A Safaricom shop in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP Kenya’s mobile phone operator Safaricom has topped the list of Africa’s most valuable brands by market capitalisation, with shareholder wealth peaking at a record high of $14.14 billion in February 2021.
According to a new monthly survey by analysts at AfricanFinancials Group, Safaricom, which is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), floored West African corporate giants such as Dangote Cement ($9.1 billion), MTN Nigeria ($8.6 billion), BUA Cement (Nigeria, $5.92 billion) and Airtel Africa ($4.18 billion), which took the second, third, fourth and fifth positions respectively.
In a report titled Sub-Saharan Top 30 Equity Valuation , the analysts show that eight East African listed firms, largely from Kenya and Tanzania, made it to the list of sub-Saharan Africa’s most valuable brands. Leading firms
The firms are Safaricom ($14.14 billion), Tanzanian Breweries ($1.38 billion), Equity Bank ($1.27 billion), East African Breweries Ltd ($1.19 billion), KCB ($1.13 billion), Vodacom Tanzania ($744 million), Tanzania Cigarette ($733 million) and Co-operative Bank ($689 million).
According to the report, dated March 8, 2021, Safaricom’s return on equity (ROE) for the 12-month period to February 2021 stood at 49.6 per cent, followed by Tanzanian Breweries (26 per cent), Tanzania Cigarette ( 24.7 per cent), Equity Bank (15.1 per cent), Co-operative Bank (14.9 per cent), East African Breweries Ltd (11 per cent), KCB (10.7 per cent) and Vodacom Tanzania (negative 0.1 per cent).
In sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of South Africa, MTN Nigeria has the highest ROE at 98.3 per cent followed by Nestle Nigeria (93.5 per cent), Safaricom (49.6 per cent), MTN Ghana (41.8 per cent) and Dangote Cement (34.5 per cent).
The report notes that Safaricom stock (in dollar terms) has increased by 578 per cent in the past 10 years, followed by Tanzania Cigarette (392 per cent), Tanzania Breweries (296 per cent), Ireland Blyth (118 per cent), BUA Cement (91 per cent), Nestle Nigeria (41 per cent) and KCB (16 per cent).
The total market capitalisation of the top 30 companies for February 2021 fell 4.4 per cent to $76 billion, and down 0.2 per cent year-to-date.
Meanwhile, the SSA stockmarkets, with the exception of South Africa, turned negative in February, falling by 2.7 per cent, with Nigeria dropping by 10 per cent.
The Kenyan stockmarket rose by 6.6 per cent, while that of Ghana and BRVM rose by 9.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively. Dividend yields
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