FirstHoldCo Plc—Nigeria’s largest commercial lender by market valuation—has set a full-year Profit Before Tax (PBT) target of over ₦1.2 trillion ($876 million) for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026.
The forecast, disclosed by First Bank of Nigeria Chief Executive Officer Olusegun Alebiosu in an interview, reflects a significant acceleration in core earnings following the deployment of fresh capital raised during the group’s recent recapitalization drive.
H1 Earnings Velocity Provides Strong Target Runway
The ₦1.2 trillion pre-tax profit target builds on the group’s performance during the first half of the year.
FirstHoldCo recently reported an 83.5% surge in H1 2026 Profit Before Tax to ₦653.5 billion (up from ₦356.1 billion in H1 2025), meaning the bank has already delivered over 54% of its full-year target within the first six months.
Alebiosu attributed the business turnaround to three core operational catalysts:
Capital Allocation Efficiency: Deploying freshly raised equity into high-yielding, low-risk sovereign securities and prime corporate loans.
Cost of Funds Optimization: Cutting interest expenses and overheads, which drove the bank’s Cost-to-Income ratio down to 44.2% in H1 2026 (from 50.5%).
Aggressive Asset Recoveries: Recovering ₦60 billion in non-performing loans during the year, including notable progress on legacy oil and gas exposures.
Restructuring Problematic Oil Exposures to Lower NPL Ratio
Addressing loan quality concerns that previously weighed on the group’s equity valuation, Alebiosu confirmed that First Bank is aggressively restructuring its credit book.
The bank aims to bring its Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio down to less than 10% next year, compared with 13.9% in prior reporting cycles. By working with obligors across the upstream oil and gas sector to adjust facility terms, convert currency exposures, and execute direct asset clawbacks, the bank is clearing legacy credit drags to protect its net interest margin.
With its market capitalization touching ₦5 trillion following major insider purchases by Chairman Femi Otedola, FirstHoldCo enters the second half of 2026 with strong capital buffers, positioning it well to meet its ₦1.2 trillion annual profit benchmark.
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