Economy
GTCO Improves Pre-Tax Profit by 11.7% in Q3 2022
By Dipo Olowookere
One of the leading financial institutions in Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc, the parent company of GTBank Limited, improved its pre and post-tax profits in the first nine months of 2022.
According to the unaudited results of the organisation released on Tuesday, the profit before tax (PBT) increased by 11.7 per cent to N169.7 billion from the N151.9 billion recorded in the same period of 2021, as the net profit grew for the first time in the past quarters by 0.8 per cent to N130.4 billion from N129.4 billion.
Also, the earnings per share (EPS), which measures the profitability of a single stock of the company, marginally grew in the period under review by 0.02 per cent to N4.55 versus N4.54 in Q3 of 2021.
A look at the top line of the results showed that the company reported a net interest income of N189.7 billion versus N162.9 billion in the preceding period as a result of an improvement in the interest income to N204.0 billion from N178.3 billion due to more earnings from loans to customers and Eurobond.
In the period under consideration, GTCO boosted its fee and commission by 18.2 per cent to N66.9 billion from N56.6 billion as the financial institution earned more from account maintenance charges, asset management fees, corporate finance fees, amid a marginal shortfall in e-business income and commission on Touch Points.
In the first nine months of the year, GTCO spent N30.5 billion on personnel expenses compared with N28.2 billion in the same period of last year due to an increase in wages and salaries to N29.6 billion from N27.3 billion.
In Q3 2022, the organisation said its net loan book increased by 2.2 per cent to N1.84 trillion from N1.80 trillion in December 2021, while the deposit liabilities rose by 6.4 per cent on a year-to-date basis to N4.39 trillion from N4.13 trillion.
The firm maintained strong capital ratios and asset quality as CAR, NPL ratio, and Cost of Risk (COR) closed at 20.7 per cent, 5.6 per cent, and 0.2 per cent in September 2022 from 23.8 per cent, 6.0 per cent, and 0.5 per cent in December 2021, respectively.
“The group’s 3rd quarter result reaffirms our strategy for long-term growth and underscores our capacity to deliver sustainable, strong performance despite the volatilities in our operating environment.
“We have also kept in focus our vision of supporting small and medium enterprises, specifically through our free business platforms, to help them stay in business and expand their offerings.
“With our non-banking businesses fully operational alongside our core banking subsidiary, we are well positioned to maximise our earnings potential going into the 4th quarter of the year,” the group CEO of GTCO, Mr Segun Agbaje, commented on the results.
“In creating a thriving financial services ecosystem, our goal is to offer great experiences to all who interact with our brand whilst continually enhancing access to innovative financial solutions for individuals and businesses across Africa.
“We are appreciative of all our customers and other stakeholders who are with us on this journey of building a truly global African financial services institution,” he added.
GTCO Plc is a fully-fledged financial services group with banking operations across West and East Africa and the United Kingdom as well as non-banking businesses in several key industry segments including payment, funds management, and pension fund management.
With N5.8 trillion in assets and over 28 million customers, the group remains one of the most profitable and best-managed financial services companies out of Nigeria providing commercial banking services and non-banking financial services across eleven countries.
Its leadership in the banking industry and efforts at empowering people and communities have earned it many prestigious awards over the years, including Best Banking Group in Nigeria and Most Innovative Bank in Nigeria at the 2022 World Finance Banking Awards.
It also retained its position as Africa’s Most Admired Financial Services Brand in the 2022 ranking of The Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands.
Economy
Nigerian Stocks Close 1.13% Higher to Remain in Bulls’ Territory
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market firmed up by 1.13 per cent on Friday as appetite for Nigerian stocks remained strong.
Investors reacted well to the 2026 budget presentation of President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly yesterday, especially because of the more realistic crude oil benchmark of $64 per barrel compared with the ambitious $75 per barrel for 2025. This year, prices have been between $60 and $65 per barrel.
Business Post observed profit-taking in the commodity and energy sectors as they respectively shed 0.14 per cent and 0.03 per cent.
But, bargain-hunting in the others sustained the positive run, with the consumer goods index up by 3.82 per cent.
Further, the industrial goods space appreciated by 1.46 per cent, the banking counter improved by 0.08 per cent, and the insurance industry gained 0.04 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,694.33 points to 152,057.38 points from 150,363.05 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N1.080 trillion to finish at N96.937 trillion compared with Thursday’s closing value of N95.857 trillion.
