From Secrecy to Openness: Why 2025 Actually Meant Something for NNPCL

In 2025, NNPCL didn’t become perfect—it became more honest. After years of secrecy, the company began opening its books, stabilizing production, and making tougher, commercially driven choices. Profits grew, gas projects advanced, and fuel prices became less chaotic. For once, Nigerians weren’t asked for blind trust, but given data to examine.

Opera News, Vanguard, Punch, Linda Ikeji, Others Generate N250m In Q3

Nigeria’s most visited online news platforms under the news and current affairs category received a cumulative traffic volume of 250.6 million between August and September 2023, according to the latest Digital News Ranking report by Squirrel Media Technologies for Q3, 2023. The news platforms include Opera News App, Vanguard Online, Punch Online, Legit, Daily Post, The Guardian Online, Premium Times, The Nation Online, Sahara Reporters, and Tribune Online. Launched in March this year, the Quarterly Report is intended to provide media relations professionals with resources that offer deeper insights into the performance of Nigeria’s digital news platforms. The latest ranking rated hundreds of digital news publishers based on their total quarterly traffic volume, and covered publications in the most popular news categories, including News and Current Affairs, Business and Finance, Technology and Startups, and Entertainment and Lifestyle. The latest reports show that Opera News App, Vanguard Online, Punch Online, Legit, and Daily Post emerged as the most visited platforms in Q3. Opera News tops the chart with 45.2 million cumulative views. Vanguard online traffic volume recorded a 5 per cent increase in Q3 to 40.2 million, up from 38.2 million in Q2, making it the second most visited platform in Nigeria within the period under review. New Telegraph joined the millionaire’s club – a group of online news platforms with a traffic volume of at least a million per quarter. The platform’s traffic grew by 28% to 1.2 million from 908,674 in Q2’23. All the news platforms with less than 50K traffic per month were also excluded from the Q3 ranking In the online Business News Ranking, only 10 platforms with more than 50,000 traffic volume were included in the report with Business Insider Africa, Nairametrics and BusinessDay generating over a million traffic volume per quarter. The total impressions generated by all 10 platforms reported in Q3 stood at 25.5 million, up from 14.7 million total impressions from 16 platforms in Q2. Business Insider Africa, Nairametrics, and BusinessDay accounted for 88.55% of the total traffic share generated by this segment. Brandspur continues to make an incredible push with more than half a million traffic impressions. Other platforms with notable traffic volume include iBrandTV, Business Post and MSME Africa. In the Tech News Category, TechCabal sustained its lead of the category with a total traffic volume of 2.5 million, a 13% increase from the 2.1 million traffic volume in Q2. Only TechCabal, Technext and GadgetStripe generated more than a million impressions per quarter. Consolidating on its gains in Q2, Technext joined the millionaires club, as its traffic volume surged 82% to 1.8 million in Q3 compared to 977K recorded in Q2 2023. In the Entertainment & Lifestyle Category, only 7 platforms that are worth their onions in this category were considered in the ranking. Linda Ikeji’s Blog remains the leader in this segment, accounting for more than 65% of the industry’s total traffic volume. Commenting on the report, the co-founder of SuirrelPR, James Ezechukwu said the latest reports reveal the growing influence of the dominant players and the tremendous opportunity available to advertisers looking to reach their target market through these digital news platforms. “We remain committed to providing performance-based insights that will enable our partners to make informed media placement decisions. From this report, we see how events influence readership and how some platforms leverage their creativity in content marketing to maintain their dominance of each category,” Ezechukwu said.

