First HoldCo Plc has reported a decline in profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, with profit falling to N171.1bn from N208.1bn, which was posted in the corresponding quarter of 2024. This represents a drop of N37bn, or 17.8 per cent, year-on-year.

The group’s unaudited financial results released on the Nigerian Exchange on Tuesday showed that the decline was primarily driven by a steep reduction in fair value gains from financial instruments and a reversal from a foreign exchange loss to a gain.

A closer review of the results revealed that net gains from financial instruments at fair value through profit or loss fell drastically to a loss of N47.9bn in the first quarter of 2025 compared to a gain of N288.8bn in the same period last year. This represented a swing of over N336.7bn, significantly dragging down the group’s operating performance.

Although First HoldCo recorded a turnaround in foreign exchange results, moving from a loss of N98.6bn in Q1 2024 to a gain of N80.5bn in Q1 2025, this was insufficient to offset the impact of the reversal in FVTPL performance.