Wema Bank grows profit by 116% to N222bn in 2025

Wema Bank Plc has released its unaudited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, reporting a pre-tax profit of N222.07 billion, reflecting a 116.3per cent increase compared to N102.52 billion in 2024.

Profit after tax surged to N193.19 billion, up 123.54per cent from the previous year’s N86.28 billion

This can be attributed to the 51per cent growth in gross earnings to N653.28 billion, driven by strong revenue growth from interest income, which was the major contributor to the increase.

Wema Bank’s revenue growth was driven primarily by a significant increase in interest income, which rose by 63.08per cent to N577.10 billion, accounting for 88.3per cent of the bank’s gross earnings.

The growth was largely fueled by strong performance in income from loans and advances to customers, which increased by 48per cent to N345 billion. This was the major contributor to the bank’s interest income, accounting for 59per cent of total interest income.

Investment securities followed, contributing 35 per cent to the interest income.

Net interest income grew by 103.35per cent to N360.10 billion and can be attributed to an increase in loans and advances, along with a successful strategy in managing interest expenses.

Despite interest expenses growing by 22.31per cent to N216.99 billion, the proportion of interest expenses to gross earnings decreased to 33per cent in 2025, down from 41% in 2024.

This reduction highlights improved efficiency in managing costs relative to earnings. However, the increase in interest expenses was primarily due to higher customer deposits, which accounted for 58% of interest expenses.

At the same time, interest income grew significantly, contributing 88per cent of gross earnings, reflecting the bank’s strong performance in its core lending and investment activities.

Despite the strong growth in net interest income, the bank faced an increase in net impairment losses, which rose by 6.1per cent to N22.96 billion.

This accounted for 6.4% of the bank’s net interest income, indicating a slight increase in provisions for non-performing loans.

Non-interest income, which includes fee and commission income and trading income, contributed significantly to the bank’s earnings.

Fee and commission income increased by 8.2% to N57.92 billion, driven by higher activity in digital and transactional services, while trading income showed strong growth, reflecting the positive contribution of the bank’s trading portfolio.

In terms of the balance sheet, total assets grew by 41per cent to N5.06 trillion, with customer deposits funding a significant portion, accounting for about 64per cent of the balance sheet size.

The bank’s equity surged by 143.6per cent to N621.70 billion, driven by substantial increases in share premium and retained earnings, which grew by 326.8per cent and 164.3 per cent, respectively.

However, equity still represents just 12 per cent of total assets, indicating the bank’s strong reliance on customer deposits for funding.

Loans and advances to customers, which grew by 45per cent, now make up approximately 34% of the balance sheet size, reflecting the bank’s expansion in lending activities.

Wema Bank’s 2025 performance highlights strong growth in both revenue and profitability, with interest income being the primary driver of the bank’s success.

The 2025 performance stood out with profit after tax surpassing its 5-year cumulative profit

Also, the dividend trend shows that Wema Bank has progressively increased its dividend payouts over the years, reflecting growing profitability and shareholder returns.

The consistent increase is a positive signal of the bank’s strong financial performance and its ability to return value to shareholders.