BUA Sustains Strong Performance As Profit Rises By 54% To N105.6bn

Despite the numerous political and economic headwinds impacts experienced in the year, BUA Foods Plc sustained her leadership position in the Foods with a Profit After Tax (PAT) of N105.6 billion for the nine months period ended in September 2023.The amount represents a growth of 54 per cent against N68.8 reported the same period of last year.The company revenue grew by 81 per cent y-o-y to N524.4 billion at the end of September this year from N289.8 billion reported at the corresponding period of 2022.The growth in revenue according to the company was due to a year-on-year increase of 74.2 per cent in Sugar to N315.2 billion from N180.9 billion reported in 2022, a 126 per cent increase in Flour to N149.9 billion against N66.2 billion in the preceding year and 37 per cent growth in Pasta to N58.3 billion from N42.7 billion in the comparative period of last year.According to the company result, new division Rice business contributed N995 million to the top line during the same period, adding that across the business divisions there was significant growth in volume sold impacting the overall performance as well.The key drivers include slight price adjustments to reflect high input costs, volume growth and gradual commissioning of its expansion projects.The increase in cost of sales added 74.1 per cent to N340.6 billion in the third quarter from 195.6 billion in 2022 and was driven by an increase in raw materials cost and energy cost. The high input cost environment and further devaluation of the Naira against the US Dollar weighed heavily on prices for raw materials. This resulted in higher cost of production. Gross profit increased by 95.1 per cent to N183.8 billion in nine month in year 2023 against N94.2 billion in the same period of last year even as gross profit margin appreciated by 250bps to 35.0 per cent within the reviewed period against 32.5 per cent recorded in the preceding year due to the slight selling price adjustment and new market penetration for sales within the year.

Unity Bank Records N38.2bn Gross Earnings In Q3

Retail lender, Unity Bank Plc has recorded gross earnings of N38 billion for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023, with customer deposits appreciating by 5% to N344.4 billion within the period, indicating business growth and customer confidence in the Bank. A review of the lender’s unaudited nine-month results released to the Nigerian Exchange Group Limited showed that the Bank continued to maintain its expansionary and customer-centric model with total loans and advances rising to N222.8 billion, even as interest and similar income stood at N33 billion, which underscores the Bank’s strategic focus to reinvigorate and sustain asset creation that will deliver returns to shareholders. Other key highlights of the 9-month financials include the total assets which stood at N423.4 billion; net fee and income commission, N4.4 billion within the period. However, the recent FX regulation impacted the Bank’s bottom line, which can be reversed as the Naira appreciates. Commenting on the result, the Managing Director/CEO of Unity Bank Plc, Mrs. Tomi Somefun said that the Bank is focusing on its efforts to recapitalize the institution, aggressively drive asset creation, innovate with products to compete favourably in new markets and relentlessly drive the pursuit of digital Banking innovation in order to shake off and completely reverse negative positions. She stated that despite the tough operating environment, the deposit position continues to witness steady appreciation, which supports the business as the Bank drives initiatives to ramp up transactions as part of its strategy for the short and medium term. “This also means that the Bank enjoys market confidence, which will enable the institution to thrive better in the months ahead with increased business conversion, profitability and growth needed to achieve sustainable returns,” she said. Added to the above, Somefun also stated that “the Bank is seeing encouraging uptake in its digital Banking services and with expansion envisaged in the pursuit of enhanced retail franchise, fintech partnership, consumer banking and other innovative retail loans as well as diversification of portfolio investment, the outlook remains one of optimism’’. Analysts expressed confidence that re-engaging the market in the short and medium term by deepening the retail end as part of the business strategy will drive more income streams to boost both market share and financial position in the days ahead.

