Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF) reported a 2.9% increase in nine-month pretax profit to ₦17.36 billion and approved a ₦4.53-per-unit quarterly distribution, as a surge in income from bank deposits helped cushion falling returns on infrastructure loans.
Total income rose 3.7% to ₦19.13 billion in the nine months through September, according to the fund’s unaudited earnings release dated Oct. 8.
But the headline growth masked a shift in its earnings mix: interest income from infrastructure loans fell 25.5%, while bank-deposit interest increased 224.1% to ₦5.1 billion.
The results arrive as NIDF seeks ₦45 billion through its Series 12 capital raise to finance new opportunities and its existing project pipeline. The offer opened Sept. 23 at ₦113.54 per unit, a 23.13% discount to the ₦147.70 exchange closing price on Oct. 5.
Deposit Income Provides Cushion
The Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund attributed the decline in infrastructure-loan interest income primarily to lower yields on Nigeria’s 10-year government bond. The daily average yield fell to 16.24% during the first nine months of 2026 from 18.16% in the corresponding period of 2025—a decline of 1.92 percentage points.
Bank-deposit income supplied an important offset. At ₦5.1 billion, it represented approximately 26.7% of total income for the period.
Fund’s Distribution Streak Continues
The investment committee approved a third-quarter distribution of ₦4.53 per unit. NIDF said this would be its 38th distribution since inception—37 quarterly payments and one special payment—bringing cumulative distributions to ₦110 billion.
The fund also reported a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 19.64%, calculated using net asset value per unit.
The latest ₦4.53 distribution represents approximately 3.1% of the Oct. 5 market price and 4.0% of the Series 12 offer price.
Capital Raise Opens Growth Opportunity
The ₦45 billion Series 12 offer is NIDF’s twelfth capital raise since inception in 2017 and its fourth since listing on the Nigerian Exchange, according to the fund. It has financed more than $625 million in infrastructure projects since inception and currently holds 17 infrastructure loans across seven subsectors.
The proposed raise is substantial relative to its reported capital base of more than ₦131.9 billion: the ₦45 billion target is equivalent to roughly one-third of that base. If successfully raised and deployed, the proceeds could materially increase the fund’s financing capacity.
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