It is Christmas, a day we remember the beginning of that journey from miry clay to pastures of hope and redemption for the birth of our Christ Jesus. In our family, it is also a special day as we celebrate my best friend and wife, Ifeoma, on her birthday.

I celebrate her uncommon grace in managing everyone with grace and love: “2pm, there is an early dismissal for [son]. I will remind you again at 1:45pm.” Yes, she makes sure nothing important slips through the cracks even though she has more important daily tasks, seeing her patients. Ifeoma is an accomplished professional woman, the first proofreader of my best work, and the finest project manager I know. She makes me better every day.

A true scholar with five academic degrees, she balances intellectual excellence with an unalloyed commitment to family and a deep respect for the divine institution of marriage. In a world that often demands trade-offs, Ifeoma has shown me that purpose, professionalism, and partnership can coexist. I am a village boy, and she treasures a union with this villager! Thanks.

This year, she did something that touched me deeply and for which I will publicly thank her. When my mother had a fall and was not making rapid progress with treatment in Nigeria, Ifeoma left the United States to bring her here for better care. She then took weeks of leave to ensure that the surgery and recovery went well. She joined the operating room. After what can only be described as a God-directed scientific miracle in an American hospital, with everything successful, she traveled again, quietly living out the testimony of a virtuous woman. A selfless and uncommon devotion so much that my mother noted that Christmas truly sent her son multiple blessings.

It was during a layover in Europe that I asked for this photo to be taken, just to check if she was still smiling. And yes, she was, still smiling, still strong. Baby, thank you. Tochi, Emeka, and I appreciate you deeply.

Good People, join me in wishing her a happy birthday and many more years filled with grace, wisdom, and good health. She is the endless love of my life, and Ovim’s special gift to this village boy from Ovim. And let me also add Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc has reported a sharp return to profitability in its unaudited results for the half year ended 30 November 2025, posting a pre-tax profit of N37.9 billion.

This marks a significant reversal from the N5.5 billion pre-tax loss recorded in the corresponding period of 2024, underscoring the scale of the recovery achieved within one year.

The turnaround was supported largely by a strong second-quarter performance, with Q2 pre-tax earnings of N16.3 billion, alongside a combination of stronger revenue, foreign exchange gains, a surge in other income, and a steep reduction in finance costs. Together, these factors helped restore profitability after a difficult prior year marked by currency losses and high borrowing costs.

For the six-month period, revenue rose to N127.9 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 32.59% from N96.4 billion. The growth was driven by sustained demand across the company’s Hygiene, Baby, Beauty, Food & Nutrition, and Electricals segments, suggesting that consumer demand for its core brands remained resilient despite broader macroeconomic pressures.

Cost of sales climbed to N93.6 billion, up 34.80% year on year, reflecting higher input and operating costs. Even so, gross profit expanded to N34.2 billion, a 26.91% increase, indicating that the company was able to preserve margins to a large extent while growing volumes and revenue.

Operating performance improved markedly. Selling and distribution expenses rose sharply to N11.6 billion, an increase of 46%, largely in line with higher sales activity and distribution costs. Administrative expenses, however, edged down slightly to N8.02 billion from N8.08 billion in the prior period, offering some cost stability.

A major boost came from foreign exchange movements. PZ Cussons Nigeria recorded an FX gain of N8.6 billion, reversing the N15.1 billion loss suffered in the same period of 2024, a swing that significantly altered the earnings profile. In addition, other income surged to N14.7 billion, up more than fourteenfold year on year. Most of this was driven by a N14.2 billion profit on the disposal of fixed assets, supplemented by rental income of N412.7 million and scrap sales of N150.3 million.

These developments helped operations swing decisively from a N3.3 billion loss in the first half of 2024 to an operating profit of N37.9 billion in the current period.

On the financing side, the company benefited from a sharp reduction in borrowing costs. Finance costs were cut to N473.7 million from N2.7 billion a year earlier, while interest income stood at N431.4 million. This easing of finance expenses provided further support to earnings, allowing the group to convert operating gains into a strong bottom-line performance.

After accounting for income tax of N16.4 billion, profit after tax came in at N21.4 billion, confirming the strength of the rebound.

The balance sheet also showed signs of stabilization. Total assets increased to N179.4 billion, up 6.23% from N168.9 billion in the prior period. Inventories stood at N66.2 billion, while cash and cash equivalents rose to N45.5 billion, providing improved liquidity. Total equity rebounded to N4 billion from a negative position of N17.3 billion previously, reflecting the impact of the return to profitability.

Retained earnings remained in negative territory at N18.2 billion, but this represented a significant improvement from the N38.7 billion loss recorded earlier. On the liabilities side, total obligations were reduced to N175.3 billion from N186.2 billion, pointing to some deleveraging during the period.

On the equities market, the improved financial performance has been reflected in investor sentiment. PZ Cussons Nigeria shares have returned 93.42% year to date on the Nigerian Exchange as of the close of trading on 23 December 2025, placing the stock among the stronger performers on the bourse this year.

