By Dipo Olowookere
On Wednesday, October 16, 2019, one of the leading financial institutions in Africa, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc released its unaudited financial results for the period ended September 30, 2019 to both the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges.
A review of the results shows positive performance across all financial indices, reaffirming the lender’s position as one of the most profitable and well managed financial institutions in Nigeria.
This was reflected in the bank’s profit before tax, which grew by 3.9 percent to 170.7 billion over the N164.2 billion achieved in the corresponding period of September 2018.
Also, its loan book improved by 9.2 percent from N1.262 trillion recorded as at December 2018 to N1.378 trillion in September 2019, while customers’ deposit rose by 5.1 percent to N2.390 trillion from N2.274 trillion in December 2018.
In addition, the company’s balance sheet remained resilient with total assets and shareholders’ funds closing at N3.519 trillion and N636.8 billion respectively.
The full impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very strong, closing at 23.6 percent and in terms of assets quality, the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio and Cost of Risk (COR) improved to 5.6 percent and 0.2 percent in September 2019 from 7.3 percent and 0.3 percent in December 2018 respectively.
Complementing the improvement noted in NPLs and COR, the lender maintained adequate loan loss coverage of 95.2 percent for lifetime credit impaired loans.
On the backdrop of this result, the post-tax Return on Equity (ROAE) closed at 32.3 percent, while post-tax Return on Assets (ROAA) stood at 5.8 percent.
In his reaction to the Q3 earnings, Managing Director/CEO of GTBank, Mr Segun Agbaje, stated that, “The bank’s third quarter result reflects the strength of our franchise and the quality of our business strategy to deliver sustainable long-term value for our shareholders.”
“Going into the final quarter of the year, we will continue to differentiate ourselves by maintaining a high standard in service delivery and leveraging our resources, expertise and network to enrich the lives of our customers.
“That’s why, from November 10 – 11, 2019, we are organizing the GTBank Fashion Weekend, the biggest consumer-focused event in Africa’s fashion industry, to give indigenous small businesses the platform and access to new markets and customers that they need to grow,” he said further.
Over all, GTBank continues to be best-in-class in the Nigerian banking industry in terms of all financial ratios; ROAE of 32.3 percent, ROAA of 5.8 percent, and Cost to Income ratio of 36.9 percent.
These ratios are testament to experienced management, efficient balance sheet structure coupled with operational efficiency of the financial institution.
In recognition of the bank’s bias for world class corporate governance standards, excellent service delivery and innovation, GTBank has been a recipient of numerous awards over the years.
Some of these include Africa’s Best Bank and Best Bank in Nigeria from Euromoney Magazine, and Best Banking Group and Best Retail Bank by World Finance Magazine.
