Shareholders of CWG Plc have approved a final dividend of 70 kobo per share for the financial year ended December 31, 2025, a 79 percent increase over the 39 kobo paid in the prior year, as the company outlined an ambitious growth agenda for the years ahead.
The approval came at CWG’s 21st Annual General Meeting held in Lagos, where the Board’s recommendation drew broad commendation from shareholders impressed by the group’s sustained profitability despite a challenging macroeconomic environment.
Phillip Obioha, chairman of the Board said the higher payout reflected both the strength of the year’s performance and the Board’s conviction about what lies ahead. ‘This recommendation reflects the Board’s confidence in the sustainability of CWG’s earnings trajectory and our commitment to delivering consistent and growing returns to our shareholders,’ he said.
The numbers behind that confidence are compelling. The group recorded a pre-tax profit of N7.8 billion for the year, a 78 percent increase from the N4.42 billion posted in 2024, while revenue rose 41.4 percent from N46.35 billion to N65.56 billion over the same period.
Obioha attributed the performance to a customer-centric approach that prioritises market responsiveness, underpinned by deliberate investments in operational efficiency. ‘You can grow your top line, but if your operations are inefficient, your bottom line will suffer. We have focused on optimising our processes to ensure we deliver value,’ he said.
Those efficiencies were built across CWG’s regional footprint, said Adewale Adeyipo, group managing director/CEO, pointing to strong performances across the company’s African markets as a key driver of results, with Nigeria remaining the largest and most strategic contributor to revenue. In Ghana, improved governance frameworks, enhanced compliance systems, and the relaunch of the CWG Academy, and an expansion of cybersecurity offerings helped the business win new customers and strengthen its position in regulated sectors.
Uganda delivered what Adeyipo described as a landmark year, with strategic partnerships secured and new markets entered, while Cameroon recorded renewed growth momentum across key business segments, reinforcing the effectiveness of CWG’s unified group strategy.
Underpinning the regional gains was a sharp focus on cost discipline. Rather than pursuing aggressive expansion in a volatile macroeconomic environment, Adeyipo said management prioritised sweating existing assets. ‘That process started some 24 months ago , identifying critical assets and getting better optimisation and utilisation of them. It has really helped to increase the profit lines,’ he said.
The company also maintained strict governance over its foreign exchange exposure through hedging strategies and internal controls. Afolabi Sobande, chief operating officer, commenting reinforced the philosophy driving the results. ‘Our mantra in CWG is that we solve real problems. This has enabled us to sustain our performance year on year,’ he said.
Sobande acknowledged the impact of inflation and rising operational costs, but noted that proactive cost management strategies have helped cushion the pressures. ‘The business is not immune to what is happening in the economy. However, management is taking proactive steps to ensure cost efficiency and sustainability,’ he added.
Looking beyond the current year, Obioha said CWG is targeting substantial growth over the next few years, with an ambition to build a $500 million business, benchmarking its finances internally against the US dollar as a hedge against naira inflation. The company also outlined plans to deepen its presence across Africa, with a structured expansion strategy in East Africa identified as a priority.
‘Digital transformation is not achieved in isolation, but is driven by ecosystems that connect infrastructure, skills, trust, and execution,’ Adeyipo said, a statement that perhaps best captures how CWG intends to get there.