BUA Foods Plc has become the most valuable listed company in Nigeria, reaching a market capitalisation of ₦10.4 trillion ($6.78 billion) on Thursday, following an 8.7% jump in its share price to ₦574.9. The food manufacturing giant now surpasses MTN Nigeria, which closed with a market cap of ₦10.1 trillion ($6.52 billion).
This milestone makes BUA Foods only the third company in Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) history to cross the ₦10 trillion threshold. Dangote Cement, which first hit that mark in January 2024, has since dropped. On Thursday, its market value stood at ₦9.74 trillion ($6.34 billion).
MTN, which became the second company on August 1, 2025, has maintained a consistent presence in the ten-trillion-naira club. BUA Foods’ latest surge positions it at the top of the NGX rankings. Its market capitalisation now accounts for about 11.2% of the entire exchange, according to African Stock Exchange data, a market analytics platform
The FMCG giant’s valuation leap came after its share price rose from ₦528.90 to ₦574.90 in a single day, lifting its value from ₦9.52 trillion ($6.21 billion). Its sister company, BUA Cement, currently has a market cap of ₦5.93 trillion ($3.87 billion).
Founded as a major player in Nigeria’s fast-moving consumer goods sector, BUA Foods processes, manufactures, and distributes food products across five divisions: sugar, flour, pasta, rice, and edible oils.
Strong performance in H1 fuels investor confidence
The company’s improved valuation is unpinned by its financial statement for the first half of 2025. Earnings doubled year-on-year to ₦276.1 billion ($179.9 million), while revenue grew by 36% to ₦912.5 billion ($594.9 million), driven by broad-based growth across all product segments.
Notably, BUA Foods recorded a staggering 2,923% increase in rice revenue, highlighting the success of its strategic entry into Nigeria’s local rice value chain.
Other key highlights:
Gross profit rose by 55%, with margins improving to 37.2% from 32.4% in the previous year.
Total equity increased by 60.6%.
Total assets climbed to ₦1.33 trillion ($867 million).
“Amidst evolving macroeconomic dynamics, we remain focused on scale, affordability, and consistent value delivery,” said Ayodele Abioye, managing director of BUA Foods, in its latest earnings report. “Our investments in backward integration and manufacturing expansion continue to position us for long-term sustainable growth.”
Trading activity and shareholder sentiment
According to African Stock Exchanges, BUA Foods has gained 38.5% year-to-date, starting 2025 at ₦415.0.
“Over the past month alone, the stock is up 25%, ranking it 38th best-performing on the NGX. It is currently the 104th most traded stock over the past three months (May 7 – Aug 7), with 16.4 million shares traded in 12,138 deals, valued at ₦7.15 billion ($4.66 million),” it said.
The platform added that the highest single-day trading volume was 3.32 million shares on July 17; the lowest was 6,089 shares on June 4.
All figures have been converted at an exchange rate of $1 = ₦1,534.3 as of August 7, 2025.