Zenith Bank Records 114% Growth, 1.33trn In Q3 2023

Zenith Bank Plc has announced its unaudited results for the third quarter ended 30 September 2023, recording a remarkable triple-digit growth of 114% from N620.6 billion reported in Q3 2022 to N1.33 trillion in Q3 2023. According to the bank, the performance demonstrates the Group’s resilience and strong market share despite a very challenging macroeconomic environment. According to the bank’s unaudited third quarter financial results presented to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX),the triple-digit growth in the topline also enhanced the bottom line, as the Group recorded a 149% Year on Year (YoY) increase in profit before tax, growing from N202.5 billion in Q3 2022 to N505 billion in Q3 2023.  Profit after tax also grew by 149% from N174.3 billion to N434.2 billion in the same period. The growth in the topline arose from both interest income and non-interest income.  Interest income grew in the current period by 72% to N670.9 billion from N390.8 billion in Q3 2022, while non-interest income grew by 186% from N212 billion to N607.2 billion. The growth in profit is similarly attributable to the twin effects of the improvement in interest and non-interest income. Interest income increased because of the growth in risk assets as well as the effective pricing thereon. The non-interest income growth is largely driven by the revaluation gain due to the unification of exchange rates during the year. The cost-to-income ratio reduced from 55.8% in Q3 2022 to 37.8% in the current period.  Impairment levels increased due to the deliberate incremental provisions necessitated by the conservative approach towards the heightened risk environment and the creation of a counter-cyclical buffer needed to deal with any impending volatility of exchange rates.  This caused the cost of risk to deteriorate from 1.3% in Q3 2022 to 5.5% in Q3 2023, however this is an improvement from Q2 2023 where cost of risk printed at 8.8% because of prudent management of risk assets. Total assets grew by 48% from N12.3 trillion to N18.2 trillion in the period ended 30 September 2023, mainly driven by growth in customers’ deposits. Customers’ deposits grew by 49% from N8.98 trillion in December 2022 to N13.38 trillion in September 2023.  The growth in customers’ deposits cuts across both corporate and retail segments with the savings portfolio (all currencies) growing from N2.7 trillion in December 2022 to N4.6 trillion in September 2023. The Group is optimistic of finishing the year 2023 strong, with focus on sustainable quick wins that would boost growth across all business segments and enhance stakeholder value.

TAJBank Records Highest Tier-1 Capital, Pre-Tax Profit

TAJBank Limited, a Nigeria’s non-interest bank has recorded the highest Tier-1 capital in the non-interest banking sub-sector in the first half of 2023. This is according to a statement by TAJBank’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Hamid Joda. Joda said that the audited financial statements of the bank also reflected an increase in its Profit Before Tax (PBT) to N6.019 billion, which is the highest in the banking sub-sector and surpassed analysts’ projections. TAJBank also made history early this year when it listed the first tranche of N100 billion Sukuk Bond on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) after the successful issuance. Joda said that a further analysis of the latest audited financial statements showed that its total assets rose from N212.021 billion in December 2022 to N335.017 billion at the end of June 2023. He said that the figures indicated a 58 per cent increase. “Its gross earnings increased by 67 per cent from N136.149 billion at the end of December 2022 to N227.031 billion as of the end of June. “Other highlights of the bank’s financial scorecard in first half of 2023 reflected that the financing also significantly increased by 62 per cent from N78.235 billion recorded as of December 2022 to N126.725 billion by June. “The deposits base surged to N251.250 billion from N161.958 billion as of December 2022; while its total equity grew by 88 per cent from N19.135 billion in December 2022 to N36.706 billion as of June,’” he said. Joda, attributed TAJBank’s enviable feat to the increasingly proactive strategies being adopted by the management to respond to emerging trends in non-interest banking and deployment of the right resources. “What I can say about TAJBank’s latest scorecard is that we have demonstrated that hard work pays. “As we have maintained over the past three years, our interest is in our customers and we are pursuing this goal with all resources available to us to tell the whole world that TAJBank is the way to go in non-interest banking. “To demonstrate our commitment to this customer-friendly corporate slogan, we are investing in world-class technologies and digital payment solutions in our services nationwide,” he said. “In pursuit of non-interest financial inclusion drive, we have also opened five branches this year and plan to open more in other states in the next few months”, he said. TAJBank’s bank’s Executive Director, Mr Sherif Idi, said that the successes were made possible by the bank’s shareholders and customers. “Our thanks go to our growing customers and shareholders whose belief in our vision and capacity to drive TAJBank to the leading edge of market competition has taken us this far. “Let me assure them that TAJBank’s management and staff will continue to do its best to serve them better and protect their interests, which we value so much in all areas of operations,” he said.

