GTCO Gains as 2025 Dividend, Payout Ratio Attract Investors
GTCO Plc surged by more than 7% on Wednesday, barely 24 hours after the financial services company declared a surprise dividend for the financial year 2025.
According to trading data from the Nigerian Exchange, GTCO’s share price rose by 7.37% to N120.95, as 73.660 million units of its outstanding shares, valued at N8.967 billion, were executed on Wednesday.
Traders’ volume transaction actions surged multi-fold after the board of directors announced a proposal to pay shareholders N11.76 per share following the earnings release.
The board’s decision to sharply increase dividend payments came as profits softened. The payout ratio also increased, a development that caught the attention of dividend-seeking investors on the local bourse.
GTCO has a history of boosting shareholders’ wealth, and the move to raise dividends and payout ratio has sent a new signal into the equity market.
In 2025, GTCO’s profit after tax declined by 14.9% year on year to N865.7 billion, according to details from the financial services group’s audited financial statements. Last year was a record breaker for the Holdings, which had to deal with rising costs and a slowdown in margins.
Despite softer profitability, the Group proposed a record final dividend of N11.76, bringing the total dividend for the financial year 2025 to N12.76, up from N8.03 paid in 2024. This represents 58.9% year-on-year dividend growth, translating to a payout ratio of 50.2%, versus 22.7% in 2024.
Details from the audited report showed that net-interest income rose by 19.1% year on year to N1.3 trillion at the group level, benefiting largely from a 28.0% expansion in Interest Earning Assets to N12.7 trillion, according to analysts’ review.
GTCO’s net interest margin moderated by 1.80% to 11.1%. Elsewhere, non-interest revenue (NIR) dipped by 40.2% year on year, reflecting unrealised fair value losses on financial instruments of N81.8 billion, compared with a gain of N517.5 billion in 2024.
The market value of GTCO Plc.’s 36.55 billion outstanding shares rose to N4.420 trillion, tracking below its 52-week high on the Nigerian Exchange.
