Zenith, GTCO, Presco Lose N265 Billion to Naira Appreciation in 2026
The appreciation recorded by the naira between 2025 and 2026 may have resulted in over N265 exchange rate losses to Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc and Presco Plc in the first nine months of 2026.
Zenith Bank and GTCO are both financial service conglomerates operating some of the biggest commercial banking franchises in Nigeria while Presco Plc is Presco Plc, an oil palm cultivation, refining and trading company.
GTCO made a provision of N168 billion in its 2026 nine-month results while Zenith and Presco made a N64 billion and N33 billion for the same item.
If the naira sustains the stability momentum or even appreciates, the loss may become higher if the items are still in the books of this organization.
Recent earnings results released to the Nigerian Exchange Group by these listed companies show significant losses in income arising from “foreign currency translation differences from foreign operations”.
Literally, “foreign currency translation differences from foreign operations” implies exchange rate loss provision arising from either holding foreign exchange position (either in cash, inventory or receivables) that may have suffered diminution in value from the appreciation or depreciation between the currency in which the asset is held and the currency in which the account of the company is stated.
In the last one year, naira has strengthened relative to the dollar in a development that has made transactions conducted in the dollar to translate into a lower naira value. This implies that unrealized dollar transactions or deposits in 2025 would be less in value (in naira) in the same period in 2026.
Information obtained from the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows that the United States dollar exchanged for between N1,484 and N1,529 in September 2025 as against N1,320 and N1,350 in the same period in 2025.