UBA Anchors H2 Profitability On Customer-Centric Values

The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has pledged its commitment to customer-centric values as it aims to build upon its successes to sustain profitability by the end of the current financial year. UBA’s Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba, who gave the assurance at the half year Investor Conference Call Presentation in Lagos, explained that the bank’s impressive performance was characterised by robust revenue generation, prudent cost management, and strategic capital allocation.  UBA is a leading pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than thirty-seven million customers across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries. Alawuba’s assurance comes on the back of exceptional performance in the first half of the 2023 financial year. According to him, these achievements have provided the bank with a solid foundation upon which to further enhance its position as a leading financial institution in Africa and beyond. In its first half results ended June 30, 2023, UBA showcased its financial resilience and strength, surpassing expectations with remarkable performance as it reported a profit before tax of N404 billion, representing a rise by 371 per cent, compared to N85.75 billion recorded in the first half of 2022.  With that performance, UBA became the most profitable financial institution in Nigeria. The result also showed that Operating Income grew by 206.6 per cent to N783.96 billion in June 2023; higher than N255.67 billion reported a year earlier, just as it delivered a 164 per cent growth in its Gross Earnings which rose to N981.78 billion as at June 2023, up from N372.36 billion recorded last year in June 2022. Alawuba said, “These figures reflect our ability to finance future growth and help individual customers, families, businesses and non-profit organisations to carry out their projects. At UBA, we remain focused on our Customer First philosophy and growing our share in the various markets we operate.  “Thanks to our scale, geographic footprint and business diversification, we have numerous opportunities to grow, which should allow us to remain our customers’ first choice and to make the most of those opportunities, our focus is on implementing plans that enhance the existing network across all the countries and businesses, and improving the profitability of our core businesses through disciplined capital allocation.” He further promised that notwithstanding the accomplishments in the first half of the year, the Bank is committed to rendering excellent services to its customers and staying focused on its strategy and corporate objectives. Just last week, the Bank announced the rolling out of a special financing initiative aimed at powering the growth of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) all over Africa. In partnership with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat, UBA is to inject up to $6 billion into eligible SMEs across Africa over the next  three years. “Under the initiative, SMEs specializing in agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, automotive and transport, and logistics will have access to tailored financing solutions. This move is especially beneficial for businesses that operate within these sectors which heavily rely on imports,” Alawuba said. UBA’s Executive Director Finance & Risk Management, Ugo Nwaghodoh, while highlighting the bank’s investment in digital banking, added that the bank continues to gain traction from its huge investments in technology. “Our investments in state-of-the-art technology continue to yield expected results, evident in the huge boost of our digital banking income, which grew 53,7 per cent year-on-year to N57.2 billion. These gains have enabled us to optimize net earnings amid the accelerating inflationary pressure, currency devaluation, and increased regulatory induced cost,” he explained.  He added that focusing on the bank’s sustained growth across its African Markets, UBA remains focused towards delivering innovative and personalised financial products and services that cater to the unique needs of its diverse customer base.

Conoil Grows Earnings To N145.8bn In 2022

Conoil Plc has reported gross earnings of N145.8 billion for the 2022 financial year. The amount represents an increase of 5.3 per cent against N138.2 billion in the corresponding period of 2021. The major oil marketer in a statement at the weekend on its audited results for the year ending December 31, 2022, said despite the massive developmental challenges in the country and the tough operating environment, its Profit Before Tax (PBT) grew by 60.1 per cent to N6.13 billion in 2022 from N3.83 billion in 2021, while Profit After Tax (PAT) increased by 60.1 per cent from N3.08 billion to N4.96 billion in the same period. With the significant improvement in profitability in the petroleum-marketing subsector, Conoil’s earnings per share rose to N7.14, representing a 60.8 percent increase over the N4.44 earned in 2021. The company also recorded an increase of 22 per cent in net from N53.98 billion to N65.91 billion. Thrilled by the impressive all-round performance, shareholders at the company’s 53rd Annual General Meeting at the weekend, unanimously approved the proposed final dividend payout of N1.734 billion, which translates to N2.50 per share, for the 2022 financial year. Conoil had assured the shareholders of its commitment to continue to deliver strong and sustainable performance that would enhance returns to its shareholders. The Chairman, Conoil Plc, Dr. Mike Adenuga (jnr), in his address to the shareholders at the meeting, said that company remained motivated in creating excellent value for its shareholders, while also ensuring that its share price remained on the rise. He said, “We have shown a consistent ability to improve our operating margin and grow our volumes across all our locations. We have a great brand portfolio with energized and talented personnel with a reach pan-Nigerian. Our overriding goal is to ensure the continued delivery of excellent services to our customers and ultimately ensuring that our shareholders are rewarded. “Conoil Plc plans to consolidate on the progress made in the previous years to deliver a strong and sustainable performance that enhances returns to our shareholders. “Regardless of the odds, the company is marching forward in the year with confidence and optimism, as it strategically and continuingly positions its business to take advantage of key opportunities,” Adenuga assured the shareholders. Looking ahead, the Conoil Chairman noted that while there might be challenges posed by the rapidly changing geopolitical and socio-economic environment, Conoil would, however, concentrate on the strategies that have given it the greatest dividend. He said the Federal Government has stated critical reforms, such as the elimination of the petrol subsidy and reforms in the foreign exchange market.  Towards this end, he said Conoil would concentrate on the strategies that have given it the greatest dividend. “The Company will grow its earnings, improve profitability and asset quality and deliver competitive returns to its esteemed shareholders.”

