Interest rate to remain high amid inflationary pressures — United Capital

By Peter Egwuatu

United Capital Plc, has indicated that interest rate in Nigeria is expected to remain high at the backdrop of inflationary pressures in the second half of 2026 H2’26.

Speaking at its investor relations roundtable, held in Lagos, with the theme: “Decoding performance insights into United Capital Growth Drives and outlook”, the company’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Peter Ashade, said: “With inflation still above the various Central Banks’ targets owing to impact from elevated oil prices (triggered by the US-Iran war), Inflation is expected to remain sticky as oil supply shocks persist. With no respite in sight, elevated inflation has resulted in rising yields with the US 10 Year Bond up 4.6% from 3.9% level in March 2026.”

While commenting on the performance of United Capital in H1’26, he said: “We delivered a strong first-half 2026 performance, with profit after tax rising 77.5 per cent to N21.10 billion, as the investment banking and financial services group benefited from robust growth across its core businesses, higher trading income and expanding fee-based revenues.

“The group’s unaudited results for the six months ended June 30, 2026, showed profit before tax climbed 79.6 per cent to N24.78 billion from N13.79 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, while gross earnings increased by 57.8 per cent to N37.49 billion.

“Net operating income rose to N33.05 billion from N21.32 billion a year earlier, supported by strong investment income, fee and commission earnings and a sharp increase in net trading income. Earnings per share also improved significantly to N2.34 from N1.32, while annualised return on equity strengthened to 25.03 per cent from 16.77 per cent. Cost-to-income ratio improved to 44 per cent from 50 per cent, underscoring stronger operational efficiency.”

He added that the group’s shareholders’ funds expanded by almost 25 per cent to N187.09 billion from N150.00 billion at the end of December 2025, while total assets stood at N1.64 trillion. Managed funds increased to N1.04 trillion, reinforcing the group’s position as one of Nigeria’s leading investment managers.

According to him, “The asset management subsidiary manages more than N1 trillion in assets for over 100,000 retail and institutional investors, while mutual fund assets under management have grown by more than 350 per cent since 2021.

Looking ahead to the second half of the year, Ashade said: “We expect global interest rates to remain elevated amid persistent inflationary pressures, while competition for funding is likely to intensify. However, we believe technology-driven investment opportunities and continued expansion across African markets will support future growth.

Our 2026 strategy will focus on business expansion across Africa, product innovation, financial inclusion, digital transformation, operational efficiency and continued growth in assets under management as it seeks to consolidate its leadership in the investment services industry.”

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