My people! E get as First HoldCo take clear road for 2025 wey no too dey sweet. Dem don report total profit of N44.98bn, dis one na serious drop from N677.01bn wey dem chop for 2024! E be like say dem waka enter wahala for fourth quarter as dem still dey carry loss of N405.89bn.
Dem show audited results wey end for December 31, 2025, and wey show say profit wey dey go owners don fall to N38.04bn. Na 94.3% decline from the N670.80bn wey dey shine for last year. Na Femi Otedola, the Group Chairman, come defend say dem take one-time charge of N748bn to clear legacy bad loans, na so dem fit plan better road for future, even though e scatter profits.
Otedola talk am for im X handle say na true governance dey guide dem, as Central Bank of Nigeria dey push banks make dem dey transparent about their loans wahala. But na the last quarter go just spoil everything wey don dey happen before. Q4 don show loss wey reach N405.89bn, sharp contrast from N143.13bn profit wey dem enjoy in Q4 2024. Na wah! 383.6% swing no be beans o!
But make we no forget say even with this wahala, dem still dey enjoy interest income wey rise by 23.6% to N2.96tn from N2.40tn. Dis one wan dey come from increase in interest-earning assets, but the palm oil no sweet as interest expense too don increase by 5.8% to N1.05tn. E mean say net interest income just manage grow by 36.3% to N1.91tn, but the auntie wey carry credit risk provisions don come show face.
Impairment charges don waka climb to N748.13bn from N426.29bn in 2024, dis one na wetin de pain dem for profitability level. After dem don subtract all dis wahala, net interest income stand for N1.16tn, wey na increase of 19.2% from last year. E no be small matter o, naija people! Non-interest income also dey play hide and seek. Net fee and commission income don rise by 18.7% to N290.74bn, but trading activities dey scatter ground.
Foreign exchange gain for the group don rise to N37.64bn from wahala wey give dem loss of N64.95bn in 2024, but losses from financial instruments don increase too, e don widen to N87.06bn. E be like say dem wan carry bag full of trouble! Operating expenses dey fly high too, personnel expenses don rise by 25.1% to N385.91bn, while other operating expenses don skyrocket by 43.6% to N809.36bn. E don make operating profit land for ground as e sharply drop to N228.37bn, na 71.3% decline from last year wey see N795.93bn.
Overall, dem don record loss of N7.77bn from discontinued operations, wey dey heavy on dem as e be say last year dem don record profit wey be N13.52bn.
As we dey check balance sheet, total assets don grow small-small by 2.0% to N27.07tn from N26.52tn last year. Loans and advances to customers don follow join by 3.4% to N9.06tn, while na customer deposits don rise by 10.0% to N18.90tn. E dey show say wahala dey for ground but dem still dey expand the balance sheet. Total equity don also rise by 14.9% to N3.21tn, from N2.80tn wey dem carry before.
Na so the gist be, my people! Wetin we go make we learn from all this na say, no matter how e be, we for follow money matter wey no dey play with our lives!
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