Access Holdings’ Half-Year Profit Hits N940bn

Access Holdings’ net profit for the first half of the year rose by about 52 per cent compared to the corresponding period of last year as its half-year revenue reached N900 billion mark for the first time ever. Gross earnings for the period climbed by 58.9 per cent to N940 billion, putting the financial services group on track to dwarf the N1.4 trillion reported for full year 2022, when the current year winds down. Access Bank anchored the growth on fair value and foreign exchange gain, which expanded by approximately 50 per cent to N192 billion. That followed a major revamp of the Nigerian foreign exchange system towards the end of the second quarter, which triggered a reasonable drop in the value of the naira against the dollar but opened the door for the lender to gain big after converting its financial assets denominated in the foreign currency to the naira. At 13.5 per cent, improvement in net interest income was paltry as the cash the corporation paid savers as an incentive for holding their deposits ate away at most of the interest it generated during the period, which originally had surged by as much as 63 per cent. That expense alone consumed N382.6 billion of the entire revenue.Taxable profit advanced to N167.6 billion from N97.8 billion a year earlier, while profit for the period rose 52.4 per cent to N135.4 billion. Ironically, Access Holdings’ post-tax profit lagged those of its other peers who come behind it among Nigeria’s five biggest banks, including UBA, Zenith, GTCO and FBN Holdings in indication of the group’s current inability to tap the vast potentiality of its assets to boost earnings. Its total assets stood at N20.8 trillion in June in a big leap from N15 trillion at the end of last year, following a banking acquisition in Angola and a number of similar deals in the pipeline with Standard Chartered Bank in Cameroon, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and also Angola. Access Holdings declared an interim dividend of N0.30 per share on Saturday equivalent to a payout of N10.7 billion, compared to the N0.20 per share it announced a year earlier. The stock has yielded 103 per cent since the beginning of the year.

DisCos raked in N247.33bn revenue in Q1 2023 -NBS

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that there was a slight increase in the number of total number of customers in the second quarter of 2023 with the number moving to 11.47 million from 11.27 million in the first quarter of 2023, indicting a 1.84 per cent increase. In its Nigeria Electricity Report Q2 2023: Energy Billed, Revenue Generated and Customers By DISCOS, the bureau stated that on a year-on-year basis, customer numbers in Q2 2023 rose by 6.17% from 10.81 million reported in Q2 2022. Similarly, metered customers stood at 5.47 million in Q2 2023, indicating a growth of 3.10% from 5.31 million recorded in the preceding quarter. “On a year-on-year basis, this grew by 10.40% from the figure reported in Q2 2022 which was 4.96 million. In addition, estimated customers during the quarter were 6.00 million, higher by 0.72% from 5.96 million in Q1 2023. “On a year-on-year basis, estimated customers increased by 2.58% in Q2 2023 from 5.85 million in Q2 2022,” it said. The coordinating agency for all statistics in Nigeria added that revenue collected by the DISCOs in Q2 was N263.08 billion from N247.33 billion in Q1 2023. “On a year-on-year basis, revenue generated in the reference period rose by 39.63% from N188.41 billion recorded in Q2 2022. “Electricity supply was 5,909.83 (Gwh) in Q2 2023 from 5,851.87 (Gwh) in the previous quarter. However, on a year-on-year basis, electricity supply increased by 13.06% compared to 5,226.97 (Gwh) reported in Q2 2022,” it said.