Shareholders of FCMB Group Plc have approved a total dividend payout of N23.08 billion for the 2025 financial year at the company’s 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos last week.

Shareholders, attending both in person and online, approved all Board resolutions, including the re-election of Mr. Ladi Jadesimi and the ratification of Mrs. Adepeju Adebajo as Directors. They also elected Audit Committee members and authorised Directors to set the auditors’ remuneration.

The AGM followed a year of strong earnings growth across the group’s businesses, despite challenging economic conditions.

FCMB Group reported profit before tax of N202.1 billion for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, up 81% from N111.9 billion a year earlier. Profit after tax rose 142% to N177.3 billion, while gross revenue increased 42.5% to N1.13 trillion. Return on equity rose to 23.2%.

The Group reported double-digit profit growth across all divisions. The Banking Group’s profit before tax rose 110%, while Consumer Finance, Investment Banking, and Investment Management grew by 107%, 90%, and 29%, respectively. This momentum continued into 2026, with all segments achieving strong first-quarter growth.

Chairman, Mr. Ladi Jadesimi, stated that these results demonstrate the resilience of the group’s diversified business model.

“We remain steadfast in our objective of balancing immediate shareholder returns with the need to retain sufficient capital to support long-term expansion, strengthen our competitive positioning and optimise value creation for all stakeholders,” Jadesimi stated.

Group Chief Executive, Mr. Ladi Balogun, described 2025 as a transformative year, highlighting the strength of collaboration across its businesses.

“2025 was a transformative year for FCMB Group – one in which we witnessed the true impact of ‘The Power of the Group’. A core driver of our performance in 2025 was the effective synergy across our business groups: Banking Group, Consumer Finance, Investment Banking, and Investment Management, each playing a distinct yet complementary role in delivering business growth,” Balogun said.

He added, “Our focus remains firmly on deepening our digital transformation, strengthening our culture of excellence, and amplifying the collective power of our ecosystem.”

Shareholder representatives commended the Board and management for the company’s performance and dividend payout.

Mrs. Bisi Bakare, National Coordinator of the Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria, stated that the dividend reflects management’s commitment to shareholder value despite economic challenges.

Mr. Boniface Okezie, National Chairman of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, praised the group’s support for small businesses and women-owned enterprises. He noted that FCMB provided ¦ 537.5 billion in financing to SMEs in 2025, including ¦ 51 billion to women-owned businesses.

•Adonri projects monetary tightening in H2’26

By Peter Egwuatu 

The Nigerian stock market closed lower again last week, making it the third consecutive week decline, pressured by profit-taking in blue-chip stocks.

However, the latest loss amounting to 1.8 trillion indicates that the negative position is moderating.

Three weeks ago the market took a major hit at N5.6 trillion loss, and the following week the loss position was N2.4trillion.

Analysts stated that the sustenance of sell off of shares was an extension of  market corrective trend across key sectors.

Analysis of trading last week shows that the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX market capitalisation, which represents the total value of stocks listed on the Exchange, closed at N147.102 trillion from N148.905 trillion the previous week.

Similarly, the NGX All-Share Index, ASI, another major market indicator nosedived by 1.2% to close at 229,240.34 points from 232,049.02 points the previous week.

Specifically, MTN Nigeria shed -9.6%, Dangote Cement declined -7.5%

Aradel -10.0%, WAPCO -8.3%,   Zenith Bank -7.1% and GTCO -5.4%, to significantly drag down the NGX ASI.

Consequently, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date, YtD, returns settled at 1.6% and 47.3%, respectively.  

Meanwhile, reacting to market projection for the second half 2026, H2’26, Chief Executive Officer of HighCap Securities Limited, David Adonri, expressed optimism that the Nigerian equities market will rebound in the second half of 2026 despite the recent correction which had led to a bearish run.

He also projected monetary tightening by the Central Bank of Nigeria in H2’26.

He noted that politicians and some high net worth investors are selling off shares for cash ahead of the general election.

