The Nigerian stock market posted a 1.53% rise in January, kicking off 2025 on a moderately bullish one.
By January 31, 2025, the NGX All-Share Index had increased from 102,926.40 points at the end of 2024 to 104,496.12 points.
This indicates more cautious growth than the January 2024 rise of 35.28%.
Investor confidence was mixed, with falls in the Oil and gas (-1.61%), Insurance (-8.52%), and Industrial Goods (-1.1%) subsectors accounting for a major portion of the constrained sentiment.
Dividend announcements also affect market movements as businesses publish their audited 2024 financial statements.
Against this backdrop, several equities produced outstanding January performances, propelled by a combination of liquidity trends, speculative interest, and fundamental improvements.
Nigeria’s Top 5 Performing Stocks in January 2025
SCOA Nigeria Plc
- YTD Return: +97.57% (Top Performer)
- Liquidity: Moderate (Avg. daily volume: 152,576 shares)
- Beta: -0.0274 (Low market correlation)
- Highlights: 135% YoY pre-tax profit growth in 2024, fueled by strong performance in the automotive, manufacturing, power, and food sectors. Despite moderate liquidity, investor sentiment remains strong, with expectations to surpass its 2023 return of 115%.
Chellarams Plc
- YTD Return: +76.5% (Second-Best Performer)
- Liquidity: Moderate
- Highlights: The company’s pre-tax loss was reduced from N456 million to N305 million, indicating financial recovery. Its diversified operations across trade, manufacturing, and retail attract speculative interest despite ongoing losses.
Honeywell Flour Mills Plc (HONYFLOUR)
- YTD Return: +52.1%
- Liquidity: High (329 million shares traded over three months)
- Beta: 0.3766 (Moderate market correlation)
- Highlights: Pre-tax profit increased 239%, and revenue increased 123% year over year. Strong fundamentals and high trading volume support continued investor confidence.
NCR Nigeria Plc
- YTD Return: +46%
- Liquidity: Low
- Beta: 0.408 (Moderate market sensitivity)
- Highlights: Despite widening pre-tax losses by 205% to N2.199 billion, the stock rallied, likely driven by speculative interest rather than strong fundamentals.
University Press Plc (UPL)
- YTD Return: +45.45%
- Liquidity: Moderate (26 million shares traded, N107 million value)
- Highlights: Rebounded profitability with N798 million pre-tax profit after a N224 million loss in 2023. Moderate liquidity may affect long-term growth unless supported by sustained earnings momentum.
Market Takeaway
These top performers reflect a mix of strong fundamentals and speculative trading. While companies like Honeywell Flour Mills and SCOA show growth backed by solid earnings, others like NCR and Chellarams attract interest despite financial challenges. Market liquidity and investor sentiment remain key drivers in 2025.
Those who made the top ten
- Trans-Nationwide Express +44.93 Vitafoam +38.91%
- The Initiates Plc +37.60%
- Northern Nigeria Flour Mill +38.04%
- Multiverse Mining and Exploration +36.73%
Will the rally last?
In January 2025, the best-performing equities showed a combination of speculative interest, liquidity fluctuations, and fundamental strength:
- Strong liquidity and earnings growth set SCOA and Honeywell Flour Mills apart and made their rallies more enduring.
- Chellarams and NCR have rebounded despite their poor profitability, which begs whether investor optimism can endure.
- Although UPL has a positive return on investment, its low trading rank raises the possibility that sustainability problems could arise from liquidity issues.
Market attitude may change when 2024 audited financials are disclosed further, mainly as dividend announcements and profit surprises influence investor behavior.
In the upcoming months, stocks with solid liquidity and fundamentals can maintain their momentum better.
