The Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS) has reported a 115.7% increase in profit before tax to N6.49 billion for the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2026. This surge was driven by the company’s sweeping fee structure overhaul, which delivered a sharp rise in revenue and operating profitability.
Profit after tax rose by 74.8% to N4.67 billion, while earnings per share increased to 93.3 kobo from 53.4 kobo a year earlier. The performance represents CSCS’s strongest opening quarter on record and indicates that its controversial fee review is translating into significantly higher earnings.
Total operating income rose 83.7% to N8.28 billion, compared with N4.51 billion in the same period last year. The primary driver was fees income, which surged 95.6% to N7.31 billion from N3.74 billion, accounting for nearly 88% of total operating income during the quarter.
Revenue from products and services also increased by 48.0% to N758.09 million, while investment income rose to N1.52 billion from N1.32 billion. Total operating expenses grew by a comparatively modest 17.3% to N3.31 billion, creating significant operating leverage.
As a result, operating profit nearly tripled to N4.97 billion, while profit before tax more than doubled to N6.49 billion. Although tax expenses increased sharply to N1.83 billion from N340 million, the company still delivered a strong bottom-line performance with profit after tax rising to N4.67 billion.
The results follow CSCS’s extensive pricing review, which introduced a decisive shift toward institutional clients, value-based pricing, and significantly higher transaction charges across key services. The most dramatic changes were concentrated in fixed income services and custodial operations, with OTC trade fees leaping from N15 per million to N500 per million, a 3,233% increase.
Custody-related charges moved from a flat N1,300 to 0.03% of transaction value, unlocking significant upside for large portfolios. The steep jump in fees earning to N7.31 billion in a single quarter, compared with N3.74 billion across the entirety of Q1 2025, suggests that the fixed income and custody changes have already begun flowing through to the income statement.
On the balance sheet, total assets expanded to N69.39 billion as at March 31, 2026, from N62.80 billion at end-December 2025. Investment securities grew to N41.32 billion from N39.59 billion, and retained earnings climbed to N44.08 billion from N39.42 billion, reflecting the accretion of fresh profits. Total equity strengthened to N48.46 billion from N43.79 billion.
CSCS defended the sweeping prices review as necessary to address rising technology, infrastructure, and operating costs while supporting modernization of Nigeria’s capital market ecosystem. The push to deepen revenue generation beyond traditional clearing and settlement services has yielded improved revenue earnings in Q1 2026. If sustained, CSCS could fulfill its promise of improved dividend payouts to shareholders.
The capital market has repriced CSCS shares traded on NASD OTC Securities Exchange, with the stock price rising from N64.21 as of April 10 to close at N83.93 per share as at Thursday, June 11.
CSCS is Nigeria’s central securities depository, providing clearing, settlement, custody, and depository services for transactions executed on the Nigerian Exchange Group, NASD OTC Securities Exchange, and Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange.
