October 31, 2025/Cordros Report
C & I Leasing Plc (CILEASING) released its unaudited Q3-25 results yesterday (30 October), reporting a 32.3% y/y decline in EPS to NGN0.21 (Q3-24: NGN0.31), translating to a 33.7% y/y drop in 9M-25 EPS to NGN0.57 (9M-24: NGN0.86). The decline in EPS primarily reflects the dilutive impact of a bonus issue, which increased the company’s outstanding shares from 1.77 million to 2.95 million units. However, in nominal terms, profit after tax rose 13.3% y/y, supported by an 11.9% y/y expansion in revenue.
CILEASING’s gross earnings grew by 11.9% y/y in Q3-25 (9M-25: +12.3% y/y), supported by growth across all core gross income segments – lease income (+11.3% y/y | 90.2% of gross earnings), net outsourcing income (+39.7% y/y | 3.0% of gross earnings), net tracking income (+42.8% y/y | 0.3% of gross earnings), and other operating income (+259.5% y/y | 4.4% of gross earnings). We attribute this growth to higher fleet utilization rates, improved client acquisition within the outsourcing segment, and increased demand for tracking services. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, gross earnings advanced by 10.4%. Geographically, gross earnings from Ghana surged significantly by 71.9% y/y in Q3-25 (9M-25: +72.2% y/y), while gross earnings from Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates dipped by 2.4% y/y and 9.8% y/y, respectively (9M-25: -5.8% y/y and +6.3% y/y, respectively).
Meanwhile, EBIT and EBITDA margin expanded by 10.46ppts y/y and 13.18ppts y/y to 37.5% and 57.2%, respectively, (9M-25: +10.6ppts y/y and +14.8ppts y/y to 36.5% and 57.8%, respectively). The improvement reflects the positive pass-through from gross earnings growth, which offset the 39.6% y/y increase in operating expenses to NGN1.34billion (9M-25: +26.1% y/y to NGN3.41billion). The uptick in OPEX was largely attributable to higher personnel expenses (+19.5% y/y) and other operating expenses (+59.6% y/y).
Below the operating line, finance costs surged by 46.9% y/y to NGN3.94 billion in Q3-25, driven primarily by a +209.8% y/y increase on commercial notes and a 38.4% y/y interest on finance leases to NGN790.61 million and NGN2.52 billion, respectively. For the 9M-25 period, finance cost rose by 51.5% y/y to NGN10.91 billion, driven primarily by a 100.9% y/y increase in finance lease interest to NGN6.77 billion
Finally, profit before tax (PBT) increased by 2.1% to NGN740.99 million, while profit after tax rose by 13.3% y/y to NGN686.59 million amid a relatively lower effective tax rate of 7.3% (Q3-24: 16.5%).
Comment: CILEASING delivered a relatively impressive Q3-25 performance, posting a resilient topline and EBITDA margin expansion despite elevated operating expenses. Although EPS declined due to the impact of bonus issue dilution, profit expanded in nominal terms, underscoring strong operating leverage. Looking ahead, while the earnings outlook remains positive, supported by sustained gross earnings growth, persistently high finance costs could moderate the pace of earnings expansion in the near term. Our estimates are currently under review.
