VFD Group's nine-month profit nearly doubles to ₦13bn on investment income

VFD Group Plc made a profit after tax of ₦13bn in the nine months to September 2026, up 96 per cent from ₦6.63bn in the same period last year, the Lagos-based investment company said in unaudited results approved by its board.

Profit before tax rose 92 per cent to ₦15.34bn from ₦7.99bn, while gross earnings grew 35 per cent to ₦81.88bn from ₦60.72bn. Earnings per share nearly doubled to 75 kobo from 38 kobo, and profit attributable to shareholders rose 97 per cent to ₦9.52bn.

For an ordinary Nigerian, the numbers matter less as a scoreboard than as a signal of where big local investors are putting money — and whether those bets are paying off. VFD invests across financial services, capital markets, real estate and hospitality, market infrastructure and retail technology, with holdings in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.

Where the money came from

Investment income did most of the work. Net investment income rose 59 per cent to ₦72.18bn, and net revenue was up 42 per cent at ₦77.52bn. Income from debt instruments jumped 164 per cent to ₦10.87bn, while interest earned on placements rose 51 per cent to ₦21.05bn.

Operating profit grew 47 per cent to ₦58.53bn. The company said its cost-to-income ratio improved to 24.5 per cent from 26.9 per cent, and impairment charges fell 44 per cent to ₦1.29bn. Finance costs, however, climbed 36 per cent to ₦43.33bn, reflecting the cost of funding its expanding investment portfolio.

The balance sheet also expanded. Total assets rose 30 per cent to ₦577.64bn as at September 30, 2026, from ₦445.81bn at the end of December 2025, while investment in financial assets more than doubled to ₦217.08bn. Funds under management increased 84 per cent to ₦142.52bn, and shareholders' funds grew 87 per cent to ₦130.02bn.

At the parent company level, profit after tax rose to ₦6.18bn from ₦300m, on gross earnings of ₦36.52bn, up 84 per cent. Profit before tax climbed to ₦7.23bn from ₦350m, and earnings per share rose to 49 kobo from two kobo. Borrowings fell 14 per cent to ₦108.02bn, cutting the borrowings-to-equity ratio to about 1.1 times from 3.1 times at the start of the year.

New money and a new deputy

The results come as VFD deploys the ₦50.67bn it raised in a rights sale to shareholders, and a further ₦22.75bn raised through A1-rated commercial paper — short-term debt it sells to investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also approved Anchoria Capital Group as a capital market holding company.

VFD named Ijeoma Emezie-Ezigbo as its first deputy managing director, effective October 5, 2026. She joined from KPMG Nigeria, where she was partner and head of transaction services for West Africa, and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

Group managing director Nonso Okpala said the profit "has almost doubled, and it has been earned from our core investment activity." He said the year's bigger task was making such results repeatable through fresh capital, longer-term funding and a single SEC-approved holding company for the capital market businesses.

Finance director Folajimi Adeleye said the rights issue had done what the company promised: borrowings fell and shareholders' funds rose. "Into the fourth quarter, we will focus on formalising a succession framework for key leadership positions," he said.

What happens next: Watch the fourth quarter for how much of the new capital is actually invested, and whether funding costs keep rising. The company has said it will also complete the integration of Anchoria Capital Group under its new structure.