Companies

Vitafoam Nigeria Plc has disclosed that a senior insider sold company shares valued at about ₦33.01 million in a series of year-end transactions on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), a move that has drawn market attention amid the company’s strong earnings performance.

In a filing dated January 13, 2026, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc notified Nigerian Exchange Limited that its Company Secretary and Legal Adviser, Mr. Sanni Olalekan Akeem, disposed of 356,029 ordinary shares over two trading sessions—December 30 and 31, 2025—in compliance with insider-trading disclosure rules.

Breakdown of the transactions

According to the disclosure, the sales were executed in multiple tranches, rather than a single block trade, indicating active participation during the year-end trading window. Deal prices ranged from ₦90.15 to ₦93.30 per share, producing an aggregate consideration of ₦33,010,150.15. The average sale price across the transactions was approximately ₦92.43.

The largest single deal involved 94,092 shares sold at ₦93.30, while the smallest was a 100-share sale at ₦93.10. All transactions were completed at prevailing market prices on the NGX, suggesting no unusual discounting or off-market arrangements.

As Company Secretary and Legal Adviser, Mr. Akeem qualifies as an insider with access to price-sensitive, non-public information, making prompt disclosure mandatory under NGX rules and Securities and Exchange Commission guidelines. The filing indicates full compliance with these transparency requirements.

How investors may read the move

Insider dealings often attract scrutiny, but market watchers caution against over-interpreting such sales in isolation—particularly when they occur after strong price performance or near year-end, when portfolio rebalancing and liquidity needs are common. Importantly, the disclosure does not point to any deterioration in Vitafoam’s fundamentals.

On the contrary, the company recently announced robust full-year results and shareholder rewards, including a 1-for-5 bonus (script) issue and a proposed ₦3.00 dividend per share, both slated for consideration at its 64th Annual General Meeting on March 5, 2026, in Lagos. The bonus proposal involves capitalising ₦125.08 million from retained earnings to issue 250,168,812 new ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

Share price performance

Vitafoam’s shares closed on January 14, 2026 at ₦99.00, up 1.2% from the previous close of ₦97.80. The stock opened the year at ₦92.00 and has since gained 7.61%, ranking 71st on the NGX year-to-date performance table.

The longer-term picture has been even more striking. In 2025, Vitafoam’s share price surged by about 300%, ending the year at ₦92.00 and placing the stock among the top 10 best performers on the NGX—an advance supported by a dramatic turnaround in earnings.

Fundamentals driving the rally

For the 2025 financial year, Vitafoam reported a 1,775% jump in profit before tax, from ₦1.15 billion in 2024 to ₦21.48 billion. Profit after tax climbed 1,427% to ₦14.54 billion, while group revenue rose 35% to ₦111.38 billion. Basic earnings per share improved sharply to ₦9.43, compared with a 72 kobo loss a year earlier.

Management attributed the performance to revenue expansion, pricing adjustments, and tighter cost controls, reinforcing investor confidence and underpinning the stock’s strong valuation.

Bottom line

While insider sales naturally invite attention, Vitafoam’s year-end disclosure appears procedural and transparent, executed at market prices and against a backdrop of exceptional operating performance and shareholder-friendly actions. For many investors, the company’s earnings momentum and capital return plans remain the dominant narrative as 2026 unfolds.

After a blockbuster rally in 2024 and a far more restrained performance in 2025, Seplat Energy has entered 2026 with renewed momentum. Within the first trading week of the new year, the company’s shares climbed to a fresh 52-week high of N6,171, delivering a 6.2% year-to-date gain and already outperforming its full-year return for 2025.

The early-year rally marks a notable shift from the cautious optimism that characterised the stock last year. Seplat ended 2025 with a modest 1.94% gain, a performance that looked underwhelming when compared with the more than 50% advance recorded by the Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index. However, a closer look at sector dynamics paints a more favourable picture. While the broader market surged, the Oil and Gas Sector Index declined by 1.54%, meaning Seplat outperformed most of its immediate peers in what was a challenging year for energy equities.

That relative resilience has now given way to stronger absolute gains, driven largely by a major shareholder development. The catalyst behind the recent surge was the acquisition by Heirs Energies of Maurel & Prom S.A.’s entire 20.07% stake in Seplat. The transaction involved 120.4 million shares and was valued at approximately $500 million, priced at £3.05 per share. Executed under the leadership of Tony Elumelu, the deal was widely interpreted by the market as a strong, long-term endorsement of Seplat’s strategy, governance, and asset quality.

Beyond the immediate sentiment boost, Seplat’s underlying fundamentals suggest the rally may be more than a short-lived reaction. Between 2020 and 2024, the company generated cumulative revenues of about N3.2 trillion, culminating in a record N1.65 trillion in 2024, achieved even before the full consolidation of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited’s offshore assets. That growth trajectory accelerated sharply in 2025. In the first nine months of the year alone, Seplat reported revenue of N3.36 trillion, a 213% year-on-year increase that exceeded the combined revenue of the previous five years.

Operating profitability expanded at a similar pace. Profit before tax surged to N879 billion, up from N367 billion in the corresponding period of 2024. Net profit, however, told a more complex story. Post-tax earnings declined to N147 billion as tax obligations absorbed a substantial share of operating gains. Total tax charges reached N732 billion, including N704 billion in current tax expenses, creating a wide gap between pre-tax and after-tax performance.

Even so, shareholder returns remained compelling. Earnings per share rose by 144% to N240.18, while dividends declared by the third quarter of 2025 amounted to 167 cents per share, translating to roughly N157 billion in total distributions. Within the Nigerian energy sector, this positions Seplat as one of the more reliable dividend-paying stocks.

Operationally, the revenue surge was driven primarily by higher oil volumes. Crude oil sales climbed to N3.1 trillion, reflecting a 231% increase year-on-year. This was largely due to the integration of MPNU’s offshore assets, which added more than 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Seplat’s well-restoration programme further contributed about 33,400 barrels per day. Despite a 13% decline in realised oil prices, total lifted volumes rose to 27.9 million barrels, a 270% year-on-year increase.

Gas operations provided an additional layer of stability. Gas revenue grew to N215 billion, supported by steady production from Oben and Sapele, alongside initial LPG sales from the Bonny terminal. The introduction of natural gas liquids as a separate revenue stream generated N51 billion from LPG exports and condensates, improving both diversification and margin resilience.

Looking ahead, Seplat’s medium-term strategy remains ambitious. At its Capital Markets Day in September 2025, management outlined plans to scale production to 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030, backed by capital expenditure of $2.5–$3 billion. The company is targeting $5–$6 billion in free cash flow over the same period, while cutting operating costs to $10 per barrel from $14.10.

Capital allocation is central to this outlook. Seplat revised its dividend policy in 2025 to allow up to two special dividends annually in addition to a base payout, with a target of $1 billion in cumulative dividends by 2030. These projections are built on conservative assumptions, including oil prices of $65 per barrel and disciplined leverage management.

As Seplat continues its transition from a mid-sized onshore producer to a diversified upstream and gas company with offshore scale, the Heirs Energies deal has sharpened investor focus on its long-term potential. Sustaining the current valuation will depend on disciplined execution, but if management delivers on its stated goals, the early-2026 rally may well reflect a structurally stronger company rather than short-term market enthusiasm.