Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) has impressed shareholders and the investing community with its financial performance in the first nine months of 2021.
The results of the company submitted to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited a few days ago showed a triple-digit growth in the profit before tax as well as the post-tax profit.
In the period under review, the pre-tax profit jumped to N143.7 billion from N34.5 billion, indicating an increase of 316 per cent, while the post-tax profit jumped 916 per cent to N104.5 billion from N10.3 billion.
It was observed that the significant increase in profits despite the macro-economic strains was buoyed by growth in gross earnings, net investment income, other operating income and decline in operating expenses.
According to the Group CEO of Ecobank, Mr Ade Adeyemi, the company was able to achieve this feat due to the careful implementation of the strategies put in place by the management team.
“These results also demonstrate the hard work invested in driving efficiency in all our businesses in line with our deliberate focus on driving down our cost-to-serve, sustain improvement in the quality of our credit portfolio, and strengthen liquidity and capital buffers,” he stated.
A look at the top-line of the financial results of the firm showed that in the period under review, the gross earnings grew by 12 per cent to N686.8 billion from N614.5 billion reported in 2020.
Also, net investment income rose by 523 per cent to N5.6 billion from a loss of N1.3 billion in 2020, while other operating income closed at N11.6 billion, higher than N3.3 billion reported in 2020.
The group’s total assets went up by 5 per cent to N10.9 trillion as at September 30, 2021, from N10.4 trillion in the full-year ended December 31, 2020.
“We reported strong results, reflecting the continued diligence of Ecobankers in putting our customers first and ensuring that we meet their respective needs.
“For the nine months period up to September 2021, we earned $352 million in pre-tax profit, a 41 per cent increase compared to the prior year and revenues of $1.3 billion, a 4 per cent growth. Hence return on tangible equity increased to 17.9 per cent, and we grew the per-share value of our shareholders’ equity by 11 per cent to 5.52 US dollar cents,” Mr Adeyemi further said.
The banker further stated that “our cost-to-income ratio has been declining consistently quarter on quarter, currently 58.3 per cent.
“In addition, the stock of non-performing loans as a percentage of loans outstanding is now at 6.9 per cent compared to 9.9 per cent a year ago.
“We have boosted the firm’s liquidity profile, thanks to growing customer deposits fuelled by an acceleration in digital channel adoption, partnerships with fintechs, telcos, and businesses in the payments ecosystem.”
“Finally, we continue to invest in new digital and mobile capabilities to enhance customer experience, alongside the investments we are making in our people, processes, and controls, to ensure the continued resilience of our business and service delivery to our clients. I am deeply grateful to all our customers and the Ecobank team for the remarkable job,” Mr Ayeyemi added.
