FirstHoldCo Plc climbed by the maximum daily limit on Friday after reporting a sharp increase in nine-month profit, as stronger fees, a turnaround in trading income and lower loan-loss charges outweighed pressure on its interest business.
The parent of FirstBank rose ₦13.10, or 10%, to close at ₦144.10 on Oct. 23. Profit after tax increased 65.1% to ₦744.45 billion in the nine months through September, while pretax profit rose 60.8% to ₦911.24 billion, according to reporting on its unaudited results.
Fees and Trading Lift Earnings
Net fee and commission income rose 48.1% to ₦316.43 billion. Financial instruments measured at fair value through profit or loss generated a ₦104.59 billion gain, reversing a ₦72.78 billion loss a year earlier. That turnaround alone represents an approximately ₦177.4 billion improvement between the two periods.
Lower credit charges also supported profitability. Loan impairment charges fell about 28.3% to ₦207.1 billion from ₦288.9 billion, while reported recoveries increased to ₦94.3 billion from ₦5.9 billion.
Premium Valuation Raises FY 2026 Expectations
At a price-to-book ratio of 1.73 times, FirstHoldCo trades at a 73% premium to its accounting net assets.
This means investors are no longer simply assessing whether FirstHoldCo can recover; they are paying for an expectation that improved earnings will persist and generate attractive returns on equity.
A price above book value is not, by itself, evidence of overvaluation. But it increases the importance of recurring profitability, asset quality and capital allocation. Strong fee and earnings growth as seen in 9-Month 2026, supports that case.
FirstHoldCo has told investors it expects more than ₦1.2 trillion in full-year pretax profit. Its nine-month result amounts to roughly 76% of that threshold, leaving fourth-quarter performance central to delivering the outlook.
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