Prime Business Africa
Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc had a great year in 2025, following a double-digit growth in its topline and bottom line, despite income tax rising threefold.
The company, in its consolidated and separate financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, announced N486.79 billion as gross earnings for last year, compared to the N337.19 billion recorded in 2024.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelWhile Sterling Financial‘s gross earnings increased by 44.36 percent, income interest rose faster by 83.23 percent, according to Prime Business Africa’s (PBA) analysis, which also showed that interest expense grew by 27.74 percent.
Sterling Financial’s recorded N367.07 billion as Interest income between January and December last year, surpassing the N258.81 billion recorded during the corresponding period in 2024.
Also, interest expense rose to N158.41 billion between the first quarter and the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to the N124.01 billion sustained during the same period the year before.
With interest income overshooting interest expense, Sterling Financial’s net interest income grew to N208.65 billion in 2025, compared to N134.80 billion in 2024, representing a 54.78 percent growth.
Also, fees and commission income added N60.29 billion to the financial institution’s earnings, which increased by 36.09 percent when compared to the N44.3 billion generated from the segment in 2024.
However, fee and commission expense increased to N16.58 billion in 2025, exceeding the N10.37 billion recorded in 2024, indicating a 59.87 percent increase, according to analysis.
Net trading income also contributed N22.18 billion during the period under review, rising by 41.71 percent when compared to the N215.65 billion reported in 2024.
Following the impressive earnings, Sterling Financial saw an 89.21 percent increase in profit before tax, which increased to N86.77 billion between Q1 and Q4 2025, up from N45.86 billion the year before.
The company also experienced a 183.51 percent growth in its income tax, after paying N10.44 billion as taxation last year, compared to the N3.68 billion paid in 2024.
Despite the threefold increase in income tax, Sterling Financial’s profit after tax (PAT) increased by 74.77 percent to N76.33 billion during the period under review, surpassing the N43.67 billion recorded the previous year.
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Prime Business Africa is a business, economy and policy news platform founded in 2021 by veteran journalist and media scholar, Dr Marcel Mbamalu, after he left The Guardian as Editor.
Dr Mbamalu, who serves as Founder and Publisher, set up Prime Business Africa to deliver sharp, data-driven reporting on Nigeria’s markets, trade, investment, and governance trends for decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and policy leaders.
He also writes The Bottom Line, a backpage column for Punch Newspaper every Thursday.
Under his leadership, Prime Business Africa combines deep newsroom experience with a focus on accountability journalism, aiming to bridge information gaps between Africa’s private sector and the global economy.
