NGX Group 9M Profit Surges 86% to ₦14.69bn as Transaction Fees More Than Double

Trading Activity Feeds the Exchange's Own Earnings

Nigerian Exchange Group Plc has turned the market's own activity boom into a step-change in earnings. The group's unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30, 2026 show revenue of ₦27.26 billion, up from ₦15.16 billion in the same period of 2025, with total income reaching ₦29.57 billion. Profit before tax rose to ₦20.58 billion and profit after tax to ₦14.69 billion, increases of 83% and 86% respectively.

The engine of the result is the same one driving the wider market: trading. Transaction fee income more than doubled to ₦20.68 billion from ₦9.74 billion, and that single line supplied ₦10.94 billion of the ₦12.10 billion growth in revenue. Stronger listing income added support, while the group's stakes in market infrastructure businesses paid off — its share of profit from equity-accounted investees, led by Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), rose about 70% to ₦5.72 billion.

Where the Result Softened

Not every line moved in the group's favour. Treasury investment income eased 3% to ₦2.07 billion, and other income fell 17% to ₦2.31 billion, reflecting weaker earnings from market data, technology services and foreign exchange. Costs also rose sharply: total operating expenses increased 57% to ₦14.71 billion, and the group recorded no finance costs in the period, against ₦708.85 million a year earlier, which flattered the comparison.

The cost pressure was most visible in the third quarter standalone numbers. Revenue for the three months to September rose 36% to ₦9.66 billion, but operating expenses climbed 63% to ₦5.99 billion, with personnel expenses more than doubling to ₦3.38 billion. Operating profit for the quarter slipped 4% to ₦4.25 billion, and a higher tax charge pulled quarterly profit after tax down 7% to ₦4.33 billion, even as quarterly profit before tax edged up to ₦5.83 billion.

What It Means for Investors

The balance sheet strengthened alongside earnings, with total assets rising to ₦79.11 billion from ₦71.05 billion at the end of 2025 and shareholders' equity increasing to ₦61.07 billion from ₦55.20 billion, supported by retained earnings.

For shareholders, the nine-month picture is of an exchange group whose earnings now move almost one-for-one with market activity: when turnover surges, transaction fees and CSCS contributions surge with it. The third-quarter cost jump is the number to watch in the final quarter — if personnel and operating costs keep growing faster than revenue, the operating leverage that made the nine-month result so strong can start to work in reverse.