United Capital 9M Profit Surges 65% to ₦34.83bn as Gross Earnings Hit ₦62.47bn

Growth Across the Group

United Capital Plc's unaudited nine-month results show growth that was broad rather than dependent on a single line. Gross earnings reached ₦62.47 billion, and the largest contributor to the step-up was investment income: net investment income rose to ₦22.03 billion, almost twice its level a year earlier, as the group earned more from its investment book in a high-rate environment.

That top-line strength carried through to the bottom line despite a rising cost base and a difficult operating backdrop of exchange-rate volatility, high interest rates and regulatory headwinds. Profit before tax of ₦41.58 billion was up 66%, and profit after tax grew slightly faster than gross earnings in percentage terms at the pre-tax level, lifting earnings per share to 258 kobo.

All Seven Subsidiaries in Profit

Management pointed to diversification as the reason the result held together. The group's seven subsidiaries — spanning asset management, trusteeship, securities trading, investment banking, wealth management, microfinance banking and consumer finance — each recorded a profit in the period, so no single business had to carry the group.

The balance sheet expanded more modestly than earnings. Total assets reached ₦1.81 trillion, up from ₦1.76 trillion at the end of 2025, a reminder that the nine-month story was mainly about income generation rather than balance-sheet growth.

What It Means for Investors

United Capital has now shown it can grow earnings by half or more in a year when many financial groups are still absorbing rate and currency shocks. For shareholders, the questions from here are about mix and durability: how much of the investment-income surge repeats if rates fall as the Central Bank eases, and whether fee-based businesses such as asset management and investment banking can keep growing their share of earnings so the group is less dependent on its investment book.

The company said it would continue investing in technology, research, risk management and investor relations, and would pursue expansion only in African markets that fit its long-term strategy.