In 2023, listed companies operated in an economic context marked by an average inflation rate of 6.1%, compared with 6.6% a year earlier. This easing of inflationary pressures was reflected in the growth in the market’s revenue, which broke with the high levels observed during the 2021-2022 period.
As of today, 67 listed companies representing more than 99% of the market's total capitaliza-tion have published their revenue for the FY 2023. Based on our own analysis of the press releases, we come out with the following insights:
- In Q4-23, we witnessed a further deceleration in revenue growth of listed companies. It is a modest growth of +2.3%, compared with an average of +5.3% during the first three quarters of 2023. The market’s growth was driven by the Banking and Building Materials sectors, which offset the underperformance of the Energy and Mining sectors. The latter were hit by the downturn in metal and raw material prices;
- In the FY 2023, the Equity market posted cumulative revenue of MAD 300 Bn, up +4.4%. This is the lowest revenue growth since 2021. The Real Estate, Building Materials and Retail sectors posted the highest growths. In contrast, Mining, Energy and Agri-Business were the only sectors whose aggregate revenue fell during 2023;
- The year 2023 was marked by a positive trend in investments for non-financial sector. The CAPEX(1) of listed companies rose by 12% to MAD 18.3 Bn. This momentum was confirmed in equipment loans which jumped by +10% during the same period;
- Revenue indicators of AGR-30 listed companies are relatively in line with our initial fore-casts disclosed last January. This is evidenced by the annual achievement rate, which ranges between 96% and 104%;
- The MASI trend in March will be driven mainly by the publication of listed companies' results and their dividend announcements for the FY 2023. To this end, we believe that listed companies would make a visible effort in terms of dividend payout, in order to support their stock price.
