Nigerian Exchange Group Plc delivered a record performance in the first half of 2026, as stronger trading activity across the Nigerian capital market pushed revenue and profit sharply higher.
Revenue rose to ₦17.60 billion in the six months ended June 2026, up 118 percent from ₦8.08 billion recorded during the same period last year.
Total income also increased by 96 percent to ₦19.34 billion, while profit before tax jumped 170 percent to ₦14.76 billion from ₦5.46 billion in H1 2025. Profit after tax reached ₦10.36 billion, 146 percent higher than the ₦4.22 billion reported a year earlier.
NGX Group announced an interim dividend of ₦1.30 per ordinary share, following the stronger earnings and cash generation recorded during the period.
Trading Activity Becomes NGX Group’s Biggest Growth Driver
A large part of NGX Group’s growth came from the rise in transactions taking place across the market.
Transaction fees increased by 169 percent to ₦13.34 billion, compared with ₦4.96 billion in the first half of 2025. That means transaction fees accounted for more than three-quarters of NGX Group’s revenue during the period.
That is important because NGX Group earns more when investors trade more frequently and when activity across the market increases.
Nigeria’s capital market has enjoyed increased attention in recent years as companies raise fresh capital, banks respond to higher regulatory capital requirements and investors look for assets capable of keeping pace with inflation and changes in the economy.
Listing fees rose 59 percent to ₦2.38 billion, while income from technology increased 19 percent to ₦447.86 million.
The numbers show that while transaction fees remain the biggest contributor, other parts of the exchange business are also growing.
Higher Revenue Is Turning Into Bigger Profit
Operating profit climbed 155 percent to ₦10.62 billion, compared with ₦4.16 billion in the same period last year.
This suggests NGX Group was able to handle considerably more business without its operating costs rising at the same pace as revenue.
That matters for a market infrastructure company because once its trading, clearing and technology systems are in place, additional activity can generate more income without requiring costs to increase proportionately.
Its share of profit from equity-accounted investees increased by 130 percent to ₦4.14 billion, driven mainly by the performance of Central Securities Clearing System Plc, the clearing and settlement company at the heart of Nigeria’s securities market.
The combination of higher trading income, rising listing fees and increased earnings from associated companies helped push profit before tax to ₦14.76 billion.
For context, NGX Group reported profit before tax of ₦15.55 billion for the whole of 2025. That means the company generated almost as much pre-tax profit in the first six months of 2026 as it did throughout the previous financial year.
Shareholders Get Another Dividend
The board’s decision to declare a ₦1.30 interim dividend adds to a period of stronger shareholder returns at NGX Group.
For the 2025 financial year, the company declared total dividends of ₦3.00 per share, comprising an earlier ₦1.00 interim dividend and a ₦2.00 final dividend. It also approved a one-for-three bonus issue.
The latest dividend shows that the company is willing to return part of its growing profit to shareholders while continuing to invest in the business.
NGX Group said the interim payout reflected stronger earnings and cash generation, while leaving room for investment in technology and further development of the capital market.
NGX Group’s Balance Sheet Is Getting Bigger
Total assets stood at ₦75.87 billion at the end of June 2026, while shareholders’ equity increased to ₦60.49 billion from ₦55.20 billion at the end of December 2025.
The stronger balance sheet gives NGX Group more room to invest in areas that could shape the next stage of Nigeria’s capital market, including technology, new financial products and services that can attract more investors and companies to the exchange.
But the results also reveal how closely the group’s performance is tied to activity in the market.
Transaction fees have become a major source of income. As long as trading volumes remain strong, that can continue to support earnings. A major slowdown in market activity, however, could have the opposite effect.
That makes the growth in listing fees, technology income and earnings from businesses such as CSCS increasingly important.
For now, NGX Group is benefiting from a busier Nigerian capital market.
With revenue more than doubling and profit before tax rising 170 percent in six months, the company has already come close to matching its entire 2025 pre-tax profit.
