Economy

Ecobank Loses N52.6b in 2016 as Customer Deposits Drop 18%

Published

9 years ago

18/04/2017

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The year 2016 was really a challenging one for Ecobank Transnational Incorporate (ETI) going by its audited financial results released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today.

In the financial statements analysed by Business Post, it was observed that the N221.7 billion impairment charges dragged Ecobank to a loss after tax of N52 billion, as against a profit after tax of N21.25 billion in 2015.

Also, the firm’s loss before tax stood at N33.7 billion in 2016 compared with a profit before tax of N40.5 billion it achieved 12 months earlier.

However, Ecobank took a decision to completely clean its books of non-performing risk assets in its legacy loan portfolio, making a provision of N221.7 billion in its 2016 audited accounts.

The impairment charges, showed a jump of 110.7 percent compared with N105.2 billion recorded in 2015.

Ecobank said in the results that it recorded a growth of 22.3 percent in gross earnings to N665 billion in 2016, from N542.7 billion in 2015.

Net interest income similarly rose by 25.3 percent to N284 billion, from N226.6 billion in 2015. Profit before impairment charges stood at N188 billion, up from N146 billion.

The company said deposits from customers dragged down by 18 percent to $13.5 billion in the year under review, while its total assets depreciated by 13 percent to $20.5 billion.

Commenting on the results, the Group Chief Executive Officer of ETI, Mr Ade Ayeyemi said the firm’s revenues remained resilient despite a tough year of macro- economic headwinds including a weaker economic environment, particularly in Nigeria, and the “strengthening of our reporting currency, the US Dollar, against all African currencies particularly the Nigerian Naira where 40 percent of the Group’s revenues have historically been generated.”

He said further that, “Separately, our end of year bottom line performance has been impacted by our voluntary adoption of a full impairment charge regarding our legacy loan portfolio, for which a resolution vehicle was set up, the first private sector funded resolution vehicle of its kind in Nigeria, with the sole objective of ring-fencing the legacy loans from Nigeria’s core bank.

“This, among others, would allow management to focus on delivering results. Our business philosophy was founded on international best practice in terms of accounting and asset quality, so whilst the impairment charge has impacted our earnings, our accounting treatment has been for the right reasons and we are in better shape for the future as a result.”

While assuring that stakeholders that the group has strengthened its entire risk management architecture, he said the bank would also focus on bringing down impairment cost, improve the collection so that the bottom line would be robust going forward.

Mr Ayeyemi disclosed that the funds proposed $400 million convertible bond issue will be used sensibly and profitably, of which $200 million would be used to repay the short-term financing used in setting up the resolution vehicle.

“The remaining $200 million is for a conscious debt restructure of the maturity profile of the ETI Holdco balance sheet.

“We are delighted to have very high subscription levels to the issue from existing shareholders, in the region of $300 million. The conversion price of the offer is 6 USD cents compared to a current price of 3 USD cents with an interest rate of 6.46 per cent above LIBOR.

“Good businesses should always match operational expansion with cost control, and this is a fundamental belief of ours which we practise.

“We maintain our cautious stance on lending in this challenging period, but will continue to implement a number of exciting new customer initiatives such as our pan-African banking app and leveraging our blue-chip partnerships to benefit our customers across 40 countries.

“As the gateway to global trade finance in Africa, the role we are playing at the centre of the intra-Africa trade and cash management for governments, corporate clients, suppliers and distributors will benefit the economies in which we operate and consequently the income of Ecobank,” he said.

Economy

Nigerian Stocks Chalk up 0.08% on Bullish Sentiment

Published

15 hours ago

07/03/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The last trading session of the week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a positive note, as it rallied by 0.08 per cent on Friday.

This was buoyed by strong investor sentiment due to renewed buying pressure, which left 35 stocks on the gainers’ chart, as 33 stocks ended on the losers’ log, indicating a positive market breadth index.

According to data, Eterna gained 10.00 per cent to close at N42.35, Union Dicon appreciated by 9.70 per cent to N16.40, John Holt grew by 9.25 per cent to N9.45, Tantalizers rose by 8.41 per cent to N4.64, and Fidson expanded by 7.27 per cent to N88.50.

Conversely, RT Briscoe lost 10.00 per cent to finish at N12.06, SCOA Nigeria retreated by 9.96 per cent to N34.35, ABC Transport receded by 9.96 per cent to N6.25, Mecure crashed by 9.96 per cent to N61.50, and Berger Paints declined by 9.93 per cent to N66.65.