Speaking during a market review for the first quarter of 2026 and outlook for the second half of the year at the Capital Market Correspondents forum held  Tuesday, in Lagos,  Adonri said the recent decline in share prices in June 2026 followed an exceptional rally that delivered about 62 per cent returns in the first five months of the year, making the Nigerian stock market one of the world’s best-performing equity markets.

According to him, the current downturn represents a normal market correction rather than a structural weakness, stressing that the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals remain supportive of long-term growth.

“The market is simply realigning stock prices with the underlying fundamentals of listed companies after an extended rally,” he said.

Adonri noted that both the equity and debt markets performed strongly in the first half of the year, with investors benefiting simultaneously from capital gains in equities and attractive yields in fixed-income securities due to elevated interest rates.

He also highlighted the resurgence of the primary market, revealing that about N6.95 trillion was raised through new issues during the first half of the year, compared with significantly lower levels in previous years. According to him, “the capital raised is financing productive sectors of the economy rather than government activities.”

He attributed renewed investor confidence to improvements in key macroeconomic indicators, including stronger foreign exchange reserves, increased government revenue, higher oil production and improved sovereign credit ratings by international rating agencies.

Adonri said:   “Foreign portfolio investment also strengthened during the period, reflecting growing international confidence in Nigeria’s economic reforms.”

Looking ahead, he projected a gradual recovery in the equities market as companies begin releasing half-year financial results, adding that strong corporate earnings could stimulate renewed demand for stocks.

However, he warned that interest rates are likely to remain relatively high because of inflationary pressures and possible monetary tightening by the CBN.

Also reacting to the market outlook, analysts at Cordros Capital stated: “Looking ahead, we expect market sentiment to improve as investors selectively accumulate beaten-down stocks at attractive entry points, favouring fundamentally sound counters ahead of the H1’26 earnings season. Nonetheless, elevated yields on government instruments are expected to sustain competition for investor liquidity, with anticipated primary market activity remaining a headwind to equities.”

The World Bank has said Nigeria’s biggest fiscal challenge is weak revenue mobilisation rather than excessive borrowing, urging the government to prioritise efforts to boost revenue generation to support sustainable economic growth.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Friday, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, said Nigeria’s debt profile remains moderate by international standards and is significantly different from countries experiencing debt distress.

“From our assessment, Nigeria doesn’t have a high indebtedness problem; it has a low revenue problem,” Verghis said.

He explained that Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio is lower than that of many comparable countries, stressing that concerns should focus on improving government revenue rather than limiting borrowing.

“When we looked at the numbers, Nigeria is a moderately indebted country, meaning it has less debt relative to its economy than most of its neighbours and many other countries,” he said.

“Nigeria is in a very different situation than Ghana, for example, which is going through a debt restructuring.”

Verghis defended government borrowing as a necessary tool for financing long-term investments that stimulate economic growth and improve living standards.

“Nigeria borrows for the same reasons that all countries borrow. If you want to deliver results to people, the money available on an annual basis is not enough. So you borrow, deliver results, and that improves your ability to repay,” he said.

He cited the expansion of electricity access as an example, noting that providing power to about 32 million Nigerians requires substantial upfront investment.

“To be able to connect and provide energy to 32 million Nigerians, Nigeria needs to borrow money now. But with increased access to energy, the country will become wealthier and better positioned to repay the loans,” he added.

The World Bank official, however, warned that low government revenue poses a greater threat to Nigeria’s fiscal sustainability than its current debt level.

“Nigeria’s debt is not particularly high, and in fact, it’s quite moderate by international standards. Its revenues are very low by international standards, and unless those revenues are raised, it will not be able to pay back debt,” Verghis said.

According to him, strengthening revenue mobilisation would enable the government to increase investments in infrastructure, healthcare, education and other sectors that drive job creation, improve human capital and reduce poverty over the long term.

The remarks come as the World Bank recently unveiled a new six-year Country Partnership Framework for Nigeria, which places job creation at the centre of its support for the country through investments in infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture and digital connectivity.