Nigeria’s local bourse, Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX) ended the month of September on a positive note as the All-Share-Index (ASI) appreciated by 2.65% month-to-date. The Consumer Goods Index of the exchange appreciated as well by 3.35% month-to-date.

Among the twenty-one (21) consumer goods companies quoted on the exchange, ten (10) stocks appreciated during the period, while seven (7) of these stocks outperformed the local bourse.

The increase in the share prices of these FMCGs can be attributed to positive investors sentiments towards the companies’ financial results or historical performances, thereby resulting in buy-interests in their shares.

Stock Summary

The top 5 best-performing stocks under the Consumer Goods Index are summarized below.

Flour Mills Nigeria Plc

Flour Mills Nigeria (FMN) Plc is the fifth best-performing stock under the Consumer Goods Index. The company’s share price grew by 3.64% from N28.85 to N29.90 per share.

FMN Plc outperformed Honeywell Plc, its second peer in the industry to attain a spot on the top 5 list.

The company’s Q1 2021 Financial statement for the period ended June 30th, revealed an increase in revenue of 51.18% from N154.58 billion to N233.70 billion in the current period. In the same vein, Net Profit appreciated by 9.66% from N4.97 billion to N5.45 billion.

However, year-to-date, the company’s share price has returned a total of 15% to investors who bought the stock at N26.00 per share, closing at N29.90 at the end of yesterday’s trading session.

Champion Breweries Plc

Champion Breweries Plc recorded a month-to-date increase of 4.50%, from N2.00kb at the start of the month to N2.09kb. The brewery in H1 2021 recorded a growth of 43.62% in revenue while post-tax profit appreciated immensely by 270.69%, from N120.11 million in H1 2020 to N445.24 million in the current period.

Champion Breweries Plc is the only brewery that ranked amongst the top 5 best performing consumer goods stocks in the month of September. The brewery is currently the third most capitalized company in the brewery sector, valued at N16.36 billion as at the time of writing this report.

Year-to-date, the share price has appreciated by 138.37% from N0.86 at the beginning of the year to its current price of N2.05 at the end of yesterday’s trading session.

Nestle Nigeria Plc

Nestle Nigeria Plc, the most capitalized consumer goods company worth over a trillion, saw its share price increase by 5.71% from N1,400 at the beginning of the month to N1,480 on September 30, 2021.

The FMCG company in H1 2021, recorded revenue growth of 21.56% in the first six months of the year, from N141.03 billion in the corresponding period of 2020 to N171.44 billion. However, Net Profit for the period declined by 0.49% in the same period.

At the time of writing this article, Nestle Nig Plc has a market capitalization of N1.17 trillion and is trading at N1,480.00. Year-to-date, the share price has declined slightly by 1.66% from N1,500 at the start of the year to N1,480 at the end of yesterday’s trading session.

Nascon Allied Industries Plc

Nascon Allied Industries Plc, the second-best performing stock for the period gained 7.42% for the month, from N14.15 to N15.20. The company is involved in salt refining and distribution.

In H1 2021, the company, which is a member of Dangote Group of Companies, recorded a growth of 19.24% in gross profit.

However, post-tax profit for the period declined by 2.68% from N1.49 billion in the corresponding period of 2020 to N1.45 billion in the current period. This can be attributed to operating losses incurred in the second quarter of the year.

Despite the above result, we still see a positive performance in the share price of the company year-to-date, as the shares of Nascon Allied Plc has appreciated by 4.83% as at the end of yesterday’s trading session.

Northern Nig Flourmills Plc

Northern Nig Flourmill Plc, which is the overall best-performing consumer goods stock for the period under review, gained 17.12% in its share price from N7.30 at the start of September to N8.55 on September 30, 2021.

The Q1 unaudited report for the period ended June 30, 2021 revealed that gross profit grew by 75.02% Y-o-Y from N177.57 million in Q1 2020 to N310.78 million in Q1 2021 while profit after tax went up by 20.96% when compared with the corresponding year, from N68.50 million to N82.86 million.

However, year-to-date, the company’s share price has appreciated by 14.24% from N6.74 at the beginning of the year to N7.70 at the end of yesterday’s trading session.

What to expect

As we exit the third quarter of the year, we should expect to see investors taking strategic positions in the market ahead of the release of Q3 results, which is expected in mid-october.

Another factor that could influence the move in market prices would be the monthly inflation data which is scheduled to drop between the 15th to 18th of October.