VFD Group Plc has reported a 96 per cent year-on-year increase in profit after tax to N13.00bn for the nine months ended 30 September 2026, up from N6.63bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
According to the group’s unaudited financial results approved by its Board of Directors, profit before tax rose 92 per cent to N15.34bn from N7.99bn, while gross earnings increased 35 per cent to N81.88bn from N60.72bn. The strong earnings performance reflected growth in the group’s investment activities, improved operating efficiency, and the continued expansion of its financial asset portfolio.
Earnings per share nearly doubled to 75 kobo from 38 kobo, while profit attributable to shareholders increased 97 per cent to N9.52bn, highlighting the improvement in earnings available to the group’s owners. A breakdown of the results showed that net investment income, the group’s largest revenue contributor, rose 59 per cent to N72.18bn from N45.45bn a year earlier. Net revenue increased 42 per cent to N77.52bn, while operating profit advanced 47 per cent to N58.53bn.
The group also recorded improvements in operating efficiency, with its cost-to-income ratio declining to 24.5 per cent from 26.9 per cent. Impairment charges fell 44 per cent to N1.29bn, supporting the growth in operating profit. However, finance costs increased 36 per cent to N43.33bn, reflecting the cost of funding the group’s expanding investment portfolio. Despite the higher funding costs, profit before tax nearly doubled during the period.
Total assets rose 30 per cent to N577.64bn as at 30 September 2026, from N445.81bn at the end of December 2025. Investment in financial assets more than doubled to N217.08bn, while funds under management increased 84 per cent to N142.52bn. Shareholders’ funds also grew 87 per cent to N130.02bn, reflecting a stronger capital position as the group continued to expand its investment activities.
At the parent company level, VFD Group Plc recorded a significant improvement in profitability, with profit after tax rising to N6.18bn from N300m in the corresponding period of 2025. Gross earnings increased 84 per cent to N36.52bn, while net investment income rose 123 per cent to N32.53bn. Profit before tax climbed to N7.23bn from N350m, and earnings per share increased to 49 kobo from two kobo.
The company’s shareholders’ funds rose 131 per cent to N94.30bn, while borrowings declined 14 per cent to N108.02bn. Its borrowings-to-equity ratio consequently fell to 1.1 times from 3.1 times at the beginning of the year. The results come as VFD Group continues to deploy the proceeds of its N50.67bn rights issue, raised to strengthen its capital base and support its growth strategy. During the third quarter, the group also raised N22.75bn through an A1-rated commercial paper issuance, providing additional funding for its investment activities.
In another strategic development, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Anchoria Capital Group as a capital market holding company, supporting the group’s efforts to consolidate and expand its capital market operations.
Commenting on the results, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of VFD Group Plc, Nonso Okpala, said the near-doubling of profit after tax reflected stronger performance from the group’s core investment activities, alongside efforts to strengthen its financial position and build a more sustainable business.
“Our profit after tax has almost doubled, reflecting stronger performance from our core investment activities,” Okpala said. “Beyond the numbers, we have continued to strengthen the Group’s financial position, deploy the capital raised and build the leadership structure required to sustain our performance.”
He noted that the appointment of Mrs Ijeoma Emezie-Ezigbo as Deputy Managing Director, effective 5 October 2026, formed part of the group’s broader effort to strengthen executive leadership and succession planning.
“The appointment of Mrs Emezie-Ezigbo as our first Deputy Managing Director is an important milestone,” he added. “It reinforces our commitment to building an institution with the leadership depth, governance and capacity to deliver sustainable value over the long term.”
Emezie-Ezigbo, who becomes the first person to occupy the position since the group’s establishment, brings more than two decades of experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, transaction advisory, and business valuation across West Africa and Canada. Before her appointment, she served as Partner and Head of Transaction Services, West Africa, at KPMG Nigeria.
Looking ahead, Executive Director, Finance, VFD Group Plc, Folajimi Adeleye, stated that the group would focus on disciplined capital deployment, funding efficiency, leadership succession, and the expansion of its capital markets business through Anchoria Capital Group.
“As we enter the final quarter of the year, our priorities remain clear: deploy capital responsibly across our investment businesses, improve funding efficiency, strengthen leadership succession and continue expanding our capital markets operations through Anchoria Capital Group,” Adeleye said.
The principal investment company, which invests across financial services, capital market operations, real estate and hospitality, market infrastructure, and retail technology, maintains active investments in Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa.