Abubakar Suleiman, a non-executive director at Sterling Financial Holdings, has increased his stake in the company with the purchase of 19,684,442 share units valued at N160.6 million.
The transaction, with the identification code NGSTERLNHCO9, was disclosed in a filing on the Nigerian Exchange, showing that the units were purchased on August 6, 2025, at N8.16 per share.
Before the purchase, Suleiman held 580.3 million units, representing 1.11% of the company’s share capital, as stated in Sterling’s recently released financial statements.
With the latest acquisition, his total shareholding has risen to 600 million units, now amounting to 1.15%, making him the second-largest director shareholder after Mr. Yemi Odubiyi, who holds 707.9 million units or 1.36%.
Suleiman’s move follows two other significant share purchases made since the company released its half-year financials on July 30, 2025.
- Temitayo Adegoke, the Chief Operating Officer, acquired 5.7 million shares worth N39.4 million, while Seven Degrees North Limited made an indirect purchase of 20.8 million units valued at N141.5 million.
These recent share purchases were likely spurred by the company’s strong first-half performance and positive outlook.
Sterling’s H1 2025 performance:
Sterling Financial Holdings delivered a strong performance in the first half of 2025, with pre-tax profit rising to N45.5 billion, well above the N17.3 billion reported in the same period last year.
This growth was largely driven by a surge in interest income, which climbed 38.29% to N167.1 billion from N120.8 billion in H1 2024.
- A significant portion of this came from loans and advances to customers, contributing N115.4 billion.
Although income increased, interest expenses rose only slightly by 10.2% to N69.7 billion, allowing net interest income to reach N97.4 billion, nearly twice the N57.5 billion recorded the previous year.
The bank also saw solid improvements in other income streams.
- Net fees and commissions rose by 45% to N22 billion, net trading income edged up by 5% to N13 billion, and ‘other operating income’ jumped 178.62% to N10.3 billion.
These gains pushed operating profit to N142.8 billion, up from N88.9 billion in the first half of 2024, helping boost overall profitability despite higher expenses.
Sterling’s balance sheet also expanded, with total assets growing to N4.08 trillion from N3.5 trillion, and retained earnings rising 51.54% to N95.5 billion.
Beyond its strong financials, the company also shows positive momentum on the stock market.
Market trend:
Sterling is currently on a bullish run in the Nigerian stock market, trading above N7 as of August 2025.
The stock opened the year at N5.60 and stalled through the first and second quarters, with the price hovering around N5.70 until the end of June.
However, bullish sentiment picked up in July, pushing the stock towards the N7 mark.
So far in early August, STERLINGNG has surpassed N7.00, likely driven by investor confidence in the company’s strong fundamentals.
At present, Sterling shares are priced at N7.80, with a year-to-date performance of 39.29%.
So what does this mean for the sterling stock exactly? Do we expect to see a continuous increase in the share price
Sterling bank stock share shares have a huge potential in the nearest term, so what are waiting for? Don’t contemplate buy and thank your self later .