Overall, the half-year results point to a decisive reset for PZ Cussons Nigeria, with earnings recovery driven not only by revenue growth but also by currency gains, asset disposals, and lower finance costs. The sustainability of this performance will likely depend on how much of the improvement can be maintained beyond one-off income and how the company navigates cost pressures and currency dynamics in the second half of the financial year.

Nigeria recorded a fiscal deficit of about N5.7 trillion in the first six months of 2025, underscoring the persistent strain on public finances as revenue continues to lag far behind expenditure, even as government borrowing intensifies.

Data from the Q1 and Q2 2025 Budget Implementation Reports released by the Budget Office of the Federation show that while deficits came in below budgeted projections for both quarters, they were substantially higher than levels recorded in the same period of 2024. The figures point to a widening structural gap between what the government earns and what it spends, leaving borrowing as the primary tool for keeping the budget afloat.

In the first quarter of 2025, the Federal Government posted a fiscal deficit of N3.04 trillion. Although this was N481.81 billion, or 13.67 percent, lower than the projected quarterly deficit of N3.53 trillion, it more than doubled the N1.47 trillion deficit recorded in Q1 2024. Financing for the shortfall relied overwhelmingly on domestic borrowing, which accounted for N3.30 trillion, supplemented by N57.16 billion from privatization proceeds and N70.11 billion from multilateral and bilateral project-tied loans.

The second quarter showed a slight moderation. The fiscal deficit for Q2 2025 stood at N2.66 trillion, which was N865.14 billion, or 24.52 percent, below the projected N3.53 trillion for the quarter. This also marked an improvement from the N3.17 trillion deficit recorded in Q2 2024. Even so, borrowing remained central to financing, with domestic sources contributing N2.80 trillion.

External financing played a much larger role in the second quarter than in the first. Multilateral and bilateral project-tied loans surged to N1.60 trillion, alongside N7.76 billion in privatization proceeds. The Budget Office said the Q2 deficit translated to a deficit-to-GDP ratio of 2.64 percent, which is within Nigeria’s 3 percent ceiling and below the ECOWAS convergence threshold.

Taken together, the two quarters bring Nigeria’s total fiscal deficit for the first half of 2025 to about N5.7 trillion. While the fact that the deficits were below projections offers some relief, the absolute size of the shortfall highlights the depth of the country’s fiscal imbalance. The government continues to spend far more than it earns, with limited progress in closing the revenue gap.

A major driver of the deficit remains weak revenue performance, particularly from oil. Despite year-on-year improvements, actual oil receipts fell far short of budget assumptions in both quarters. In Q1 2025, gross oil revenue stood at N4.55 trillion, representing a massive N8.21 trillion shortfall, or 64.35 percent, from the prorated quarterly target of N12.76 trillion. While this was N1.20 trillion higher than the N3.35 trillion recorded in Q1 2024, it still exposed the fragility of oil-dependent revenue planning.

Gross non-oil revenue in Q1 also underperformed, coming in at N4.71 trillion, which was N1.34 trillion, or 22.18 percent, below the quarterly estimate of N6.05 trillion. After statutory deductions, net distributable revenue to the federal, state, and local governments stood at N8.06 trillion, a shortfall of N8.79 trillion, or 52.16 percent, from projections.

In the second quarter, oil revenue edged up slightly to N4.77 trillion but remained deeply below expectations, missing the quarterly target by N7.99 trillion, or 62.62 percent. Compared with Q2 2024, oil revenue rose by N1.59 trillion, reflecting a 33.33 percent increase, but the improvement was not enough to meaningfully change the fiscal picture.

Non-oil revenue showed mixed signals. Gross non-oil revenue in Q2 rose to N4.46 trillion, recording a positive variance of N404.26 billion, or 6.68 percent, above projections. Even with that improvement, net distributable revenue for all tiers of government reached N9.85 trillion, still N7.01 trillion, or 41.58 percent, below budget expectations.

The Budget Office attributed the persistent revenue gaps to ongoing challenges in the oil sector, including production constraints, price volatility, and structural inefficiencies in revenue remittance. These weaknesses continue to undermine budget assumptions, even as oil revenue shows modest year-on-year gains.

The pressure on public finances is being compounded by rising expenditure demands, particularly debt servicing and recurrent spending. With borrowing increasingly skewed toward domestic sources, concerns are growing about debt sustainability, higher interest costs, and the potential crowding out of private sector credit if revenue mobilization does not improve in the second half of the year.

The situation also builds on an already fragile fiscal position. Nigeria’s fiscal deficit rose sharply to N13.51 trillion in 2024, exceeding targets and breaching the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 deficit-to-GDP limit, according to earlier reports. That backdrop makes the continued build-up of deficits in 2025 especially worrying for policymakers and investors alike.

While the government has leaned more on concessional external loans to manage financing costs and support capital projects, the data suggests that borrowing alone cannot resolve the underlying imbalance. Without stronger and more reliable revenue streams, particularly from oil and non-oil sources, fiscal pressures are likely to persist.

As the year winds down, the report of the second half of 2025 will test whether recent improvements in non-oil revenue can be sustained and whether oil sector reforms translate into better collections. For now, the first-half numbers paint a clear picture: Nigeria’s fiscal challenges remain deeply rooted, with deficits narrowing against projections but widening against economic reality.