Dipo Olowookere
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.
