MTN, UBA, BUA Foods are stocks to watch this week

This week, the Nigerian stock market will open for four days due to the public holiday to celebrate Easter, and some of the stocks to watch during the period are MTN, UBA and BUA Foods.

Ripples Nigeria stocks watchlist is a selection of stocks monitored for viable trading or investing opportunities. An investor may casually generate a list of equities for investment purposes. But we have taken the pain to do that based on certain parameters in order to save you that hassle.

Kindly note that Ripples Nigeria Stocks Watchlist is not a buy, sell or hold recommendation. It is advisable to consult your financial advisor before making any investment decision.

MTN Nigeria

MTN Nigeria has had a great first quarter in 2023, as equity investors rush for the firm’s shares has returned 11.62 per cent increase in shareholders’ investments.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that MTN Nigeria’s share value rose by N25 between January to March, resulting in N508.86 billion gain.

This has made the firm the best-performing telco share in the stock market, with Airtel Africa’s shareholders losing -18.58 per cent of their investments during the same period.

The growth in MTN Nigeria’s share and decline in that of Airtel Africa shows where investors’ interest lies going into the second quarter, however, it also indicates that investors looking to buy the latter’s stock at a lower price can take the opportunity offered by the dip before the bulls turn their sight on Airtel again.

READ ALSO:MTN Nigeria, FCMB and Nigerian Breweries make stocks to watch list

UBA

United Bank for Africa (UBA) has had its bottom line impacted by bad business investments after losing N14.238 billion in its bond investment in Ghana.

UBA had N38.576 billion investment in the bonds issued by the Ghanaian government, however, due to the financial crisis in the country, the investment value has been slashed to N24.338 billion.

In summary, UBA business investment in Ghana has been on a downward movement according to its financial records for 2022. It showed UBA subsidiary in the country suffered a -55.5 per cent decline in its net profit which fell to N2.58 billion last year, from N5.80 billion recorded in 2021.

The decline in net profit at its subsidiary would affect the profit after tax of UBA Group and in turn could impact the ability of UBA to pay dividends to shareholders, considering dividends are also paid from retained earnings.

BUA Foods

The operation of BUA Foods was hit in 2022, as the company suffered a decline in its production of sugar, flour and pasta due to energy problems.

Sugar production dropped by 1.09 per cent, flour fell by 16 per cent and pasta production was cut by 18 per cent, resulting in a decline in sales.

Although this didn’t prevent BUA Foods’ net profit from rising, it slowed the profit after tax growth, considering the company didn’t produce as much as it used to.

BUA Foods didn’t reveal if the company has solved its energy problem which disrupted production. However, continues disruption of its production would further impact sales and the bottom line of the firm as well as the confidence of the capital market should BUA Foods not find a solution.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now