Royal Exchange Plc has released its unaudited financials for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, revealing a pre‑tax profit of N1.49 billion. This marks a remarkable year‑on‑year jump of about 90%, up from N781.16 million in Q3 2024.
The company attributes much of this growth to a strong increase in its earned income, which climbed 86%, reaching N1.86 billion (from N996.87 million in the same period last year). In addition, interest income posted a significant rise, going from N82.288 million in 2024 to N287.028 million in 2025.
Interestingly, Royal Exchange recorded ‘no tax expense’ for the period, meaning its net profit after tax also stood at N1.49 billion, thereby, echoing the 90% growth seen in pre‑tax earnings. However, one counter‑trend is that earnings per share (EPS) fell by 64%, settling at N0.36.
Balance Sheet Highlights
On the assets side, total assets rose by 9.5% to N11.13 billion, up from N10.16 billion a year earlier. Notable components:
Investments in associates surged to N8.2 billion (from N5.96 billion), making up about 75% of total assets.
Loans and advances to customers more than doubled, climbing from N420 million to N1.08 billion.
Cash and cash equivalents increased to N1.173 billion (from N937 million).
On the equity front, shareholders’ funds expanded by 23% to N7.62 billion. A key driver was the jump in retained earnings, which swung from a deficit of N1.69 billion in 2024 to a positive N429.5 million in 2025.
Market and Trading Performance
Royal Exchange began the year trading at N1.00 per share. As of October 15, 2025, its stock was priced at N2.33, representing a year‑to‑date gain of 133%. This performance ranks the stock 35th on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).
Over the three months from July 17 to October 15, 2025, ROYALEX ranked as the 20th most traded stock on the NGX. During that period, it recorded a total trading volume of 990 million shares, executed over 9,149 deals, with a total market value of N2.08 billion.
Observations & Challenges
Royal Exchange’s performance in Q3 2025 demonstrates marked recovery and strength in profitability, supported by robust increases in income lines and a turnaround in retained earnings.
Yet, challenges remain. The company still recorded a negative operating cash flow of N740.9 million, although this is an improvement over the N1.16 billion outflow recorded in the prior period. This suggests that while the bottom line is improving, generating positive cash flows from core operations is still a hurdle. The ability to sustain liquidity and turn operational cash flows positive will be critical going forward.
