FCMB Group Plc posted an impressive ₦79.3 billion profit before tax for the first half of 2025, reflecting a 23% year-on-year increase, fueled by a significant surge in net interest income and improved asset yields. Gross revenue jumped to ₦529.2 billion, up 41.3% from the previous year, supported by a 70.3% growth in interest income. Despite this strong performance, non-interest income declined by 35.1% due to a ₦36.6 billion drop in currency revaluation gains.
Net interest income almost doubled to ₦207.4 billion while net interest margin improved to 9.1%, up from 6.3% in 2024. Digital services made notable gains, increasing 60% year-on-year to ₦73.6 billion and contributing nearly 14% of total earnings. Although operating expenses rose 46.1% to ₦153.2 billion, the cost-to-income ratio improved to 57%, down from 59.9% in the previous year.
Impairment losses on financial assets climbed to ₦36.2 billion, following FCMB’s exit from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s loan forbearance programme, raising the cost of risk from 1.8% to 2.8%. Net profit after tax rose by 23% year-on-year, closing at ₦73.4 billion.
Across divisions, the Banking Group drove performance with 82% of profit before tax and a 41.3% increase. Consumer Finance grew by 54.5%, accounting for 11.6% of profit before tax, while Investment Management rose 10% and contributed 4.8%. Investment Banking saw a 48.9% decline due to a prior-year divestment gain, making up 1.4% of Group profit before tax
FCMB’s balance sheet strengthened, with total assets rising 6.9% to ₦7.54 trillion. Loans and advances grew modestly by 1.1% to ₦2.38 trillion, influenced by currency revaluation and loan repayments. Customer deposits expanded by 5.6% to ₦4.55 trillion, led by a stronger mix of low-cost deposits now representing 69.3% of total deposits, up from 57.5% at the end of 2024.
Assets under management rose 15.5% to ₦1.58 trillion, while capital raised through investment banking surged by over 600% to ₦2.97 trillion. Balance sheet efficiency improved as a favorable deposit mix and better capital deployment helped reduce funding costs. Net interest margin increased sequentially from 7.9% in Q1 to 10.1% in Q2, resulting in a half-year margin of 9.1%.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has verified the second phase of FCMB’s ₦144.6 billion capital raise, including a ₦22.5 billion mandatory convertible note, which will increase the issued shares to approximately 42.8 billion. FCMB Group remains committed to improving operational efficiency, growing its digital and retail footprint, and sustaining its earnings trajectory into the second half of the year.
