Banking Briefs
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THE Guaranty Trust Bank Plc audited financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2016 shows positive growth across performance indicators. Gross earnings rose by 37 percent to N209 billion from N153billion in 2015, driven primarily by growth in fee and commission income as well as foreign exchange income.
Net interest income fell marginally from N80.1 billion to N79.1 billion, while impairment charges surged by 530 percent from N6.0 billion to N37.5 billion. However, non-interest income improved by 160 percent from N38 billion to N91.4 billion in 2016. Non-interest income was the major catalyst for the upsurge in earnings after benefiting from foreign exchange revaluation gains.
Consequently, profit before tax rose by 45 percent to N91.38 billion, up from N63.1 billion in 2015. The bank’s loan book grew by 14 percent from N1.373 trillion recorded as at December 2015 to N1.562 trillion in June 2016 with corresponding growth in total deposits which increased by 23 percent to N2.008 trillion from N1.637 trillion in December 2015.
The bank is proposing interim dividend of 25 kobo per unit of ordinary share held by shareholders. Further analysis revealed that the bank closed the half year with total assets and contingents of N3.42 trillion and shareholders’ funds of N453 billion, while non-performing loans remained low and within regulatory threshold at 4.39 percent and with capital adequacy ratio, CAR, of 18.25 percent.
Commenting on the results, Segun Agbaje, managing director, GTBank, said, “Going into the year, we knew it would be a challenging year and we prepared for it by focusing on effective management of the balance sheet and adapting our business model to changing market variables. The quality of our past decisions enabled us navigate the challenges that persisted in the business environment most of the half year period.”
While expressing appreciation to customers for their loyalty, and to staff for their hard work and commitment, Agbaje noted that the current economic realities present some challenges to growth. “We remain committed to our ideals of staying positive, delivering exceptional service to our customers and adding value to all stakeholders,” he said.
— Aug 29, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT
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