Economy

Ecobank Impresses With 29% Growth in H1 2021 Net Profit

Published

3 years ago

27/07/2021

By Dipo Olowookere

In the first half of 2021, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) reported a 29 per cent growth in profit after tax, which stood at N62.6 billion compared with the N48.5 billion achieved in the same period of 2020.

On Monday, the financial institution released its half-year results and it was disclosed that the pre-tax profit increased by 33 per cent to N85.3 billion from N64.1 billion.

On the top line, the lender recorded gross earnings of N442.9 billion compared with N392.0 billion, with revenue of N334.9 billion as against N290.3 billion reported a year ago.

Ecobank said it had a net interest income of N184.8 billion versus N161.4 billion in H1 2020, while the non-interest revenue grew to N150.1 billion from N128.9 billion.

At the end of H1 2021, Ecobank’s total assets increased to N11.02 trillion from N10.38 trillion in December 2020, while the loans and advances to its customers fell from N3.70 trillion in H1 2020 to N3.63 trillion in H1 2021, with customer deposits in all its operating locations rising by 7.38 per cent from N7.32 trillion to N7.86 trillion and the total equity going down by 1.06 per cent to N803.18 billion from N811.75 billion.

“We saw continued and sustained resilience in our performance, which is indicative of the success of our execution momentum drive.

“As a result, we generated a return on tangible equity of 16.1 per cent versus 15.2 per cent a year ago and increased diluted EPS and tangible book value per share by 19 per cent and 6 per cent respectively. In addition, profit before tax increased 23 per cent to $210 million,” the Group CEO of Ecobank, Mr Ade Ayeyemi, stated on the results.

He further stated that, “Group revenues rose 7 per cent to $825 million, despite the challenging operating environment with the third wave of coronavirus infections threatening economic recovery.

“Our diversified pan-African business model continued to rise to the challenge. Revenues grew 13 per cent and 6 per cent in our Commercial and Consumer businesses, while our focus on growing the trade business led to increased trade assets.

“The slowly increasing business and spend activity drove a 20 per cent rise in our Payments business’s revenue to $90 million. Deposits growth was strong, with total deposits now over $19 billion, an increase of $1.0 billion in the second quarter and $2.4 billion in a year, driven by our omnichannel strategy. Though loan growth remained flat, we are focused on providing support to MSMEs for growth.”

“I am proud of the team’s hard work in driving efficiency, which continues to reflect in our cost-to-income ratio of 58.7 per cent ahead of guidance and progressing well toward our medium-term goal of approximately 55 per cent.

“In addition, credit quality continued to be exceptionally strong. As a result, our NPL ratio of 7.4 per cent is a substantial improvement from the prior year’s 9.8 per cent, as we also build reserves to insulate the balance sheet with an NPL coverage ratio of 86.7 per cent and pushing towards our near-term target of 90 per cent,” Mr Ayeyemi further stated.

“We successfully raised $350 million Tier 2 Sustainability Notes in June, the first-ever by a financial institution in sub-Saharan Africa and first to have a Basel III-compliant 10-year non-call 5 structure outside South Africa in 144A/RegS format.

“The Bond was 3.6 times oversubscribed, demonstrating strong confidence in the Ecobank Group and our commitment to the sustainability of our communities and their social needs.

“I am deeply grateful to all stakeholders and must thank our clients for continuing to put their trust in Ecobank for their diverse banking needs,” the banker further stated.

Economy

Nigeria Led Africa’s Upstream Oil, Gas Investments in 2024

Published

16 hours ago

21/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria ranked as Africa’s leading destination for upstream oil and gas investment in 2024, new research from market intelligence firm, Wood Mackenzie, has shown, accounting for three out of four Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) announced by global oil and gas majors, totaling $13.5 billion.

The FIDs announced within the Nigerian market included Shell’s $122 million investment in the Iseni Gas Project, TotalEnergies’ $566 million commitment to the Ubeta Gas Project and Shell’s approval of the Bonga North Tranche 1 project valued at around $5 billion.

