CHAPEL Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF) posted a N17.36 billion profit before tax in the first nine months of 2026, as higher earnings from bank deposits helped cushion a sharp decline in income from infrastructure loans.
The fund’s profit before tax grew 2.9 percent compared with the same period in 2025, while total income increased 3.7 percent to N19.13 billion.
The performance came against a softer interest rate environment that reduced the return generated from NIDF’s infrastructure lending portfolio.
Interest income from infrastructure loans fell 25.5 percent year-on-year, reflecting the decline in government bond yields during the period.
NIDF said the average daily yield on the 10-year Federal Government bond fell to 16.24 percent in the nine months ended September 2026, compared with 18.16 percent in the corresponding period of 2025.
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However, the fund significantly increased income from bank deposits. Interest income from deposits rose 224.1 percent to N5.1 billion, helping to offset the weaker performance of its infrastructure loans.
The fund also maintained its record of regular payouts to investors, declaring a third quarter distribution of N4.53 per unit.
The latest distribution takes the total number of distributions since inception to 38, comprising 37 quarterly payments and one special distribution. NIDF said cumulative distributions to investors have reached N110 billion.
The latest payout comes as the fund seeks fresh capital to expand its infrastructure financing activities.
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NIDF commenced its Series 12 capital raise on September 23, targeting N45 billion. The offer price of N113.54 per unit was 23.13 percent below its NGX closing price of N147.70 on October 5.
The discount provides investors participating in the offer with an entry price below the fund’s prevailing market price, while giving NIDF additional capital to finance projects in its pipeline.
The fund has financed more than $625 million in infrastructure projects since inception and currently has 17 infrastructure loans across seven subsectors.
Its portfolio includes financing for power generation, energy infrastructure, transportation, telecommunications, education and healthcare.
NIDF’s financial assets held at fair value through profit or loss increased 7.3 percent during the first nine months to N104.4 billion, reflecting additional infrastructure-loan disbursements.
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Total assets rose modestly from N137.3 billion at the end of 2025 to N139.2 billion at September 30, 2026, while liabilities increased marginally from N7.1 billion to N7.2 billion.
The fund said investors have achieved a 472.22 percent return on every naira invested since its listing in June 2017.
With more than N131.9 billion in capital, NIDF is positioning the latest capital raise as part of efforts to increase long-term naira financing for infrastructure projects and deepen its role in addressing Nigeria’s infrastructure funding gap.
The results suggest that while falling rates are reducing returns from some existing infrastructure loans, NIDF’s diversified income sources and continued portfolio expansion are helping it maintain profitability and investor distributions.
