By Pierre-Olivier Rouaud, with additional reporting by Nicholas Norbrook
Posted on Monday, 11 April 2022 15:19
After the damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the financial year 2021 will undoubtedly be a period of significant rebound for most African companies. This is evidenced by the turnover of the Algerian giant Sonatrach (#1), which in 2021 soared by 70%. Meanwhile, our latest edition of the Top 500 Companies ranking, which focuses on the performance of companies in their financial year 2020, was marked by a depression.
The cumulative turnover – $590bn – of this exclusive ranking by The Africa Report represents a decline of 4.8%. In absolute terms, we have to go back to 2016 to find a lower figure, namely $569bn. At that time, there were currency crises in Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa.As for the peak of activity in 2012 – when the 500 companies in the ranking took in a total turnover of $757bn – it will be many years before this can be matched, and even more so in a period of international tensions created by the conflict in Ukraine.
Tagged: naija business, naija politics