Insurer ranks 14th among NGX’s top-performing stocks after adjustment, despite higher revenue and mounting losses
Fortis Global Insurance Plc’s reported 805 per cent share-price rally in the first nine months of 2026 shrinks to 126.25 per cent after accounting for the company’s one-for-four share reconstruction, placing it 14th among the Nigerian Exchange’s best-performing stocks during the period.
The insurer’s share price rose from 20 kobo at the end of December 2025 to N1.81 on September 30, 2026. However, the unadjusted comparison does not reflect the impact of the share reconstruction that took effect in June.
Under the restructuring, every four existing ordinary shares were converted into one new share, reducing the company’s issued shares from 12.91 billion to approximately 3.23 billion.
Trading in the stock was suspended on June 17 and resumed on July 2, with an adjusted reference price of N3.96.
Share reconstruction changes the performance picture
Fortis Global closed 2025 at 20 kobo per share before rising to 99 kobo on June 16, its final trading day before the suspension. That represented a 395 per cent increase in the first half of the year based on the original share price.
Following the reconstruction, the 99-kobo closing price was adjusted to N3.96 to reflect the one-for-four conversion.
The adjusted reference price was a mechanical consequence of the reduction in the number of shares, rather than an increase in shareholders’ wealth.
When trading resumed on July 2, the stock closed at N3.57, approximately 9.85 per cent below the adjusted reference price. It fell further to N3.22 on July 3 and N2.60 on July 8 before recovering to N2.92 on July 15.
By July 30, the share price had returned to N2.60.
The stock subsequently declined to N1.81 at the end of September, representing a 54.29 per cent drop from the N3.96 adjusted reference price and a 49.30 per cent decline from its first-day closing price after trading resumed.
Adjusted gain places insurer 14th
The reported 805 per cent rally compares the unadjusted year-end price of N0.20 with the September closing price of N1.81.
Adjusting the year-end price for the share reconstruction produces a comparable starting price of N0.80. Against that benchmark, the increase to N1.81 translates to a gain of 126.25 per cent.
This adjustment places Fortis Global 14th among the NGX’s best-performing stocks for the first nine months of 2026, behind Critical Minerals Financing Corporation, which recorded a 127.37 per cent gain.
SCOA Nigeria topped the ranking with a reported increase of 365.49 per cent.
Using the unadjusted prices, an investment of N100,000 at 20 kobo per share would correspond to N905,000 at N1.81, before transaction costs and other applicable charges. However, the reconstruction-adjusted return provides a more meaningful comparison of the stock’s performance over the period.
Despite the lower adjusted gain, Fortis Global outperformed the NGX All-Share Index, which advanced 61.43 per cent during the same period.
Capital restructuring strengthens equity position
The share reconstruction occurred alongside a substantial change in Fortis Global’s capital structure.
The company’s shareholders’ equity rose to N36.44 billion in June 2026 from N9.04 billion at the end of 2025, representing an increase of 303.21 per cent. It was also up 615.02 per cent from N5.10 billion recorded in June 2025.
The increase was attributed to N30 billion in irredeemable convertible debt classified as equity. Of this amount, N5 billion was reportedly used to settle the Daewoo bond, helping to eliminate borrowings that stood at N5.97 billion.
Total assets also increased to N48.64 billion, up 93.36 per cent from N25.15 billion at the end of 2025 and 153.31 per cent from N19.20 billion in June 2025.
Revenue growth fails to halt losses
Despite the stronger capital position and higher insurance revenue, Fortis Global continued to record losses.
The insurer generated N1.10 billion in insurance revenue in the first half of 2026, exceeding the N535.95 million earned throughout 2025 by 105.23 per cent.
Revenue was also substantially higher than the N59.56 million recorded in the first half of 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 1,746.74 per cent.
However, the improvement in revenue has yet to translate into profitability.
Fortis Global reported a loss after tax of N2.60 billion in the first half of 2026, exceeding its full-year 2025 loss of N1.89 billion by 37.19 per cent. The latest loss was also 158.34 per cent higher than the N1.00 billion loss recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
The figures suggest that while the company has recorded significant revenue growth and strengthened its equity position, its financial performance remains under pressure.
What investors should note
Fortis Global’s share-price performance illustrates how corporate actions can affect headline stock-market returns. Although the insurer recorded the NGX’s largest unadjusted share-price increase during the first nine months of 2026, the reconstruction-adjusted gain was considerably lower.
Its 126.25 per cent adjusted return still exceeded the benchmark index’s 61.43 per cent gain, but the subsequent share-price decline and widening losses provide additional context for investors assessing the stock.
The company’s ability to convert higher insurance revenue and its strengthened capital base into sustainable profitability remains a key consideration alongside its share-price performance.
