Wema Bank Plc opened 2026 strongly and delivered solid earnings growth alongside balance sheet expansion.
Wema Bank Strong Profit Growth
For Q1 2026, the bank lifted pre-tax profit by 76% to ₦72.56 billion from ₦41 billion.
It also grew after-tax profit by 76.08% to ₦63.132 billion from ₦35.8 billion last year.
Q1 profit already represents about 32% of 2025 full-year earnings, signalling strong momentum.
If management sustains this trajectory, 2026 profit could exceed 2025 results by over 29%.
However, earnings per share slipped slightly to ₦7.90 from ₦8.03 due to dilution.
Interest Income Drives Earnings
Meanwhile, interest income surged 63.48% to ₦179.962 billion, driven by stronger lending activity.
Specifically, the bank grew loans and advances by 50% to ₦96.484 billion, contributing 54% of interest income.
Additionally, investment securities added 24% to total interest income during the quarter.
Although interest expenses rose 50.69%, income growth still outpaced cost increases.
Consequently, net interest income climbed 75.54% to ₦99.429 billion, strengthening core performance.
After that, lower impairment charges helped net interest income rise further to ₦97.991 billion.
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Importantly, impairment losses dropped over 20% to ₦1.437 billion, improving credit quality.
Balance Sheet Expansion And Market Gains
On the other hand, non-interest income weakened as fee and commission income declined sharply.
Nevertheless, operating income still grew 46.05% to ₦122.853 billion overall.
At the same time, operating expenses rose only 17.18% to ₦50.287 billion, showing cost control.
On the balance sheet side, total assets increased 3.09% to ₦5.229 trillion.
Similarly, customer deposits rose 3.62% to ₦3.408 trillion, funding 65% of assets.
Meanwhile, loans and advances expanded 7.18% to ₦1.863 trillion.
Furthermore, shareholders’ equity climbed 10.23% to about ₦684 billion.
Retained earnings also strengthened, rising 29% to ₦278 billion.
As a result, the equity ratio improved to 13% from 12%.
Even so, EPS still beat the full-year 2025 figure of ₦7.13.
Looking ahead, annualised performance suggests about ₦31 EPS for 2026.
Finally, the stock gained 124% in 2025 and closed at ₦20.40.
So far, it has also added 76.5% year-to-date in 2026.
