Q1 performance by Dangote, MTN, others, signifies economic turnaround – IMPI

The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) says turnaround in the fortunes of companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) is an indication that the Nigerian economy has turned the corner.

Mr Omoniyi Akinsiju, Chairman of IMPI in a statement on Thursday, said almost all the companies that recorded losses in the first quarter of 2024 were back to profit-making, as shown in their respective first-quarter 2025 balance sheets.

The group said the listed loss-making companies and others had witnessed a rebound, and did not just record profits, but impressive profit margins.

“This, for us, is a clear indication of the impact of the federal administration’s economic reforms.

“MTN Nigeria Communications Plc was the most impacted by the FX loss in 2024, but it declared a profit after tax of N133.7 billion for the first quarter of 2025, its first such declaration since 2023.

“Since announcing its first after-tax loss of N137 billion, MTN has recorded quarterly losses due to macroeconomic challenges. Despite reporting a record revenue of N3.36 trillion for 2024, its loss after tax stood at N400.44 billion,” IMPI stated.

It stated that Nestle Nigeria Plc reported a pre-tax profit of N51.15 billion in the first quarter of 2025, marking a strong rebound from the N196.086 billion loss posted in the same period of 2024.

The group noted that this followed a return to profitability in the fourth quarter of 2024, signalling growing stability in the company’s financial performance.

It added that the unaudited results also showed a post-tax profit of N30.178 billion, representing 121 per cent year-on-year growth. In 2024, the company lost a lot of money due to exchange rate changes.

“However, those losses disappeared in the first quarter of 2025, giving profits a significant lift.

“The naira’s marginal appreciation and stability in the first quarter of 2025 with an average of N1,521.78/$ compared to the N1,621.71/$ average in the fourth quarter of 2024 lowered FX revaluation losses, giving room for higher profitability growth.

“This narrative is also reflected in BUA Cement’s first quarter 2025 financial numbers,” the group stated.

It stated that the company’s earnings rose by 80.49 per cent to N290.82 billion in Q1 2025 from N161.13 billion in Q1 2024, followed by higher profit margins due to lower cost of sales growth (+31.25 per cent) and a significant drop (-91.69 per cent) in FX loss.

It added that the company’s profitability grew by triple digits to N99.74 billion.

The group said Dangote Cement Plc also recorded a pre-tax profit of N311.974 billion, representing 87.48 per cent year-on-year growth compared to N166.404 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2024.

“The company also posted a profit after tax of N209.245 billion, up 85.71 per cent year-on-year, from N112.674 billion reported in the same period in 2024.

“Driving this strong bottom-line performance was an impressive revenue of N994.659 billion, marking a 21.69 per cent year-on-year increase from the prior year.

“Remarkably, revenue earned from the Nigerian operations of the company rose significantly to N696.042 billion, increasing its contribution to group revenue from 55.41 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 to 69.98 per cent in the first quarter of 2025,” it stated.

It added that the company’s finance costs rose slightly due to a significant drop in foreign exchange losses, from N63.765 billion in the first quarter of 2024 to N17.472 billion.

“We have profiled these loss-making companies’ impressive return to profitability to show the impact of the federal administration’s economic reform policies.

“While we note this new regime of profitability, we also acknowledge the quantum leap in the profits declared by other companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange in the first quarter of 2025.

“This has implications for increased job creation, higher tax earnings by the federal administration, and enhanced GDP performance.”

The group also highlighted early results of efforts at diversifying the economy with focus on non oil exports.

The group highlighted the country’s progress in economic diversification and the impact of the policies deployed by the Federal administration.

It stated that this increased Nigeria’s non-oil exports to 1.791 billion dollars in the first quarter of 2025, up 24.75 per cent from the same period last year.

“The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) said that 197 products, including cocoa, fertiliser, cashew, and sesame seeds, were exported in the first quarter of 2025. This marks an increase from 162 products in the first quarter of 2024.

“We also note that export volume surged to 2.416 million metric tonnes, a 243.44 per cent jump compared to the first quarter of 2024. Cocoa beans alone accounted for 45.02 per cent of total exports, followed by urea/fertiliser (19.32 per cent) and cashew nuts (5.81 per cent).

“The extension to this is the increase in regional exports to ECOWAS countries to 223.10 per cent, from 19.5 million dollars in Q1 2024 to 63.06 million dollars in Q1 2025, while intra-African trade reached 32.73 million dollars,” IMPI stated.

It explained that this progress followed the record 5.456 billion dollars in non-oil exports in 2024, the highest in the NEPC’s 49-year history.

It said this performance also reflected the proactive efforts of the federal administration, led by President Bola Tinubu, to reposition Nigeria’s economy and empower local industries through strategic export growth and inter-agency collaboration.

“Following this progression, we acknowledge that Nigerian products are meeting global standards.

“This is evidenced in the 318 per cent rise in non-oil export value reported by the Lilypond Export Command of the Nigeria Customs Service during the first quarter of 2025, contributing to the country’s foreign exchange inflows.”