Economy
Christmas Comes Early for Nigerian ETF Investors
By Quantitative Financial Analytics
The Nigerian stock market has been showing great improvement since the beginning of May 2017 with most of the indices showing double digit returns.
The All-Share Index (ASI) now boasts of a YTD return of 27.02 percent, the NSE pension and Premium index are in an all-time high with returns of 49.65 percent and 35.4 percent respectively.
The Banking index is home with a YTD return of 51.92 percent and the NSE 30 index is smiling with 30.31 percent return, YTD.
It has never been this good, at least, in more recent years. The market rally has been propelled in part by the stability in the Naira exchange rate following the aggressiveness of the Central Bank and by the IMF’s statement that Nigeria is out of recession.
In addition to those, the recently released inflation report adds to the good news as well as Fitch’s “prophesy” on the improving foreign currency liquidity in Nigeria.
All those have combined to add a boost to the market. Believe it or not, the capture of Evans, the kidnap king pin has had its salutary effect on the market as it helps to douse fears about the security situation in Nigeria.
One investment type that has been riding the tide of this market rally is Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Prior to the month of May and in-fact for the greater part of last year, ETF holders were reeling in pain asking what hit them, but that story seems to be changing or has totally changed.
ETF prices rallied upward of 20 percent in the month of May alone wiping off almost all the prior months’ losses and drags.
Quantitative Financial Analytics has revealed that its May performance analysis indicates that the first 6 best performing funds in the month are all ETFs.
Specifically, Vetiva Banking ETF returned 26.41 percent, New Gold ETF, 20 percent, Vetiva Consumer Goods ETF, 17.05 percent while Stanbic IBTC 30 ETF came back with 16.91 percent return.
Vetiva 30 ETF and Stanbic IBTC Pension 40 ETF returned 14.45 and 13.08 percent respectively with Lotus Halal ETF returning 10.3 percent.
This performance has continued in the month of June with most ETFs recording upwards of 15 percent return so far in June.
Surprisingly, a deeper analysis indicates that the ETFs that are more highly correlated to the all share index did slightly worse than those with lower correlation.
This shows that the effect of the rally is more related to sectors of the economy than to the overall market performance.
While the banking sector ETFs with 0.67 correlation performed best, Stanbic IBTC 30 and Vetiva 30 ETF both with a 0.98 correlation did not do as good as the banking ETF.
Compared to safe-haven assets like bonds and treasuries, ETFs seem to be getting some reward for their additional inherent risks.
According to Quantitative Financial Analytics, equity based ETFs are doing far better than the newly introduced Vetiva S&P Sovereign Bond ETF, which is purely a fixed income based ETF.
However, the yield on 10-year Nigeria Treasuries rose by 8bp to 16.15 percent while 20-year yield contracted by 7bp to 16.01 percent in May.
If the good economic news about Nigeria continues, ETF investors may be celebrating Christmas earlier.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has announced the commencement of compliance monitoring activities for large taxpayers under the National e-Invoicing and Electronic Fiscal System (EFS) regime.
A statement issued on Monday and signed by the agency’s chairman, Mr Zacch Adedeji, advised corporate organisations that have yet to adopt this system to do so on or before July 31, 2026.
Recall that on February 17, 2026, NRS issued an implementation timeline for the mandatory adoption of the EFS, also known as the Merchant Buyer Solution (MBS), by large taxpayers.
They were asked to complete the process of onboarding, integration, testing, and commence invoice transmission to the NRS e-invoicing platform in accordance with the prescribed implementation framework.
The compliances include the completion of onboarding on the NRS MBS; the successful integration of taxpayer systems through approved Access Point Providers (APPs) and/or Systems Integrators (SIS); the completion of all required validation and testing activities; the active transmission of invoices to the NRS e-invoicing platform in line with approved standards and guidelines; and the receipt of only compliant e-invoices with a valid Invoice Reference Number (IRN) from suppliers.
Ahead of the deadline, the NRS has commenced compliance monitoring activities to assess the level of adherence to the e-invoicing mandate across the large taxpayer segment.
Those that have not completed the process have been asked to conclude all outstanding onboarding and integration activities and commence invoice transmission before the compliance deadline.
