The NGX Premium Index has delivered an impressive 53.86 per cent return so far in 2025, significantly outperforming Nigeria’s broader stock market benchmarks.
Index Performance and Criteria
- Outperformance: The Premium Index’s 53.86 per cent year-to-date gain exceeds the returns of the All-Share Index, 44.74 per cent, and the NGX 30 Index, 42.69 per cent.
- Focus on Quality: The index tracks the shares of companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange that meet stringent requirements for corporate governance, transparency, and market liquidity.
- Requirements: To qualify, companies must have a high valuation (minimum N200 billion in capital), large market depth (at least N40 billion in free float shares), and a strong rating in corporate governance.
Seplat Energy: An Example of Resilience
While the overall index is high, individual stock performance varies. Seplat Energy Plc, the only oil and gas company on the Premium Index, currently ranks eighth among the top performers with a year-to-date gain of 3.81 per cent.
- Despite a slow start to the year, Seplat has shown resilience, recovering from a May low to post a strong gain in October.
- The company’s performance is underpinned by solid financials, with its first-half 2025 pre-tax profit surging 86 per cent year-on-year to N454.1 billion.
The Premium Index’s performance highlights the strong gains made by Nigeria’s highest-quality, largest-capitalisation stocks this year.
