Economy
Analysis: Insurance, Industrial Goods, Banking Stocks Boost NGX in Q3 2025
By Adedapo Adesanya
The insurance, industrial goods, and banking sectors showed strong resilience at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in the third quarter of the year, while the consumer goods sector lagged behind with a negative showing in the review period.
According to the Q3 2025 Sector Performance Summary released by Bamboo, the insurance sector emerged as the top performer, recording a robust 61.50 per cent quarterly growth, followed by industrial goods sector, which posted a strong 43.80 per cent gain, and the banking sector advanced 39.46 per cent over the second quarter.
According to an infographic seen by Business Post, insurance sector gains were driven by impressive rallies from Mutual Benefits Assurance (+248.2 per cent) and AIICO Insurance (+120 per cent).
The sector’s surge underscores renewed investor confidence, buoyed by improved underwriting results, recapitalisation efforts, and growing demand for risk coverage amid Nigeria’s increasingly volatile business environment.
However, it was not all rosy during the period as NEM Insurance dropped by 9.9 per cent and Cornerstone Insurance slid 6.6 per cent. These indicated persistent competitive and operational pressures in parts of the industry.
In the industrial goods sector, the rally was buoyed by Beta Glass, which recorded a stellar 130 per cent rise and Enamelware Nigeria (+108.7 per cent).
Both of these firms benefited from increased demand for locally manufactured goods and currency-induced import substitution.
Conversely, Dangote Cement’s 20 per cent decline and Austin Laz with a 9.74 per cent fall weighed down the sector’s overall performance. Dangote’s drop signals subdued construction activity and rising input costs.
However, the sector’s double-digit growth points to Nigeria’s gradual industrial recovery, particularly as the government’s infrastructure push continues to attract investment inflows.
In the banking sector, the top gainers included Wema Bank (+162.6 per cent) and Stanbic IBTC (75.4 per cent), both benefitting from stronger balance sheets, digital banking adoption, and FX revaluation gains.
Other Tier-2 lenders like FCMB recorded gains (24.1 per cent) and Ecobank (27.0 per cent) also delivered steady growth, underlining broad-based resilience across the industry.
The banking sector’s rise to improved net interest margins following tighter monetary policy and increased investor appetite for financial stocks. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in September eased interest rates by 50 basis points to 27 per cent from 27.50 per cent after inflation moderated for five consecutive cycles.
In contrast, the consumer goods sector was the quarter’s weakest performer, sliding 2.90 per cent as inflationary pressures and weak consumer spending continued to erode profits.
Despite bright spots from Guinness Nigeria (108.9 per cent) and McNichols (56.5 per cent), the sector’s gains were offset by underperformers like Honeywell Flour Mills (2.33 per cent rise) and Vitafoam Nigeria (7.84 per cent slide).
Business Post reports that with inflation still hovering in double digits and household purchasing power under strain, many consumer goods companies are struggling to pass on higher costs to price-sensitive buyers.
Meanwhile, the oil and gas sector delivered a modest 5.5 per cent quarterly rise, reflecting a cautious rebound amid global price volatility.
The sector’s growth was anchored by rises in stocks of Aradel Holdings (160 per cent) and Eterna Plc (115 per cent), buoyed by improved local production and downstream expansion projects.
However, losses from Oando, which fell 12.1 per cent and Japaul Gold (-9 per cent) capped broader gains, as operational challenges and fluctuating crude prices continued to cloud the sector’s outlook.
The third quarter’s analysis showed that sectors tied to financial services and domestic manufacturing outperformed, while consumer-facing and oil-dependent industries faced ongoing macroeconomic headwinds.
The strong showing from insurance and banking signals renewed investor trust in Nigeria’s financial system backed by improving fiscal and monetary policies, while industrial goods’ rebound underscores the growing appeal of locally driven production.
Even as challenges persist, especially for consumer-facing industries, the gains across financial and industrial sectors provide a cautiously optimistic outlook for the remainder of the year.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.
Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.
Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.
The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.
At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.
“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.
“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.
The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.
FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).
On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.
Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.
Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.
During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.
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