First HoldCo Plc has revealed that its Group Chairman, Mr Olufemi Otedola, a significant shareholder, has increased his stake in the company with the purchase of 39,313,379 units valued at N1.21 billion.
The disclosure, filed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), revealed that the transaction was executed in Lagos on September 23, 2025, at a share price of N31 per unit, under the identification code NGFBNH000009.
On the same day, Calvados Global Services Limited, a company related to Mr Otedola, also acquired 25,565,289 ordinary shares worth N792.5 million at the same price and with the same transaction code.
According to the company’s second-quarter financials released on July 30, 2025, Mr Otedola previously held a direct stake of 3,212,032,866 units (7.67%) and an indirect stake of 3,465,560,297 units (8.28%).
Following the latest acquisitions, his direct shareholding has risen to 3,251,346,245 units (7.77%), while his indirect holdings now stand at 3,491,125,586 units (8.34%).
The sizeable purchase also spurred activity on the NGX, pushing daily trading volume to 100.9 million shares, the highest so far this half year, surpassing the 86.4 million shares traded on July 17.
Both trades were executed at N31.00 per share, near a daily support zone of N30.00, a pullback that may attract dip-buying investors given the company’s ongoing upward trend.
Market trend:
First HoldCo has had a mildly bullish run in 2025, recording a year-to-date gain of 10%. This performance is modest compared to 2023, when the stock was already up more than 50% by the same point in the year.
The stock opened at N28.05 in January and closed the month higher at N29.95. However, a decline that began in February and extended through April dragged the price below N25.
After stalling in May, the stock staged a strong rebound in June. By July, bullish activity intensified, with the price rallying from N25.50 to N32.25 on a hefty market volume of 408.2 million shares.
August saw a slight continuation of the bullish momentum, but by the close of trading on September 24, the price had eased back to a daily support zone between N30 and N31.
In its half-year financial year, the company reported a pretax profit of N356.1 billion.
Performance
First HoldCo reported a pretax profit of N169.6 billion for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025.
While this reflects a modest 4.58% dip compared to the same period last year, the group still delivered a strong showing, bringing its half-year pretax profit to N356.1 billion.
- The earnings were driven by a surge in interest income, which rose 61.92% year-on-year to N812.1 billion in Q2, up from N501.5 billion a year earlier.
- This lifted half-year interest income to N1.4 trillion, with loans and advances contributing N910.3 billion, investment securities N445.7 billion, and loans to banks N81.2 billion.
Interest expenses also climbed, rising 27.65% to N272.4 billion in the quarter.
- Despite this, net interest income expanded by 87.32% to N539.6 billion. After impairments, net interest income came in at N391.4 billion, representing a 65.16% increase.
The group’s non-interest earnings also improved, with net fee and commission income rising to N74.5 billion compared to N58.4 billion in Q2 2024. A major boost came from foreign exchange losses, which fell sharply to N6.9 billion from N66.4 billion last year.
On the balance sheet, total assets increased by 2.54% to N27.1 trillion, while retained earnings advanced 23.17% to N1.3 trillion.
