NGX Group profit jumps 83% to ₦20.6bn as more Nigerians trade online
- NGX Group's pre-tax profit rose 83.3 per cent to ₦20.6bn in the nine months to September 2026.
- Transaction fees more than doubled to ₦20.7bn as retail investors opened accounts and traded digitally.
- Profit after tax hit ₦14.7bn, already 40 per cent above the group's full-year 2025 figure.
The Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) Plc made a pre-tax profit of ₦20.6 billion in the nine months to September 30, 2026, up 83.3 per cent from ₦11.2 billion in the same period last year, the company said in its unaudited results.
Profit after tax rose 86.4 per cent to ₦14.7 billion. That is already about 40 per cent higher than the ₦10.5 billion the group made in the whole of 2025, with three months still to go.
The headline number matters to ordinary Nigerians for one main reason: more of them are putting money into shares, and many are doing it from their phones. Transaction fees, the money the exchange earns when people buy and sell, more than doubled to ₦20.7 billion from ₦9.7 billion.
NGX Group said the rise came from higher trading volumes and a wider investor base, with retail investors opening accounts and placing orders through digital self-service platforms linked to the Exchange.
What is driving the numbers
Total revenue climbed 79.8 per cent to ₦27.3 billion. Listing fees, what companies pay to have their shares traded, grew 24.4 per cent to ₦3.7 billion, helped by new listings and capital raising.
The group's share of profit from companies it holds stakes in rose 69.6 per cent to ₦5.7 billion, mostly from the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), which settles trades on the market.
Costs also went up, by 56.8 per cent to ₦14.7 billion, as the group spent on technology, market surveillance and staff. But income grew faster, so operating profit rose 73.5 per cent to ₦14.9 billion and the cost-to-income ratio improved to 49.7 per cent from 52.3 per cent.
Not every line grew. Market data income fell 6.74 per cent to ₦1.55 billion, technology income slipped to ₦452.65 million, and net foreign exchange losses widened to ₦603.30 million from ₦29.53 million. Independent noted that transaction fees now make up about 75.87 per cent of revenue, up from 64.23 per cent, which leaves the group exposed to swings in trading volumes.
Earnings per share came to ₦5.33, after the one-for-three bonus issue shareholders approved in April 2026 enlarged the share base. Shareholders received ₦8.2 billion in dividends in the period, up 86.7 per cent.
The results track a strong run on the market itself. The NGX All-Share Index gained 61.43 per cent between January and September, while the value of listed equities rose 64.12 per cent to ₦163.10 trillion from ₦99.38 trillion in December 2025.
Group Chairman Umaru Kwairanga said the board's priority was to grow the market in products, listed companies and investor participation, while putting money only where it strengthens the market's foundations.
Group Managing Director Temi Popoola said more Nigerians are investing and more are doing it digitally. "That broadening participation has more than doubled our transaction revenue and is creating real wealth for investors," he said.
Total assets stood at ₦79.1 billion and shareholders' equity at ₦61.1 billion as at September 30.
What happens next
NGX Group said it will keep spending on platform upgrades, market data and digital access, and on partnerships across Africa, betting that more trading volume will spread those costs. The full-year results, due early next year, will show whether the digital push held up in the last quarter.
