Eighteen of the companies that dominate the Nigerian Exchange posted a combined profit after tax of ₦3.02 trillion in the first half of 2026. That figure represents a 44% jump from the ₦2.09 trillion they earned during the same period last year, BusinessDay reported.
On paper, the earnings trajectory looks exceptional. Revenue is climbing, margins are expanding, and macroeconomic tailwinds are providing support from every direction.
There is a complication, though. The amount these companies are owed by their customers is growing even faster than their profits.
Receivables outpace profit growth at Nigeria’s biggest firms
Aggregate trade receivables across the 18 firms surged from ₦2.68 trillion in H1 2025 to ₦4.83 trillion in H1 2026. That 80% increase in unpaid customer invoices dwarfs the 44% rise in profit after tax over the same reporting period.
Trade receivables now represent 31.04% of current assets across the group, up from 25.46% a year earlier. Current assets grew a modest 48%, from ₦10.53 trillion to ₦15.57 trillion.
Operating cash flow rose 60% to ₦5.64 trillion, but receivables still expanded 20 percentage points faster than cash generated from operations.
Transcorp Power and Aradel lead the receivables surge
The company-level data reveals alarming concentrations of unpaid invoices across key sectors of the Nigerian Exchange.
Key receivables ratios at a glance:
- Transcorp Power: 99.08% (up from 91.37% in H1 2025)
- Transcorp Hotel: 69.11% (up from 48.17%)
- Aradel Holdings: 56.33% (up from 9.51%)
- NASCON Allied Industries: 51.34% (up from 40.42%)
- Nigerian Breweries: 34.18% (up from 28.74%)
Aradel Holdings recorded the most dramatic absolute jump, with receivables rocketing from ₦41.64 billion to ₦2.51 trillion while current assets expanded from ₦438 billion to ₦4.46 trillion.
Not every company moved in the wrong direction. MTN Nigeria’s ratio fell from 34.23% to 27.56% because its current assets grew faster than its receivables.
Geregu Power’s ₦40bn bond default underscores the cash risk
The receivables buildup is not just an accounting concern. In August 2026, Geregu Power defaulted on its ₦40.09 billion Series 1 Senior Unsecured Bond, Nairametrics reported, citing an updated listing status published by FMDQ Securities Exchange.
The company missed its eighth semi-annual coupon and its fourth principal bullet repayment. The default was the first major corporate bond failure on the Nigerian capital market in seven years, BusinessDay reported.
Geregu has since paid the ₦6.03 billion that was due, though FMDQ’s credit-default classification remained in place at the time of reporting, Nairametrics noted.
“What inflation clearly points out is that the customer’s capacity to pay is lower than before,” said Uchenna Uzo, a consumer expert and faculty director at the Lagos Business School. He noted that businesses must rethink pricing strategies as customers’ purchasing power continues to shrink.
Nigeria’s economic growth may not ease the collection gap
The wider economy is expanding, but faster growth does not automatically mean quicker cash collection. GDP grew 4.43% in Q2 2026, up from 3.89% in Q1, the National Bureau of Statistics reported.
“Nigeria’s growth is being driven by domestic momentum which global headwinds have been unable to derail,” Karim Noujaim, managing partner at Skykapital Europe, told Reuters.
Moody’s also revised Nigeria’s sovereign outlook to positive while retaining a B3 credit rating, Nairametrics reported.
For companies carrying large receivables, more economic activity can simply mean more invoices on credit. Private-sector credit rose to ₦83.43 trillion by July 2026, CBN data showed, though the IMF noted lending still represents only about 12% of GDP.
What the ₦4.83trn receivables gap means for Nigerian investors
The gap between reported profit and collected cash across Nigeria’s 18 biggest firms signals something about the quality of those earnings and the choices available to management.
The H1 2026 data suggests that profit-after-tax growth alone does not capture the full picture; the speed at which each company converts revenue into operating cash flow is equally telling. The firms that reduced their receivables-to-current-assets ratios, like MTN Nigeria and Dangote Cement, are generating earnings they can actually deploy.
The firms at the other end, especially in the power sector, are booking revenue locked in unpaid invoices. As Geregu demonstrated, a strong income statement offers no protection when cash to service debt is not there.
