Economy
Ecobank Optimistic of Improved Profitability in 2021
By Dipo Olowookere
One of the leading financial institutions in Africa, Ecobank, has expressed optimism that its profitability will improve in the current 2021 fiscal year.
Last Friday, the lender released its financial results for the 2020 accounting year and from the analysis, its profits declined. This was attributed to the provisioning for goodwill for the acquisition of Oceanic Bank in 2011.
Last year, Ecobank suffered a 55 per cent year-on-year decline in pre-tax profit as it closed with N65.5 billion in contrast to N146.5 billion in the 2019 reporting period, while the post-tax profit went down by 64 per cent to N35.9 billion in FY 2020 from N99.5 billion in FY 2019.
Reacting to this development in a statement made available to Business Post, Ecobank assured its shareholders that things would be better 2021, especially based on the improvement it recorded in its top line as well as the balance sheet.
The financial institution specifically said “with clean book aftermath of the full provisioning for Oceanic Bank, it will improve on its profitability in 2021 and other years ahead.”
In the unaudited results, the bank improved its revenue for the year by 7 per cent to N630 billion from N586.9 billion of the preceding year.
Also, its net interest income improved by 27 per cent to N345.3 billion from the N271.2 billion achieved a year earlier and this was buoyed by a significant decline in the interest expense, which closed at N184.8 billion in FY20 versus N239.6 billion in FY19.
In the period under consideration, the interest income slightly increased by 4 per cent to N530.1 billion from N510.8 billion in the 2019 accounting year.
However, according to the results, fee and commission income reduced to N160.6 billion from N166.4 billion just as the fee and commission expense went down to N12.5 billion from N14.6 billion, with the net trading income going down to N121.8 billion from N138.1 billion.
Also, the other operating income fell, closing at N15.1 billion as against N25.8 billion it closed a year earlier as the non-interest revenue depreciated by 10 per cent to N285.1 billion from N315.7 billion.
In the year, Ecobank reduced its staff expenses by 2 per cent to N174.2 billion from N177.4 billion, while the operating expenses spiked by 3 per cent to N398.8 billion from N388.3 billion.
Apparently, due to the disruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic to businesses and the violence that followed the #EndSARS protest last year, the recoveries made by the bank reduced significantly by 33 per cent to N49.9 billion from N73.9 billion.
On the balance sheet, deposits from customers went up 23 per cent to N7.3 trillion from N5.9 trillion in 2019, while loans and advances to customers grew by 9 per cent to N3.7 trillion from N3.4 trillion.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
