First HoldCo Plc has announced that its group chairman Femi Otedola has increased his shareholding in the company with the acquisition of 39,313,379 units worth N1.21 billion.
In a filing on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the company disclosed that the transaction was executed in Lagos on Tuesday at N31 per share under the code NGFBNH000009.
On the same day, Calvados Global Services Limited, a company linked to Mr Otedola, purchased 25,565,289 ordinary shares valued at N792.5 million at the same price and with the same code.
According to First HoldCo’s second-quarter financials released on July 30, Otedola previously held a direct stake of 3,212,032,866 units (7.67%) and an indirect stake of 3,465,560,297 units (8.28%).
With the new acquisitions, his direct holdings have risen to 3,251,346,245 units (7.77%) while his indirect stake now stands at 3,491,125,586 units (8.34%).
The trades contributed to increased activity on the NGX, lifting daily trading volume to 100.9 million shares, the highest so far this half year, surpassing the 86.4 million shares traded on July 17.
First HoldCo’s stock has recorded a 10% year-to-date gain this year.
It opened at N28.05 in January and closed the month at N29.95 before declining below N25 between February and April.
The stock rebounded in June and by July rallied to N32.25 on a trading volume of 408.2 million shares.
As of Wednesday, it traded between N30 and N31.
In its half-year results, the group posted a pretax profit of N356.1 billion.
For the second quarter, it reported a pretax profit of N169.6 billion, a 4.58% decline from the same period in 2024.
Interest income surged 61.92% year-on-year to N812.1 billion in Q2, lifting half-year interest income to N1.4 trillion, driven mainly by loans, advances and investment securities. Net interest income rose 87.32% to N539.6 billion, while non-interest income improved with higher fees and reduced foreign exchange losses.
Total assets stood at N27.1 trillion, while retained earnings rose to N1.3 trillion.