A total of 34 shares ended on the advancers’ chart, while 24 were on the laggards’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
Austin Laz gained 10.00 per cent to close at N2.42, Union Dicon also jumped 10.00 per cent to N6.60, Tantalizers increased by 9.80 per cent to N2.69, Aluminium Extrusion improved by 9.78 per cent to N12.35, and Champion Breweries grew by 9.71 per cent to N16.95.
Conversely, Sovereign Trust Insurance dipped by 7.42 per cent to N3.87, Royal Exchange lost 6.84 per cent to trade at N1.77, Omatek slipped by 6.84 per cent to N1.09, Eunisell depreciated by 5.88 per cent to N80.00, and Eterna dropped 5.63 per cent to close at N28.50.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.5 billion units worth N21.8 billion in 25,667 deals compared with the 839.8 million units sold for N32.8 billion in 23,211 deals in the preceding session, showing a surge in the trading volume by 76.61 per cent, an uptick in the number of deals by 10.58 per cent, and a shrink in the trading value by 33.54 per cent.
Economy
FrieslandCampina, Two Others Erase N26bn from NASD OTC Bourse
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three stocks stretched the bearish run of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.21 per cent on Friday, December 19, with the market capitalisation giving up N26.01 billion to close at N2.121 billion compared with the N2.147 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropping 43.47 points to 3,546.41 points from 3,589.88 points.
The trio of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, and NASD Plc overpowered the gains printed by four other securities.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N6.00 to sell at N54.00 per unit versus N60.00 per unit, NASD Plc shrank by N3.50 to N58.50 per share from N55.00 per share, and CSCS Plc depleted by N2.91 to N33.87 per unit from N36.78 per unit.
On the flip side, Air Liquide Plc gained N1.01 to close at N13.00 per share versus N11.99 per share, Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 70 Kobo to N7.68 per unit from N6.98 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc added 39 Kobo to sell at N5.50 per share versus N5.11 per share, and IPWA Plc rose by 8 Kobo to 85 Kobo per unit from 77 Kobo per unit.
During the trading day, market participants traded 1.9 million securities versus the previous day’s 30.5 million securities showing a decline of 49.3 per cent. The value of trades went down by 64.3 per cent to N80.3 million from N225.1 million, but the number of deals jumped by 32.1 per cent to 37 deals from 28 deals.
Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc finished the session as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units traded for N4.9 billion.
The most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was still InfraCredit Plc with 5.8 billion units worth N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
Economy
Naira Crashes to N1,464/$1 at Official Market, N1,485/$1 at Black Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira at the two major foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday as it suffered a heavy loss against the United States Dollar at the close of transactions.
In the black market segment, the Naira weakened against its American counterpart yesterday by N10 to quote at N1,485/$1, in contrast to the N1,475/$1 it was traded a day earlier, and at the GTBank forex counter, it depreciated by N2 to settle at N1,467/$1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,465/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) window, which is also the official market, the nation’s legal tender crashed against the greenback by N6.65 or 0.46 per cent to close at N1,464.49/$1 compared with the preceding session’s rate of N1,457.84/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency tumbled against the Euro in the spot market by N2.25 to sell for N1,714.63/€1 compared with the previous day’s N1,712.38/€1, but appreciated against the Pound Sterling by 73 Kobo to finish at N1,957.30/£1 compared with the N1,958.03/£1 it was traded in the preceding session.
The market continues to face seasonal pressure even as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is still conducting FX intervention sales, which have significantly reduced but not remove pressure from the Naira. Also, there seems to be reduced supply from exporters, foreign portfolio investors and non-bank corporate inflows.
President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented the government’s N58.47 trillion budget plan aimed at consolidating economic reforms and boosting growth.
The budget is based on a projected crude oil price of $64.85 a barrel and includes a target oil output of 1.84 million barrels a day. It also projects an exchange rate of N1,400 to the Dollar.
President Tinubu said inflation had plunged to an annual rate of 14.45 per cent in November from 24.23 per cent in March, while foreign reserves had surged to a seven-year high of $47 billion.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was dominated by the bulls but it continues to face increased pressure after million in liquidations in previous session over accelerating declines, with Dogecoin (DOGE) recovering 4.2 per cent to trade at $0.1309.
Further, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 3.9 per cent to $1.90, Cardano (ADA) rose by 3.5 per cent to $0.3728, Solana (SOL) jumped by 3.4 per cent to $126.23, Ethereum (ETH) climbed by 2.9 per cent to $2,982.42, Binance Coin (BNB) gained 2.0 per cent to sell for $853.06, Bitcoin (BTC) improved by 1.7 per cent to $88,281.21, and Litecoin (LTC) soared by 1.2 per cent to $76.50, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn









