Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc has released its unaudited results for the half-year ended 30th June 2026, posting broad-based growth across key performance indices.
The Group’s gross earnings rose 31.5% to ₦279.6 billion over the corresponding period in 2025, led by a 33.7% jump in interest income to ₦223.6 billion as the loan book expanded and asset yields improved. Net interest income climbed 41.0% to ₦137.4 billion, while non-interest income grew by 23.3% to ₦56.0 billion, supported by notable increases in fee income and other operating income lines.
Sterling Financial continued to strengthen its balance sheet with total assets expanding by 19.3% to ₦4.67 trillion, supported by a 21.1% growth in customer deposits to ₦3.62 trillion and disciplined expansion in the loan portfolio. The Group’s profit before tax (PBT) rose 21.9% to ₦55.5 billion while profit after tax (PAT) rose 20.4% to ₦50.3 billion.
Return on average equity stood at 20.6% and return on average assets improved to 2.35% from 2.05%.
Sterling Financial’s shareholders’ funds increased 27.8% to ₦547.7 billion in the period under review, primarily reflecting the ₦96.6 billion raised through a public offer of 13.8 billion ordinary shares. The Group’s share price has also appreciated over 15% from its year-opening position, reflecting renewed investor interest in the franchise ahead of the results release. Basic earnings per share stood at 77 kobo, reflecting the enlarged share base following the public offer.
The Group’s performance is anchored by its ongoing modernisation of its technology stack and operating model across its commercial (Sterling Bank), non-interest (AltBank), and wealth management (SterlingFI) arms. That work is showing up in faster service turnaround, tighter unit economics, and greater headroom to absorb rising customer activity without loosening the Group’s risk posture.
The combination of a reinforced capital base, expanding deposit franchise, and broader earnings mix leaves Sterling Financial positioned to compound growth in the second half of the year, channelling capital where it earns most and continuing to lend into the real economy.
Meanwhile, Sterling Financial has defied banking-sector slide to finish among NGX’s top gainers last week as the group’s shares climbed 7%, even though banking index fell 2.04%.
Its shares rose 6.67% to ₦8.00 to rank among the best performers on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Thursday. In contrast, the NGX Banking Index shed 2.04% and the wider market fell for a second straight session.
The group pushed higher on Thursday even as the financial stocks it sits alongside fell. Its shares gained 6.7% to ₦8.00 to place among the five best performers on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) while the NGX Banking Index dropped 2.04%.
The gain ran counter to a market in retreat for a second straight session. The All-Share Index eased 0.7%, decliners outnumbered advancers by more than two to one, and roughly ₦1.65 trillion was wiped from total equities value over the two days as investors locked in gains from the exchange’s July rally.
Sterling Financial was among the day’s few risers, finishing third on the gainers’ table and changing hands 36.01 million times for about ₦286.8 million. The move comes days after the Group reported a 20.4% rise in first-half profit after tax, to ₦50.30 billion, alongside continued growth in deposits and a balance sheet now approaching ₦5 trillion.
Its capital footing has also firmed. A ₦96.6 billion public offer completed during the half lifted shareholders’ funds 27.8% to ₦547.7 billion, giving the Group more room to lend as activity picks up. Underlying the half-year run is a franchise earning more on its assets than a year earlier. Net interest income rose 41.0% to ₦137.4 billion, return on average equity stood at 20.6%, and return on average assets improved to 2.35% from 2.05%. The Group is showcasing the kind of profile that tends to attract buyers even in a soft market.
Sterling Financial runs a diversified holding-company structure, with banking, non-interest finance and wealth management housed under Sterling Bank, The Alternative Bank and SterlingFI.
