Nigerian firms post record naira profits, but dollar earnings recovery lags
Nigerian companies reported record naira profits in H1 2026, but when measured in dollars, profitability has only modestly recovered to pre-2023 levels after the naira's sharp depreciation following 2023 FX reforms.
The naira fell from about N426/$ in 2022 to N1,518/$ in 2025 and averaged N1,376/$ in H1 2026, meaning firms needed to boost naira earnings by roughly 256% just to keep dollar profits flat. Aggregate PAT rose from N1.56 trillion in 2022 ($3.65 bn) to N6.17 trillion in 2025 ($4.06 bn)—an 11.2% dollar increase. In H1 2026 the same firms earned N4.06 trillion ($2.95 bn), already 80.8% of their full-year 2022 dollar profit, with 12 of the 29 companies surpassing their 2022 dollar earnings in just six months.
Sector‑level shows uneven recovery—agriculture (Presco), consumer goods (Nigerian Breweries, Unilever, Cadbury), banking (FCMB, Wema Bank, FirstHoldCo), insurance (NEM, Mutual Benefits), cement (WAPCO) and energy (Seplat, Aradel) all posted H1 2026 dollar profits above their 2022 totals, while others remain below pre-2023 levels. Investors should look at dollar‑adjusted earnings rather than headline naira figures to gauge true performance.
Given the mixed recovery, will you weigh naira‑profit headlines against dollar‑adjusted returns when assessing Nigerian stocks, or focus on sectors showing sustained dollar‑growth?