The organisation warned that failure to comply would trigger regulatory and enforcement actions in accordance with the provisions of the relevant tax laws and regulations.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Transcorp Power Plc suffered declines in its revenue and profit in the first half of this year; details of the company’s financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2026, have revealed.
The losses were attributed to recurring transmission line vandalism, which materially constrained the organisation’s ability to evacuate available generation capacity.
Business Post reports that earnings contracted in the first six months of this year to N181.97 billion from the N205.81 billion recorded in the same period of last year, while profit before tax moderated to N54.99 billion from N58.73 billion.
However, on a year-to-date basis, total assets went up to N619.02 billion from N563.48 billion in December 2025, as shareholders’ funds grew to N189.34 billion from N183.40 billion in FY 2025, while retained earnings soared to N140.90 billion from N123.41 billion in FY 2025.
It was observed that the increase in receivables and borrowings largely drove the expansion in the balance sheet during the period.
Also, the firm’s gross margin expanded to 38.4 per cent from 34.7 per cent in H1 2025, operating margin increased to 30.6 per cent from 28.5 per cent, and PBT margin rose to 30.2 per cent from 28.5 per cent, reflecting cost optimisation efforts and disciplined financial management, positioning the company to continue delivering sustainable value for shareholders.
“Our H1 2026 performance is a reflection of the resilience of our business operations despite significant sector-wide existential challenges.
“Regrettably, recurring transmission line vandalisation materially constrained our ability to evacuate available generation capacity.
“Nonetheless, we continued to deliver strong profitability, maintain operational efficiency, and strengthen our balance sheet,” the chief executive of Transcorp Power, Mr Peter Ikenga, stated.
“We remain committed to working with relevant stakeholders to put an end to transmission line vandalisation and to further improving operational performance, power generation supply reliability, and creating sustainable value for our shareholders. We remain highly confident that we will recover lost ground in H1 2026 and finish FY 2026 stronger than FY 2025,” he added.
By Dipo Olowookere
A total of 2.819 billion stocks worth N182.499 billion exchanged hands in 226,729 deals on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week, in contrast to the 3.648 billion stocks valued at N220.568 billion transacted in 251,861 deals a week earlier.
From this, financial shares accounted for 2.006 billion units sold for N99.697 billion in 96,171 deals, contributing 71.17 per cent and 54.63 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Consumer goods equities traded 178.863 million units worth N7.872 billion in 26,637 deals, and energy stocks recorded a turnover of 151.237 million units valued at N38.309 billion in 16,879 deals.
First Holdco, FCMB, and Access Holdings accounted for 939.402 million units worth N57.673 billion in 19,051 deals, contributing 33.33 per cent and 31.60 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Business Post reports that the performance indicators were mixed in the five-day trading week, as the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 0.14 per cent to 243,462.13 points, while the market capitalisation appreciated by 0.39 per cent to N157.057 trillion.
All other indices finished higher except the main board, consumer goods, energy, Lotus II, industrial goods, growth, and sovereign bond indices, which fell by 1.54 per cent, 0.15 per cent, 0.11 per cent, 0.40 per cent, 6.26 per cent, 0.09 per cent, and 0.33 per cent, respectively, while the commodity index closed flat.
Forty-four shares gained weight in the week versus 60 shares of the preceding week, 35 equities depreciated versus 28 equities in the previous week, and 67 stocks closed flat versus 58 stocks of the earlier week.
The best-performing stock was First Holdco, which gained 38.66 per cent to trade at N95.95. Thomas Wyatt expanded by 27.16 per cent to N3.09, Fidelity Bank grew by 15.00 per cent to N21.85, Learn Africa grew by 14.44 per cent to N10.30, and UBA chalked up 10.98 per cent to close at N45.50.
The worst-performing stock was BUA Cement after giving up 18.99 per cent to quote at N275.60, Red Star Express shed 18.53 per cent to end at N20.00, International Energy Insurance declined by 15.27 per cent to N4.66, C&I Leasing dropped 13.28 per cent to N5.55, and PZ Cussons crashed by 10.06 per cent to N80.95.
