Kayyode Tokede
Wema Bank’s Plc for unaudited half year (H1) ended June 30, 2026 declared profit before tax of N154.5 billion, about 53.65 per cent increase from N100.6billion in half year ended Jun 30, 2025, while profit after tax closed at N131.3 billion in H1 2026, up by157 per cent from N87.5 billion in H1 2025.
The H1 2026 performance, however, reinforced the view that the one of Nigeria’s oldest financial institutions has moved into a new phase of earnings expansion.
The H1 2026 profit after tax of N131.37 billion already represents about 67.5 per cent of 2025 earnings, indicating that the bank is on track to surpass its previous profit record.
The latest performance builds on a five years earnings transformation that has seen profit after tax rise from N8.93 billion in 2021 to N194.48 billion in 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate of 116 per cent.
The H1 2026 profit already represents about 67.5 per cent of the bank’s full year 2025 earnings, highlighting the strength of the current growth momentum.
In its results filed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Wema Bank’s Basic Earning Per Share (EPS) dropped by 19.81 per cent to N6.55 per share in H1 2026 from N81.67 per share in H1 2026, a function of the enlarged 40.12 billion share count following 2025’s N150 billion rights issue and N50billion special placement rather than weaker profit, is being priced ahead of the underlying profit before tax growth.
Wema Bank’s N150 billion and N50 billion Rights Issue and special placement were major parts of its Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recapitalisation strategy and are particularly important when assessing the bank’s strong H1 2026 performance.
Meanwhile, Wema Bank’s earnings expansion has been driven largely by strong balance sheet development, higher interest income, improved credit performance and better operating Earnings growth was underpinned by robust expansion in the Bank’s However, Wema Bank earnings growth in H1 2026 was underpinned by robust expansion in the Bank’s core lending activities, with interest income closing H1 2026 at N342.64 billion, about 43 per cent increase over N240.12 billion reported in H1 2025. Consequently, net interest income improved to N195.45billion in H1 2026, representing an increase of 51.26 per cent from N129.218 billion reported in H1 2025 , supported by growth in earning assets and improved asset yields.