First HoldCo profit rises 65% to ₦744.5bn in nine months

First HoldCo Plc, the parent company of FirstBank, don report profit after tax of ₦744.45 billion for the nine months wey end September 2026. Dat one na 65.1 percent higher than di ₦450.87 billion wey e make for same period last year, according to im unaudited results wey e file on Friday.

Profit before tax rise 60.8 percent to ₦911.24 billion from ₦566.54 billion a year earlier.

Di result no come from lending. Interest income fall 8.7 percent to ₦2.09 trillion, and interest expenses rise 5.2 percent to ₦833 billion, leaving net interest income 16 percent lower at ₦1.26 trillion.

Instead, di group earn more from fees and trading. Net fee and commission income climb 48.1 percent to ₦316.43 billion, with electronic banking fees alone bring in ₦73.16 billion. Gains on financial instruments swing to ₦104.59 billion from loss of ₦72.78 billion last year, and other operating income jump to ₦142.06 billion from ₦23.83 billion.

Lower provisions for bad loans also help. Impairment charges drop 28.3 percent to ₦207.1 billion from ₦288.92 billion.

Wetin e mean for customers and shareholders

Di bank dey hold more of Nigerians' money. Customer deposits grow 21.3 percent to ₦22.91 trillion from ₦18.88 trillion at di end of December 2025, while total assets rise 18.1 percent to ₦32.2 trillion.

Lending grow more slowly. Loans and advances to customers rise 4.8 percent to ₦9.39 trillion, meaning di bank dey collect deposits faster than e dey give out loans.

For shareholders, earnings per share rise to ₦16.45 from ₦10.65.

Investors welcome di numbers. First HoldCo shares gain 10 percent on Friday to close at ₦144.10, lifting im market value to about ₦6.5 trillion, according to Nairametrics. BusinessDay report say di stock begin di year at ₦47.90 and since den don gain 173 percent, while Nairametrics put di opening level at ₦46.

Nairametrics report say billionaire investor Femi Otedola remain di largest shareholder with about 26.71 percent.

Di results follow a difficult 2025, when di bank record significant write-offs to meet di Central Bank of Nigeria's rules on bad loans. Nairametrics report say di bank don recapitalise and restructure im operations since.

Other lenders still dey under pressure. UBA, Access Holdings and Fidelity Bank never release dia half-year results, with di delays linked to pending CBN approval, while GTCO and Zenith Bank don publish half-year figures but not nine-month numbers.

Wetin go happen next

First HoldCo dey expected to publish im full-year results for 2026 early next year. Investors go dey watch whether fee income and trading gains go fit keep covering di fall in lending income as interest rates ease.