External broker reports(aggregated public sources), CardinalStone

CardinalStone

External broker reports(aggregated public sources)

CardinalStone is an independent, multi-asset investment management firm offering an assortment of financial services to a diverse institutional, high net worth and retail clientele base. The company began operations in June 2008 and its business is conducted across six divisions – Investment Banking, Asset Management, Securities Trading, Trust Services, Registrar Services and Financing. Headquartered in Lagos with offices in Abuja, Nigeria, the firm and its licensed subsidiaries diligently works with its clients to create bespoke solutions for their needs.

Equity Bottom-Up

Ecobank Transnational Inc / Equity Bottom-Up

Ecobank Transnational Inc. is a bank holding company.  The Company, through its subsidiaries and branches, provides a full range of wholesale, retail, investment and transaction banking services and products to governments, financial institutions, multinationals, international organizations, medium, small and micro businesses and individuals.

<ul><li>In line with our expectations, ETI has continued to leverage the marked growth in earning assets (+21.1% YtD) in driving performance, with interest earned on earning assets expanding by 12.9% YoY to $1.5 billion in 9M’25.</li><li>This stream has established itself as the primary anchor of the Group's top-line, contributing a significant 63.3% of the 9M'25 YoY increment in gross earnings.</li><li>A clear driver has been the robust 15.9% YtD expansion in gross loans, which outpaced the most recent high of 12.4% YoY recorded in FY'22 by 3.5ppts.</li></ul>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

In line with our expectations, ETI has continued to leverage the marked growth in earning assets (+21.1% YtD) in driving performance, with interest earned on earning assets expanding by 12.9% YoY to $1.5 billion in 9M’25.This stream has established itself as the primary anchor of the Group's top-line, contributing a significant 63.3% of the 9M'25 YoY increment in gross earnings.A clear driver has been the robust 15.9% YtD expansion in gross loans, which outpaced the most recent high of 12.4% YoY recorded in FY'22 by 3.5ppts.Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

ETI - Broad Based Earnings Accretion to Drive ROE

Macroeconomics

<ul><li>The global fundamentals are in favour of a more constructive oil palm market through 2026.</li><li>The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in its most recent estimates expect global production of palm oil to increase by 2.42% to 80.8 million metric tonnes (MMt) in the 2025/26 season, largely due to expected improved yields in Indonesia (+1.82% YoY to 3.35 Mt/ha) and Malaysia (+0.58% YoY to 3.48 Mt/ha), with both countries contributing about 82.9% of global production.</li><li>Improved labour availability, more favourable weather conditions, particularly in Malaysia, and improved processing throughput are expected to provide an additional layer of support to production in the coming year.</li></ul>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

The global fundamentals are in favour of a more constructive oil palm market through 2026.The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in its most recent estimates expect global production of palm oil to increase by 2.42% to 80.8 million metric tonnes (MMt) in the 2025/26 season, largely due to expected improved yields in Indonesia (+1.82% YoY to 3.35 Mt/ha) and Malaysia (+0.58% YoY to 3.48 Mt/ha), with both countries contributing about 82.9% of global production.Improved labour availability, more favourable weather conditions, particularly in Malaysia, and improved processing throughput are expected to provide an additional layer of support to production in the coming year.Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

Oil Palm - Policy Tailwinds and Expansion Drive Support Sector Outlook

<ul><li>The global oil market is expected to remain under pressure in the near term, with OPEC+'s ongoing production ramp-up.</li><li>As of September 2025, the group had fully reversed its initial tranche of voluntary production cuts to the tune of 2.5 million barrels per day (mbpd) in a bid to regain its market share.</li><li>This reversal is likely to result in an oversupplied market in 2025 and 2026.</li></ul>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

The global oil market is expected to remain under pressure in the near term, with OPEC+'s ongoing production ramp-up.As of September 2025, the group had fully reversed its initial tranche of voluntary production cuts to the tune of 2.5 million barrels per day (mbpd) in a bid to regain its market share.This reversal is likely to result in an oversupplied market in 2025 and 2026.Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

Sector Update - Oil & Gas - Energy Outlook: Global Headwinds, Local Tailwinds

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul><li>Last week, the exchange maintained its bullish momentum for the second consecutive week, with the benchmark index gaining 1.63% WoW to settle at 149,433.25 points.</li><li>The MEP gained 2.13% in comparison, outperforming by 50bps. YtD, the MEP return of 48.87% maintains its lead over the ASI’s 45.18%, outperforming by 3.69%</li><li>The MEP’s outperformance last week was driven largely by our overweight position in MTNN (+12.98% WoW), which contributed 176 bps to overall portfolio performance.</li></ul>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

Last week, the exchange maintained its bullish momentum for the second consecutive week, with the benchmark index gaining 1.63% WoW to settle at 149,433.25 points.The MEP gained 2.13% in comparison, outperforming by 50bps. YtD, the MEP return of 48.87% maintains its lead over the ASI’s 45.18%, outperforming by 3.69%The MEP’s outperformance last week was driven largely by our overweight position in MTNN (+12.98% WoW), which contributed 176 bps to overall portfolio performance.Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

CardinalStone Research - Model Equity Portfolio - 15 December 2025

Nigerian Exchange Group / Equity Bottom-Up

Nigerian Exchange Group PLC provides platform for raising capital. The Company offers listing and trading securities, licensing, market data solutions, ancillary technology, regulation, and real estate services. serves customers in Nigeria.

<ul><li>NGXGROUP delivered its strongest quarterly revenue on record in Q3’25, driven primarily by exceptional growth in transaction fees.</li><li>This surge also underpinned the impressive 73.9% QoQ jump in PAT in Q3’25. Given the strength of the third-quarter performance, we have revised estimates for FY’25 revenue and PAT estimates upward.</li><li>In the coming year, we expect continual recovery in foreign participation in the local equities market. </li></ul>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

NGXGROUP delivered its strongest quarterly revenue on record in Q3’25, driven primarily by exceptional growth in transaction fees.This surge also underpinned the impressive 73.9% QoQ jump in PAT in Q3’25. Given the strength of the third-quarter performance, we have revised estimates for FY’25 revenue and PAT estimates upward.In the coming year, we expect continual recovery in foreign participation in the local equities market. Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

NGXGROUP - Transaction Volumes to Drive Earnings

CardinalStone is an independent, multi-asset investment management firm offering an assortment of financial services to a diverse institutional, high net worth and retail clientele base. The company began operations in June 2008 and its business is conducted across six divisions – Investment Banking, Asset Management, Securities Trading, Trust Services, Registrar Services and Financing.

Headquartered in Lagos with offices in Abuja, Nigeria, the firm and its licensed subsidiaries diligently works with its clients to create bespoke solutions for their needs.