According to the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Ms Olu Verheijen, these investments reflected Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to unlock its hydrocarbon potential through investor-friendly policies and strategic global partnerships.

Last year, Nigeria introduced several initiatives to create a conducive environment for oil and gas investors, including new tax incentives aimed at attracting up to $10 billion in natural gas investments.

Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest oil producer, also offered tax relief for gas investors, reducing corporate income tax and extending capital allowance benefits – for deepwater gas projects.

Other policies include the Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements 2024 to address the reduction in oil and gas investments caused by high operating costs compared to global markets.

Also, the Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines 2024 reduces the time spent to award contracts for oil and gas projects.

In addition to the directives, Nigeria also launched its 2024 oil and gas licensing round, offering 19 blocks for exploration, demonstrating its commitment to continued collaboration with local, regional and international partners.

Market analysts note that with this momentum, further FIDs are anticipated, including TotalEnergies’ expected $750 million commitment to the Ima Shallow Gas Project in 2025.

Economy

UBN Property Triggers 0.22% Loss at NASD OTC Exchange

Published

19 hours ago

21/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.22 per cent decline on Monday, January 20, with the market capitalisation shedding N2.35 billion to close at N1.073 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.075 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) going down by 6.79 points to wrap the session at 3,105.12 points compared with 3,111.91 points recorded in the previous session.

It was observed that the loss recorded on the first trading day of the week was triggered by UBN Property Plc, which crashed by 20 Kobo to trade at N2.00 per share versus last Friday’s N2.20 per share.

However, the share price of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went up by 4 Kobo to 40 Kobo per unit from 36 Kobo per unit, it could not stop the bourse from going down at the close of transactions.

The activity chart showed that on Monday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 57.9 per cent to 767,610 units from the 486,215 units traded in the preceding session, while the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 17.7 per cent to N2.3 million from the N2.8 million recorded in the preceding trading day, as the number of deals declined by 14.3 per cent to 12 deals from the 14 deals carried out in the previous trading day.

At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with a turnover of 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with the sale of 55,358 for N14.5 million.

Also, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 25.3 million units sold for N5.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc came next with 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.

Economy

Naira Weakens to N1,550/$1 at Official Market, Gains N5 at Black Market

Published

20 hours ago

21/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira weakened against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, January 20 amid FX pressures associated with this period.

Most people who came into the country for Christmas and New Year holidays are already going back and are in need of forex, putting pressure on the local currency.

Also, the poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to end to the 42-day access granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators to buy forex at official price.

According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the Nigerian Naira lost 0.16 per cent or N2.47 on the greeback yesterday to sell at N1,550.05/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s rate of N1,547.58/$1.

Similarly, the Naira slumped against the Pound Sterling in the spot market on Monday by N23.39 to trade at N1,906.98/£1 versus N1,883.59/£1 and depreciated against the Euro by N23.14 to sell for N1,613.48/€1 compared with last Friday’s N1,590.34/€1.

However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the Dollar during the session by N5 to quote at N1,665/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,670/$1.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it turned red yesterday as the US President, Mr Donald Trump, didn’t bring up the much-expected subject of crypto in his inauguration speech on Monday afternoon.

Mr Trump had promised a far more friendly crypto policy stance than the previous administration but in the long speech that announced his plans in the coming days, he didn’t make mention of Bitcoin or crypto.

Just over the weekend, the President ignited a speculative frenzy with the Friday evening launch of the Trump meme coin, which was shortly followed by a meme coin associated with his wife, Melania.

Dogecoin (DOGE) crumbled yesterday by 6.3 per cent to $0.3419, Solana (SOL) slumped by 4.7 per cent to $235.32, Cardano (ADA) fell by 3.6 per cent to $0.9777, and Litecoin (LTC) moderated by 1.9 per cent to $114.98.

Further, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.7 per cent to $3,241.36, Binance Coin (BNB) retreated by 1.4 per cent to $693.30, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 1.2 per cent to $3.06, and Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 0.8 per cent to $101,746.99, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.