Fidson Leads Nigeria's Pharma Industry in Early 2026

Nigeria is one of Africa’s biggest pharmaceutical markets. It is second only to South Africa in value. The country has a large population and high consumption volume. Still, Nigeria relies heavily on imports for its medicines. About 70 percent of the medicines used in Nigeria come from outside the country.

Some local companies, like Fidson, May & Baker, and Mecure Industries, are working hard to produce drugs locally. They are also managing to export some of their products. But even these local firms depend on imports. They get over 90 percent of their active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients from abroad.

As Nigeria’s population grows and urbanization increases, the demand for medicines is rising. More people are becoming aware of healthcare needs. Over-the-counter drugs are especially popular, making up 69.4 percent of the market share this year.

Estimates about the size of Nigeria's pharma market vary from $2 billion to $3.3 billion. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected to be 6.5 percent from 2025 to 2029.

Fidson’s Position

After British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline left Nigeria in 2023, only four pharmaceutical companies are now listed on the Nigerian Exchange. These are Fidson Healthcare, May & Baker, Mecure Industries, and Neimeth. However, there are over 120 functional drugmakers in Nigeria.

Fidson has a manufacturing partnership with Haleon, a British company known for brands like Sensodyne and Panadol. Fidson has been a leader in the publicly traded pharma market for some time. In the first quarter of 2026, Fidson held more than half of the market share, with revenue increasing to N42.6 billion from N35 billion the previous year.

Mecure Industries earned N20.2 billion, May & Baker had N8.4 billion, and Neimeth made N1.8 billion. Fidson’s exports reached N1.8 billion, accounting for only 4.3 percent of its revenue, but this was a significant increase from N146.5 million earned in the same period last year.

Fidson's strong performance comes from a growing domestic prescription drug market. Statista predicts this market will reach $2.9 billion in sales by 2025, growing at an annual rate of 3.6 percent through 2029. Ethical drugs are key for Fidson, contributing 56.3 percent of its revenue.

For the financial year 2025, Fidson's revenue hit a record N119.1 billion, up from N84.1 billion, which is 53.3 percent higher than Mecure, its closest competitor. Investment firm Cardinal Stone estimates that Fidson's revenue grew at a CAGR of around 28.5 percent from FY 2021 to FY 2024.

The Nigerian government aims to increase local drug production to 70 percent by 2030. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control approved the R21 Malaria Vaccine for marketing in Nigeria in April. This allows Fidson to work with Serum Institute of India Pvt Limited to prevent malaria in young children.

In September 2024, Fidson formed a joint venture with Chinese firms to make HIV drugs in Lagos. This will target West African markets. Last September, Fidson also partnered with Ohara Pharmaceutical Co. Limited from Japan. This deal will help Fidson raise capital and get advice on producing more specialized medicines.

Profit After Tax

Fidson's profit after tax rose by 39.4 percent to N4.6 billion in Q1 2026 compared to last year. This growth came from higher sales and good cost management. Mecure and May & Baker each reported N1.3 billion, while Neimeth made N113.4 million.

For 2025, Fidson's after-tax profit increased to N9.9 billion from N4.4 billion. Mecure followed with N6.5 billion, May & Baker had N4.4 billion, and Neimeth earned N976.4 million. Cardinal Stone noted that Fidson began exporting products, generating an extra N523.1 million in revenue.

The Financial Times ranked Fidson 65th in its African Fastest Growing Companies list for 2024, with a CAGR of 42.1 percent. The following year, Fidson moved up to 67th with a CAGR of 42.6 percent.

EBIT Margin

Fidson's EBIT margin was 19.4 percent in Q1 2026, slightly up from 18.9 percent in Q1 2025. Neimeth led with 32.4 percent, followed by Mecure at 22.5 percent and May & Baker at 21.3 percent. Fidson's EBIT margin for 2025 was 18.4 percent, higher than 5.2 percent in 2024.

NET PROFIT MARGIN

Fidson's net profit margin was the highest among its peers, climbing to 10.7 percent from 9.3 percent a year ago. May & Baker had a margin of 15.2 percent. Mecure reported 6.7 percent, and Neimeth recorded 6.5 percent.

For FY2025, Fidson's net profit margin was 8.3 percent, up from 5.2 percent the previous year.

TOTAL ASSETS

Fidson is seen as Nigeria’s biggest drugmaker with total assets of N93.7 billion, a 16.7 percent increase from the previous year. This growth was due to a rise in trade and other receivables and construction work on their facilities.

As of FY2025, total assets were N80.3 billion, and N73.5 billion in FY2024. Last December, Fidson launched a N21 billion rights issue, which was oversubscribed by 117 percent. This funding will boost production, support expansion, and reduce debt.

Mecure's total assets increased by 36.4 percent to N81.3 billion. May & Baker's assets rose by 1.5 percent to N26.8 billion, while Neimeth's assets increased by 13.7 percent to N14.1 billion.

RETURN ON AVERAGE EQUITY (ROAE)

Fidson’s ROAE fell to 7 percent from 12.8 percent. This drop was due to a larger shareholder fund that grew faster than net profit. For FY2025, ROAE was 37.6 percent, up from 28.9 percent the year before.

May & Baker's ROAE was 8.9 percent, down from 10.9 percent. Mecure reported 6.5 percent, while Neimeth had 4.2 percent, down from 6.8 percent last year.

RETURN ON AVERAGE ASSETS (ROAA)

Fidson led in ROAA, scoring 5.2 percent in Q1 2026, compared to 4.2 percent a year ago. ROAA for FY2025 was 12.9 percent and 8.5 percent for FY2024.

May & Baker achieved a 4.9 percent ROAA in Q1 2026, up from 4.5 percent. Mecure dropped to 1.6 percent from 4.1 percent, and Neimeth fell to 0.8 percent from 0.9 percent.