Business Post observed that the industrial goods space appreciated by 1.20 per cent yesterday, while the energy index improved by 0.19 per cent.

However, the insurance counter fell by 0.61 per cent, the consumer goods segment shed 0.56 per cent, and the banking industry depreciated by 0.11 per cent.

The All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 161.00 points on Friday to 196,968.15 points from 196,807.15 points on Thursday, while the market capitalisation went down by N119 billion to N126.437 trillion from N126.318 trillion.

A total of 586.2 million units of shares worth N30.6 billion were transacted in 62,699 deals during the trading day versus the 634.0 million shares valued at N29.1 billion traded in 66,286 deals a day earlier, showing a jump in the trading value by 5.16 per cent, and a decline in the trading volume and number of deals by 7.54 per cent and 5.41 per cent, respectively.

The activity chart was led by First Holdco with 43.9 million units worth N2.3 billion, Access Holdings exchange 43.2 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 40.0 million units for N3.7 billion, GTCO sold 38.9 million units worth N4.6 billion, and Jaiz Bank traded 31.5 million units valued at N323.4 million.

Economy

Five Price Gainers Lift NASD Index by 0.22% as Market Cap Adds N5.6bn

Published

15 hours ago

07/03/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange went up by 0.22 per cent on Friday, March 6, as a result of the rise in the share prices of five securities on the platform.

During the session, the market capitalisation of the bourse added N5.60 billion to close at N2.519 trillion versus the preceding session’s N2.513 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) appreciated by 9.35 points to 4,256.41 points from 4,256.41 points.

The five price gainers were led by 11 Plc, which gained N29.02 to close at N319.25 per unit versus Thursday’s closing value of N290.23 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.19 to N81.35 per share from N80.16 per share, Nipco Plc increased by N1.00 to N285.00 per unit from N284.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc rose by 72 Kobo to N125.20 per share from N124.48 per share, and UBN Property Plc improved by 19 Kobo to N2.17 per unit from N1.98 per unit.

On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc lost N20.00 to settle at N230.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N250.00 per share, NASD Plc declined by N5.21 to N51.00 per unit from N56.21 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc declined by 21 Kobo to N1.90 per share from N2.11 per share.

The volume of securities traded by market participants went down by 10.6 per cent yesterday to 3.4 million units from 3.8 million units, and the value of securities dropped 85.3 per cent to close at N62.4 million versus N423.3 million, while the number of deals jumped 4.8 per cent to 44 deals from 42 deals.

CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 37.2 million units valued at N2.3 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units worth N1.1 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 3.4 million units sold for N506.8 million.

Resourcery Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units traded for N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 123.1 million units transacted for N481.6 million, and CSCS Plc with 37.2 million units worth N2.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Loses N5.82 at NAFEX to Sell N1,393/$1

Published

16 hours ago

07/03/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

For another week, the Naira closed without recording a gain against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), as FX demand pressure continues to mount.

On Friday, the country’s legal tender further depreciated against the greenback by N5.82 or 0.42 per cent to trade at N1,393.26/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,387.45/$1.

Also, the local currency tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the official market segment yesterday by N7.61 to close at N1,859.99/£1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,852.38/£1, and crashed against the Euro by N1.58 to settle at N1,611.49/€1, in contrast to the N1,609.86/€1 it was traded a day earlier.

In the same vein, the Naira declined against the Dollar at the GTBank forex desk by N12 during the session to quote at N1,410/$1 versus the previous session’s rate of N1,398/$1, and at the parallel market, it lost N10 to sell for N1,415/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,405/$1.

The domestic currency continued its decline despite $300 million in FX intervention sales to banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), indicating that the rising demand for foreign payments is outpacing supply. However, worries have heightened as the Naira is entering a threshold that has not previously created panic.

In the international market, the US Dollar held broadly steady and saw its steepest weekly gain in more than a year as the escalating conflict in the Middle East drove demand for safe-haven assets. This creates pressure on other currencies.

This also affected the cryptocurrency market. As tensions escalated in the Middle East last week, investors moved quickly to the safety of the US Dollar, which strengthened as markets began pricing in higher energy prices and reignited inflation fears, potentially delaying Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Ethereum (ETH) dipped by 4.9 per cent to $1,975.54, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 4.8 per cent to $84.08, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 4.3 per cent to sell for $67,725.27, Cardano (ADA) slumped 4.2 per cent to $0.2527, and Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.4 per cent to $53.55.

Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 3.2 per cent to $0.0906, Binance Coin (BNB) slipped 2.9 per cent to $626.32, and Ripple (XRP) went down by 2.6 per cent to $1.36, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.