Obafoluke Otudeko wins twice on Nigerian Exchange as stake in First Bank gains $3.2 million in 10 days

Nigerian multimillionaire Obafoluke Otudeko has seen a $3.2-million gain in his stake in Nigeria’s oldest bank, First Bank of Nigeria Holdings, in the past 10 days, as investors digest the group’s first-half-year financial results.

First Bank is a Nigerian multinational bank and financial services company based in Lagos.

It operates as a parent company in Nigeria, with subsidiary operations in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Senegal, the United Kingdom and France.

The bank ranks fourth in terms of assets size according to figures contained in its first-half-year results, with Otudeko controlling 537,971,103 ordinary shares in the bank directly and indirectly through associates.

The multimillion-dollar gain in his stake can be linked to price movements in the lender’s shares, as investors intensified buying pressure on the Nigerian bourse.

The renewed buying interest has seen the share price increase from N7.55 ($0.0184) on Sept. 28 to N10 ($0.0243) on Oct. 8.

Meanwhile, the market value of his stake has risen from nearly N4.1 billion ($9.9 million) on Sept. 28 to N5.4 billion ($13.1 million) as of the time of writing, accruing a gain of N1.3 billion ($3.2 million) for the multimillionaire in 10 days.

This is the second-listed entity held by the tycoon that has experienced impressive wealth gains this year within a short period of time.

Earlier, Billionaires.Africa reported that the market value of Otudeko’s equity stake in HoneyWell Flour Mill Plc surged by N7.62 billion ($18.52 million) between Aug. 4 and 19 in reaction to a 94-percent increase in its stock price.

Meanwhile, the recent gain in his stake in First Bank came after the tier-1 lender posted its audited financial statements for the first half of 2021.

Figures contained in the report revealed that the bank’s profits rose by 6.9 percent to N38 billion ($92.4 million) compared to N35.6 billion ($86.6 million) during the same period last year.

This represents its highest mid-year profit in six years, as the lender continues to benefit from its robust non-interest businesses despite the low interest rate environment.