, representing an increase of 12.9 per cent from $2,272million reported in the half year ended September 30, 2021.  The company however closed the period with a 9.1 per cent decline in profit before tax to $516 million as against $567 million reported in the corresponding period of 2021.

Speaking on the revenue growth, Segun Ogunsanya,the chief executive officer, Airtel Africa, said, “Airtel Africa continued to deliver strong results as its purpose of transforming the lives of people across sub-Saharan Africa through digital and financial inclusion gained further momentum, with growth accelerating in the second quarter.’’

Ogunsanya also noted that the company is not immune to the current macro-economic challenges and currency devaluation risks, while expressing his delight in the revenue growth which was driven by 9.7per cent customer growth, and 7.2per cent average revenue per user(ARPU) growth.

Among other leading companies on the Exchange, MTN Nigeria accounted for N4.45 trillion in market capitalisation as of November 30, 2022.

The stock price of MTN Nigeria closed November 2022 at N218.50 per share, representing 10.97per cent increase from N196.90 per share it opened for trading.