Wema Bank Plc reported a pre-tax profit of N154.56 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2026, representing a 53.65% increase year-on-year from N100.59 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
- +Wema Bank posts N154.56 billion H1 2026 pretax profit, up 53.65% YoY
Profit after tax rose 50.12% to N131.37 billion from N87.51 billion, while earnings per share dropped to N6.55, from N7.13, reflecting share dilution effects during the period.
Profit after tax rose 50.12% to N131.37 billion from N87.51 billion, while earnings per share dropped to N6.55, from N7.13, reflecting share dilution effects during the period.
This marks one of the bank’s strongest half-year performances yet, driven largely by robust loan growth, a sharp rebound in trading income, and improved net interest margins.
The strong rise in pretax profit was underpinned by robust growth across the bank’s core income lines, even as fee income came under pressure.
Despite the sharp rise in personnel costs, the scale of income growth was more than sufficient to lift operating income by 39.27% to N267.07 billion, translating into the 53.65% jump in pretax profit for the half year.
Total assets expanded to N5.76 trillion, up 13.51% from N5.07 trillion at the end of 2025, driven mainly by a 21.73% rise in loans and advances to customers, which grew to N2.12 trillion from N1.74 trillion.
Customer deposits rose 4.96% to N3.45 trillion, supported by retail savings deposits of N529.99 billion and corporate and other deposits of N2.45 trillion.
Total impairment allowance rose to N62.87 billion from N58.39 billion reflecting its loan growth during the review period.
Despite the impressive earnings report, share price of the stock was seen trading almost flat at about N31.65 during intra-day on Wednesday, July 29.
Wema began the year with a share price of N20.40 and has since gained 55.2% on that price valuation, ranking it 52nd on the NGX in terms of year-to-date performance.
Overall, Wema Bank delivered a strong H1 2026 performance, with pretax profit up more than 53% year-on-year, driven by higher interest income, loan growth, and a sharp rebound in treasury trading gains, even as cost escalation and weaker fee income remain areas to monitor through the rest of the year.
