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Strong H1 2026 report firms Sterling Financial among NGX top five gainers
Investors kept faith with the Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc, Thursday, lifting its shares up by 7% and into the ranks of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) top gainers, days after the HoldCo unveiled a stronger set of half-year results.
Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc (also known as Sterling Financial, includes Sterling Bank Limited, The Alternative Bank Limited, SterlingFI Wealth Management, among others.
The share-price gain of the HoldCo was notable for the company it did not keep. The broader market fell for a second day running, shedding more than N1.65 trillion over the two sessions as the All-Share Index slipped 0.7% and only 17 stocks managed to close higher.
Sterling Financial was one of them, ranking third among the day’s risers and trading 36.01 million shares worth about N286.8 million.
Sterling Financial’s first-half 2026 profit rose to N50.30 billion, helped by wider margins and a growing loan book, while its balance sheet edged toward the N5 trillion mark.
The Group cast the outcome as a sign that recent investment in its technology and operating model is beginning to show through.
The shape of the earnings drew as much notice as their scale. Gross earnings climbed 31.5% to N279.6 billion, spread across a 33.7% rise in interest income and a 23.3% increase in non-interest lines to N56.0 billion, helped by fees and other operating income. A deposit base up 21.1% to N3.62 trillion widened the funding pool the Group can lend from into the second half.
The results also followed a N96.6 billion public offer completed during the period, which reinforced the Group’s capital base while enlarging its share count, leaving earnings per share at 77 kobo even as absolute profit climbed.
The Sterling Financial group spans conventional banking, non-interest finance and wealth management through its Sterling Bank, The Alternative Bank and SterlingFI arms.
Market-watchers cautioned that broader sentiment stays fragile, with profit-taking expected to weigh on trading in the near term regardless of individual company results.
