Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola’s Geregu Power sheds $62 million in 24 hours

Geregu Power Plc, a leading power-generating company majority owned by Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola, has seen its market capitalization on the Nigerian Exchange plummet by more than $62 million in the last 24 hours to $632 million.

Geregu, a spin-off subsidiary of the now-defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria that Otedola acquired in 2013, successfully listed its shares on the Nigerian Exchange on Oct. 5, at a price of N100 ($0.231) per share, giving it a market capitalization of N250 billion ($579 million) on the local bourse.

Shares in the power company were trading at N110 ($0.253) a share at the opening of trading activities on the Nigerian Exchange this morning, 9 percent lower than their market opening price of N120.9 ($0.278) on Oct. 13.

As a result of the recent price downturn, Geregu’s market capitalization has dropped by N27.25 billion ($62.64 million) in the past 24 hours, from N302.25 billion ($694.83 million) at the opening of the Nigerian Exchange on Oct. 13 to N275 billion ($632.2 million) at the time of writing this report.

The decline in the market capitalization of the newly-listed power-generating company comes as investors on the local bourse booked profits after its share price peaked at N120.9 ($0.278) compared to a price target of N131 ($0.303) per share which some investors are betting on.

Geregu posted profits of N20.55 billion ($47.32 million) in 2021, up 45.5 percent from the N14.13 billion it reported in 2020, despite disruptions in Nigeria’s power sector.

According to figures in the group’s 2021 financial results, electricity output has steadily improved year on year over the last five years, exhibiting increased efficiency and better usage of its power facilities.

As a result of the rise in energy sales, revenue grew from N53.67 billion ($123.6 million) to N70.97 billion ($163.4 million) during the period under review.