L-R: Dr. Gbadebo Aderenle, Managing Director, United Capital Investment Banking; Adetola Fasuyi, Managing Director, United Capital Wealth Management; Dr. Odiri Oginni, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, United Capital Asset Management; Peter Ashade, Group Chief Executive Officer, United Capital Plc; Esther Adeola-Balogun, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, UCEE Microfinance Bank; and Adekunle Olugbile, Head, United Capital Consumer Finance; at the maiden edition of the United Capital Investor Relations Roundtable held in Lagos recently.
Yemisi Izuora
United Capital Plc has posted a sharp jump in earnings for the first half of 2026, with profit after tax climbing 77.5 per cent year-on-year to N21.10 billion. The investment banking and financial services group credited the gains to broad-based strength across its business lines, higher trading income, and growing fee revenue.
Unaudited figures covering the six months to June 30, 2026, showed profit before tax up 79.6 per cent to N24.78 billion, compared with N13.79 billion in the same period last year, while gross earnings grew 57.8 per cent to N37.49 billion. Net operating income climbed to N33.05 billion from N21.32 billion, driven by stronger investment income, fee and commission earnings, and a notable jump in net trading income. Earnings per share rose to N2.34 from N1.32, and annualised return on equity improved to 25.03 per cent from 16.77 per cent a year earlier. The group’s cost-to-income ratio also tightened, falling to 44 per cent from 50 percent, a sign of improving operational efficiency.
Shareholders’ funds grew by close to 25 per cent, reaching N187.09 billion, up from N150.00 billion at the close of December 2025, while total assets stood at N1.64 trillion by mid-year. Assets under management climbed to N1.04 trillion, a figure the group says cements its standing among Nigeria’s top investment managers.
United Capital pointed to consistent performance across its subsidiaries as the driver behind the results. Its investment banking division stayed active on major capital market deals, acting as issuing house or adviser on transactions including the N501.2 billion Series 1 NBET Finance Company bond and the N157 billion United Bank for Africa rights issue, alongside several commercial paper placements for large corporate clients. The group’s asset management arm now oversees more than N1 trillion on behalf of over 100,000 retail and institutional clients, with mutual fund assets having grown over 350 per cent since 2021.
The brokerage arm, United Capital Securities, had an equally strong six months, growing revenue 64 per cent year-on-year and doubling its profit before tax. It executed N287.6 billion worth of share trades in the period, placing it seventh among the Nigerian Exchange’s top ten brokers. Meanwhile, the group’s wealth management unit saw its flagship products expand meaningfully: the UC Octus offshore portfolio grew 55 per cent since the start of the year to N7.47 billion, and the Investment Planning product more than doubled to N27.6 billion, generating over N2 billion in revenue in the second quarter alone.
UCEE Microfinance Bank, the group’s microfinance subsidiary, also delivered standout numbers, booking N437 million in profit before tax for the half-year, more than twice what it earned across all of 2025. Its loan book expanded by 47 per cent, and digital transactions processed through its mobile app surpassed N52.9 billion.
Heading into the back half of 2026, United Capital said it anticipates elevated global interest rates and persistent inflationary pressure, along with tougher competition for available funding. Still, the group expressed confidence that technology-driven investment opportunities and further expansion into African markets would support continued growth.
It said its strategy for the rest of the year centres on expanding across Africa, innovating on product offerings, deepening financial inclusion, advancing digital transformation, sharpening operational efficiency, and continuing to grow assets under management as it works to strengthen its standing in the investment services sector.