At least 15 firms posted a cumulative profit of N3.12 trillion in the first quarter of 2026 despite prevailing economic challenges, Daily Trust reports.

Analyses of the unaudited first-quarter results of companies across the banking, manufacturing, telecommunications, insurance, and agro-allied sectors revealed improved earnings.

Industry experts identified inflationary pressures, exchange rate volatility, poor electricity supply, rising energy costs, cybersecurity concerns, intensifying fintech competition, and global economic uncertainties as some of the challenges companies battled while striving to stay afloat and remain profitable.

In the banking sector, Zenith Bank Plc posted a profit before tax of N360.92 billion, up 2.88 per cent from N350.82 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2025.

The bank’s profit after tax climbed to N314.02 billion, reflecting steady earnings growth despite pressure from rising impairment charges and operating costs.

FirstHoldco Plc delivered a strong performance in its first-quarter 2026 financial results, recording a 72 per cent year-on-year increase in profit before tax.

Profit before tax rose to N321 billion from N186.47 billion in the corresponding period of 2025, supported by strong interest-earning capacity and robust fee income generation.

Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc’s profit before tax grew by 0.88 per cent year-on-year to N302.89billion, compared to N300 billion in Q1 2025.

However, profit after tax declined by 15.42 per cent to N218.13 billion, primarily due to higher tax liabilities.

Access Holdings Plc reported one of the quarter’s most impressive earnings expansions, with profit before tax rising 22.2 per cent to N272.21 billion from N222.78 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.

Similarly, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated posted N270.24 billion in profit before tax, representing a 1.1 per cent increase over the N267.3 billion declared in the same period last year.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc delivered one of the strongest growth performances among tier-one and tier-two lenders, recording a 42 per cent jump in profit before tax to N165.4 billion from N116.42 billion.

However, United Bank for Africa Plc recorded a decline in earnings, with profit before tax falling to N160.7 billion from N204.3 billion in Q1 2025.

BUA Foods Plc reported a profit before tax of N153.76 billion for Q1 2026, according to its recently filed unaudited financial statements on the Nigerian Exchange.

This reflects a 12.74 per cent year-on-year increase from N136.39 billion in Q1 2025, driven largely by reduced operating and finance costs.

BUA Cement Plc released its unaudited financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, reporting a profit before tax of N192.88 billion, up from N99.7 billion in Q1 2025.

The performance was driven by strong revenue growth, with quarterly sales rising to N355 billion from N288 billion in Q1 2025.

Profit after tax jumped to N176 billion from N81 billion, while earnings per share increased to N5.21 from N2.40.

Dangote Cement Plc reported a profit before tax of N421.1 billion during the period under review, representing a 35 per cent increase from N311.9 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

Earnings per share rose to N19.14 from N12.29, underscoring sustained value creation for shareholders.

The company also increased its cement and clinker exports from Nigeria by 71.6 per cent, as the Group’s total installed production capacity reached 55 million tonnes per annum across Africa.

During the period under review, the company completed 10 clinker shipments from Nigeria to neighbouring markets, further consolidating its position as Africa’s leading cement exporter.

According to the company’s unaudited Q1 2026 financial results, total sales volumes increased by 13.8 per cent year-on-year, driven by growth of 11.5 per cent in Nigeria and 19.5 per cent across its pan-African operations.

Telecommunications giant MTN Nigeria reported a profit before tax of N546.42 billion for the quarter, representing a 169.64 per cent increase compared to N202.65 billion recorded in Q1 2025.

The performance marks MTN Nigeria’s second-best quarterly profit before tax since listing, coming just 4 per cent below the N569.59 billion recorded in Q4 2025.

This follows a turnaround in 2025, when the telecom giant returned to profitability after recording losses in 2023 and 2024.

Before the crisis, MTN Nigeria posted a profit after tax of N349 billion in 2022. However, the sharp depreciation of the naira altered the company’s earnings trajectory.

In 2023, MTN slipped into a loss after tax of N137 billion. By 2024, losses had deepened to N400 billion, dragging retained earnings to negative N607 billion and shareholders’ funds to negative N458 billion.

The market reacted sharply at the time. MTN’s share price, which traded as high as N293 during 2024, eventually closed the year at N200.

However, the company has staged a strong recovery. The stock has since rallied from N200 in 2024 to as high as N915 in April 2026 before pulling back to N801.10 as of May 8, 2026.

In the insurance sector, AIICO Insurance recorded gross premiums written of N62.6 billion, while revenue advanced by 11.8 per cent to N36.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026.

The company’s unaudited results for the period ended March 31, 2026, showed that group revenue increased by 11.8 per cent year-on-year to N36.7 billion from N32.8 billion in Q1 2025. Premiums written grew by 14.2 per cent year-on-year to N62.6 billion, compared to N54.8 billion achieved in Q1 2025.

Profit before tax improved, while normalised profit excluding one-off items such as foreign exchange gains rose by 34 per cent to N7.3 billion in Q1 2026 from N5.5 billion in Q1 2025. Normalised profit after tax also increased by 32.4 per cent to N6.5 billion from N5 billion in Q1 2025. Foreign exchange losses rose to N1.6 billion in Q1 2026, compared to N25.2 million in 2025.

Presco Plc declared a profit before tax of N69.24 billion in its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026.

This represents an 18.2 per cent increase from N58.61 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

The agro-allied company recorded modest revenue growth, largely driven by its core crude and refined palm oil products, which continue to account for the bulk of its earnings.

Nestlé Nigeria Plc also reported an impressive financial performance for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, posting double-digit revenue growth and a significant improvement in profitability.

Revenue grew by 11 per cent to N326.13 billion in Q1 2026, compared to N294.88 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.

Gross profit rose to N132.06 billion from N119.72 billion, reflecting improved margins.

Profit before tax increased sharply by 44 per cent to N73.77 billion from N51.15 billion, while profit after tax grew by 29 per cent to N39 billion from N30.18 billion in Q1 2025.

Results from operating activities stood at N75.43 billion, a modest 2 per cent increase from N74.15 billion in the previous year.

The company also recorded a notable improvement in its balance sheet, with total equity rising from N12.9 billion as of December 31, 2025, to N51.6 billion as of March 31, 2026.

A financial analyst, Ayokunle Olubunmi, told Daily Trust that Nigerian firms demonstrated resilience during the period despite prevailing economic challenges.

“For the banks, you can see that they have raised capital over the last couple of months. Since raising that capital, they have needed to deploy it. The deployment of the capital into various assets, including loans and treasury securities, is helping the banks record better earnings,” he said.

Olubunmi noted that companies also benefited from rising commodity prices driven by inflationary pressures.

According to him, tariff hikes and significantly increased data consumption have boosted telecom earnings.

“Data is becoming a necessity. Some people would rather cut back on food than stop paying for data,” he said.

Olubunmi added: “Given the various headwinds and the pressure on consumers’ wallets, these companies have shown remarkable resilience.” (Daily Trust)

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