Fidelity Bank Vows to Sustain Current Performance Trend as Share Price Jumps 35%

By Dipo Olowookere

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, has assured shareholders that the current performance trend of the lender would be sustained.

She gave this assurance while reacting to the sterling performance of the company in the 2021 financial year, where the firm posted double-digit growth in profit and across key balance-sheet lines.

In the year, Fidelity Bank closed with a 35.7 per cent leap in profit before tax as it reported N38.1 billion, while the gross earnings went up by 21.6 per cent to N250.8 billion, with 35 kobo proposed by the board as a dividend for shareholders.

It was observed that the increase in earnings was driven by a combination of 60.3 per cent growth in non-interest revenue (NIR) and a 15.2 per cent hike in interest and similar income.

The growth in NIR reflects the significant increase in customer transactions resulting in 84.9% growth in trade income, 48.1 per cent in account maintenance charge and 47.2 per cent increase in digital banking income.

Furthermore, the total interest and similar income increased by N26.8 billion, with total deposits rising by 19.2 per cent to N2.025 trillion from N1.699 trillion in 2020FY, and local currency deposits growing by 16.0 per cent, accounting for 80.3 per cent of the total deposits, while foreign currency deposits increased by 33.9 per cent, accounting for 19.7 per cent of the total deposits from 17.5 per cent in 2020FY.

Business Post reports that despite headwinds occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank’s share price rose by 35 per cent between January 2021and April 01, 2022, placing it among the most actively traded stocks on the Nigerian bourse floor.

The performance of the Bank’s share price is a reflection of the high investor confidence in its strong fundamentals and leadership team.

For Mrs Onyeali-Ikpe, this “reflects the disciplined execution of our strategy and capacity to deliver superior returns to shareholders.”

She noted that in the year, “Digital Banking gained further traction driven by new initiatives in our retail business and the enhancement of existing digital banking products.

“We now have 56.0 per cent of our customers enrolled on the mobile/internet banking products and 90.0 per cent of total customer-induced transactions done on digital platforms with digital banking business contributing 27.6 per cent to net fee income.”

“My team and I are committed to achieving the long-term strategic objectives of Fidelity Bank while we look forward to sustaining the current performance trend and delivering a strong set of results for the 2022FY,” Mrs Onyeali-Ikpe promised.