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By Chukwuma Umeorah
United Capital Plc reported its strongest financial performance to date for the 2025 financial year, with profit after tax rising by 17 per cent to N28.15 billion, driven by higher trading income and growth in fee-based activities.
Financial statements presented at the company’s annual general meeting in Abuja showed that gross revenue increased by 35 per cent to N58.55 billion from N43.43 billion recorded in 2024. Profit before tax rose by 37 per cent to N41.18 billion, while total comprehensive income stood at N30.97 billion.
The earnings growth was underpinned by a 176 per cent increase in net trading income and a 59 per cent rise in fee and commission income, reflecting stronger activity across the firm’s core business segments.
A breakdown of operations showed that all seven subsidiaries: asset management, trusteeship, securities, investment banking, wealth management, microfinance banking and consumer finance, recorded profits during the year, indicating improved contributions across business lines.
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The board approved a final dividend of N0.70 per share, bringing total dividend for the year to N1.00 per share, equivalent to N18 billion. This represents a 25 per cent increase compared with the N14.4 billion paid in 2024.
Addressing shareholders, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Peter Ashade, said: “2025 was a defining year for United Capital. In a challenging macroeconomic environment, we grew revenue by a third, returned every single subsidiary to profit, and strengthened our capital base. These results are not accidental, they reflect years of deliberate choices around people, products, and discipline.”
The company’s performance comes against a backdrop of tight monetary conditions, exchange rate pressures and evolving regulatory requirements within Nigeria’s financial services sector, factors that have influenced funding costs and investment decisions across the market.
Despite these conditions, the results indicate that diversified income streams, particularly trading and fee-based services, played a central role in sustaining earnings growth during the period.
United Capital also reported an improved capital position, which management said would support future expansion and business growth. The company indicated that its priorities for the current financial year include scaling operations across African markets, deepening digital capabilities and increasing assets under management across its wealth and asset management platforms.
“We enter 2026 with strong momentum and a clear ambition: to continue to build a financial services group that can deploy, manage and utilize capital in a manner that empowers Africans everywhere,” Ashade said.
