Nigerian billionaire Mike Adenuga gains $7 million in 2021 from stake in Julius Berger

Nigerian telecom mogul Mike Adenuga has recorded a N2.89-billion ($7.02 million) boost to his net worth since the start of the year, as shares in the leading Nigerian construction company, Julius Berger, surged by double digits.

Adenuga, the founder of Nigeria’s third largest telecom services provider, Globacom Limited, holds a 25.1-percent stake, or 401,834,494 ordinary shares, in Julius Berger, through Goldstones Estates Limited.

Julius Berger is a top construction company that has played an integral role in constructing industrial and civil infrastructure in Nigeria.

His daughter, Belinda Ajoke Disu, is a board member in the company.

Shares in the construction firm closed trading today at a price of N24.8 ($0.0604), unchanged from their opening price on the Nigerian Exchange this morning, Dec. 22.

Since the year began, the market value of Adenuga’s stake has been on the rise, as investors price in the impact of its robust financial performance in 2021 thanks to a stronger sales volume and a surge in its consolidated revenue in the first nine months of the year.

The sustained buying interest in Julius Berger shares caused its share price to rise from N17.62 ($0.043) at the start of the year to N24.8 ($0.0604) as of the time of writing.

As a result, the market value of Adenuga’s stake grew from N7.08 billion ($17.23 million) on Jan. 1 to N9.96 billion ($24.25 million) on Dec. 22, accruing a gain of N2.89 billion ($7.02 million) for the telecom tycoon, while his construction company’s market capitalization soared above the $79-billion mark.

In the first nine months of 2021, Julius Berger rebounded from a loss of N1.98 billion ($4.82 million) in 2020 to a profit of N5.93 billion ($14.43 million) on the back of higher sales and revenue during the period.

The company’s revenue increased from N168.42 billion ($409.7 million) in the first nine months of 2020 to N253.91 billion ($617.7 million) during the same period in 2021.

Aside from his stake in Julius Berger and his business interests in Globacom, the Nigerian billionaire holds a 74.4-percent stake in Conoil, a Nigerian petroleum marketing company.

The petroleum marketing company reported a profit of N1.6 billion ($3.9 million) in the first nine months of 2021 on the back of a growth in sales driven by a resurgence in demand for petroleum products.