Nigeria companies have accelerated their Capital expenditure (CapEx) investment in property, plant, and equipment (PPE) in the 2025 financial year, highlighting the business spending necessary to drive economic recovery.
Capital expenditure for the largest and most liquid companies increased 9.95 percent to N3.58 trillion as at December 2025, from N3.26 trillion the previous year, according to data compiled by MoneyCentral.
Capital expenditures (CapEx) are funds used to improve and maintain the physical resources of a company. Common CapEx projects include the construction of new factories, upgrading manufacturing equipment, and payment for repairs.
Analysts are of the view that the receding borrowing costs will incentivize firms to deploy their capital in the acquisition of assets needed to accelerate future expansion plans.
Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by 3.84 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024 led by the non-oil sector.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria has reduced the monetary policy rate from 27 per cent to 26.5 per cent as inflation eases.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s headline inflation rate dropped to 15.1 percent in January, down from the 15.15 percent recorded in December 2025.
The yield on Nigeria’s 10 year bond yield held steady at 15.45 percent on March 3, 2026. Over the past month, the yield has fallen by 1.44 points and is 3.36 points lower than a year ago, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity.
A breakdown by per sector shows the cement makers that comprise Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, and Lafarge Africa, collectively spent N651.63 billion on capital assets as at December 2025, which is 17.25 percent lower than 2024’s N787.54 billion.
Higher Crude Oil Price needed to lift oil majors CapEx
Crude oil prices fell in 2025 and early 2026 before the Iran-U.S. war with supplies in the global oil market exceeding demand. Even OPEC+ members hiked output.
The aforementioned slump in commodity price undermined Capex spending of Seplat Energy Plc, Aradel Holdings Plc, and Oando Plc, whose combined expenditure on the acquisition of property, plant, and equipment dipped by 19.69 percent to N1.09 trillion as at December 2025.
Of course, there are expectations of higher Capex spend this year on the back of escalating fight between Iran, U.S., and Israel.
Brent Crude now stands at $83.05 per barrel while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $76.52 per barrel.
Standard Chartered (StanChart) now sees Brent crude averaging $74 per barrel in the first quarter of 2026, up from its previous forecast of $62 per barrel; Q2 to $67/bbl (from $63/bbl) and 2026 average to $70/bbl (from $63.50/bbl).
MTN, Airtel lead NGX CapEx spend
MTN Nigeria Plc and Airtel Africa Plc surged by 101.37 percent to N1.23 trillion as at December 2025, as these telecom giants continue to invest in core capacity enhancement, radio densification and spectrum optimisation to ease congestion.
It is important to note that MTN Nigeria invested N1.03 trillion in the purchase of assets, an amount that is 28.77 percent of the total CapEx spend of the entire NGX firms, a rare feat for a company that is aggressively stamping its footprint in the Nigeria market.
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