No fewer than 89 firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange remitted a combined N579.78bn as company income tax in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 10.60 per cent increase from the N524.23bn paid in the corresponding period of 2025.
An analysis of the companies’ unaudited financial statements by The PUNCH showed that out of 143 companies listed on the main board of the NGX, about 89 firms recorded tax payments during the period under review, while 54 firms either reported zero tax obligations, delayed filings, or did not publish tax figures on the Exchange’s disclosure segment.
Across 11 business categories, companies under the Information and Communications Technology sector emerged as the biggest contributor to government tax receipts after paying N191.22bn in Q1 2026, up by 175.8 per cent from N69.32bn in Q1 2025. The N190.92bn tax charge recorded by MTN Nigeria Communications Plc resulted in the sharp increase.
The Industrial Goods sector followed with N151.31bn in taxes, rising by 18.9 per cent from N127.29bn, while oil and gas companies paid N177.61bn, though this represented a decline of 36.9 per cent from N281.25bn in the corresponding period of 2025 due largely to lower tax charges by Seplat Energy Plc.
Consumer goods firms remitted N62.69bn, representing a 73.8 per cent increase from N36.07bn, while financial services companies paid N56.69bn, up by 27.7 per cent from N44.38bn.
At the lower end of the spectrum, natural resources firms paid only N121.43m in taxes, down by 4.2 per cent year-on-year, while construction and real estate firms remitted N107.36m, representing a 51.8 per cent decline.
Sector leaders
Collectively, the top 10 corporate taxpayers in Q1 2026 were led by MTN Nigeria Communications Plc with N190.92bn from the ICT sector, followed by Seplat Energy Plc with N176.60bn from oil and gas.
Others were Dangote Cement Plc (N100.07bn), Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (N84.76bn), Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (N73.46bn), First HoldCo Plc (N53.26bn), Lafarge Africa Plc (N51.17bn), Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc (N50.44bn), Access Holdings Plc (N49.07bn), and Zenith Bank Plc (N46.90bn).
Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc recorded the strongest year-on-year tax increase with a 746.6 per cent jump, followed by Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc with 338.9 per cent, First HoldCo Plc with 179.1 per cent, AXA Mansard Insurance Plc with a 168.6 per cent swing in tax burden, and Presco Plc with 81.2 per cent growth.
On the other hand, firms with the sharpest tax declines included Eterna Plc with a 63.9 per cent drop, C & I Leasing Plc with 40.6 per cent, Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc with 35.1 per cent, Trans-Nationwide Express Plc with 33.5 per cent, and Red Star Express Plc with 28.7 per cent.
Among the biggest nominal taxpayers, MTN Nigeria, Seplat, Dangote Cement, GTCO, and Ecobank remained the five highest contributors overall, while firms such as Trans-Nationwide Express Plc, Premier Paints Plc, Tripple Gee and Company Plc, Juli Plc, and John Holt Plc recorded some of the smallest tax obligations during the period.
Analysts speak
In separate interviews with The PUNCH, market and investment analysts explained that profitability played a role in the effective tax rates of major firms and evaluated the role of the new tax laws, predicting their future impact on the finances of these firms.
Managing Director of Afrinvest Consulting, Abiodun Keripe, said the divergence in tax payments reflected profitability trends, sector-specific pressures, and tax incentives.
“The divergence in tax payments among these companies is largely tied to profitability patterns, sector-specific pressures, and the impact of tax incentives or deferred tax adjustments,” Keripe noted. “Companies such as Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Presco Plc, and Nestlé Nigeria Plc recorded stronger year-on-year tax expenses mainly because their earnings improved significantly during the period under review. In most cases, higher profitability naturally translates into higher income tax obligations for companies.”
The Afrinvest boss explained that stronger performers benefited from improved pricing power, exchange-rate gains, rising consumer demand, and better cost management.
This trend was evident in companies such as Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, which increased its tax expense by 51.5 per cent to N1.54bn after returning from a N22.63bn pre-tax loss in Q1 2025 to a N20.69bn pre-tax profit in Q1 2026.
The company’s gross profit surged to N43.10bn from N9.26bn after the cost of sales declined sharply. Similarly, Presco Plc raised its tax payment by 81.2 per cent to N19.99bn after revenue rose to N100.86bn and finance income climbed sharply to N5.13bn.
Nestlé Nigeria Plc also recorded a 65.8 per cent increase in tax expense to N34.77bn as revenue expanded to N326.13bn and net finance costs narrowed substantially.
The ICT sector posted the strongest growth overall. Airtel Africa’s tax charge rose by 94.3 per cent year-on-year, while MTN Nigeria alone accounted for over 99 per cent of the sector’s total tax contributions.
Financial institutions also posted stronger tax remittances on the back of higher earnings. GTCO doubled its tax expense to N84.76bn, while First HoldCo increased its tax payment by 179.1 per cent to N53.26bn after profit before tax rose to N321.12bn.
Stanbic IBTC’s tax burden also rose following the introduction of a minimum tax component.
Meanwhile, Managing Partner at SBM Intelligence, Ikemesit Effiong, assessed that companies with lower tax obligations were largely battling margin pressure, weak demand, or deferred tax adjustments.
Speaking on factors determining firms’ varying remittances, Effiong said, “It appears to be driven by a mix of operational recovery, strategic cost management, and acute macroeconomic pressure. Companies that posted higher tax bills did so because their underlying profitability improved, largely through one-off gains or deep cost restructuring.”
He added, “Those with lower tax bills are generally experiencing margin compression, structural demand weakness, or aggressive tax planning, while Eterna’s sharp tax decline despite stronger earnings points to either the crystallisation of tax losses or a shift in deferred tax positions.”
That trend was visible in companies such as Beta Glass Plc, whose tax expense declined by 22.6 per cent to N4.04bn following weaker profitability, rising finance costs, and higher foreign exchange losses.
Eterna Plc also cut its tax charge by 63.9 per cent despite posting stronger profits, suggesting lower effective tax exposure and possible tax relief adjustments.
In the Services sector, Red Star Express, C & I Leasing, and Trans-Nationwide Express all recorded lower tax payments amid weaker profitability or reduced effective tax rates.
Several firms, including DAAR Communications Plc, Morison Industries Plc, and SCOA Nigeria Plc, recorded zero tax obligations because of accumulated losses, weak profitability, or tax-loss carry-forwards.
Lead economist and fixed income strategist at CardinalStone, Olaolu Boboye, said company-specific tax waivers, pioneer status, deferred tax adjustments, and transitions under the Petroleum Industry Act were influencing effective tax rates.
“We need to check, per company, what made some companies pay lower taxes. A company can be granted pioneer status, which means it pays lower taxes. Oil and gas companies transitioning under the PIA may also pay lower taxes compared to the old petroleum profit tax regime,” Boboye said.
SBM Intelligence’s Effiong added that while Nigeria’s new tax laws could reduce headline tax rates over time, most large firms should not expect a sharp drop in effective tax rates.
“The headline statutory rate is coming down, but most real-sector companies should not expect a clean, one-for-one reduction in their effective tax rate. For larger firms, the new laws deliver a lower nominal rate, but it is offset by new layers of taxation, including a development levy and a 15 per cent global minimum effective tax,” he said.
Afrinvest’s Keripe also noted that tax reforms were aimed more at broadening the tax base, improving compliance, and simplifying administration than aggressively reducing corporate tax obligations.