Economy
Stanbic IBTC Records 41% Increase in Gross Earnings in Nine Months
By Dipo Olowookere
In the first nine months of 2022, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc grew its gross earnings by 41 per cent to N207.4 billion from N146.6 billion in the first nine months of 2021.
In the results submitted to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, the company also improved its net interest income by 48 per cent to N79.66 billion from N54.0 billion, with the non-interest revenue growing by 36 per cent to N94.4 billion from N69.3 billion, and the total operating income jumping by 41 per cent to N174.1 billion from N123.3 billion.
Furthermore, the improvement in the top line of the financial statements helped the growth in the bottom line as the pre-tax profit expanded by 52 per cent to N69.0 billion from N45.3 billion, while the post-tax profit stretched by 38 per cent to N55.2 billion from N40.0 billion.
Also, the total assets of the organisation increased by 8 per cent to N2.95 trillion from N2.74 trillion in FY 2021, gross loans and advances went up by 23 per cent to N1.17 trillion from N946.25 billion in 2021, while customer deposits increased marginally by 1 per cent to N1.14 trillion from N1.13 trillion.
“We continue to witness growth in our client franchise and key income lines. The group’s profitability increased by 57 per cent QoQ, largely attributable to impressive growth in net interest income and other revenue sources.
“This was supported by lower credit impairment charges and operating expenses when compared with the second quarter. The uplift in net interest income resulted from increase in the volume and yield on risk assets as we sustained our loan growth performance,” the chief executive of Stanbic IBTC, Mr Demola Sogunle, said.
Speaking further, he stated that, “trading revenue grew by 47 per cent QoQ following the increase in trading activities during the third quarter. Sustained focus on cost optimisation led to an 8 per cent QoQ decline in our operating expenses. As such, our cost-to-income ratio improved to 56.1 per cent from 59.9 per cent in the first half of the year and 64.3 per cent in the prior year.”
“We kicked off the third quarter with the implementation of initiatives to deliver top-notch services to our customers by leveraging digital technology. We entered into a partnership to enhance the Stanbic IBTC SME Banking platform by providing seamless payroll and salary management services to SME Banking customers.
“The digital module of the solution is now embedded on Stanbic IBTC’s SME online platform and offers value-added services such as free HR services to SME customers for the first three months, salary payment of remote employees while staying compliant with local laws, provision of financial data with detailed analytics, amongst others.
“We have also seen an increase in the uptake of our customer loyalty programme, PlusRewards which provides exclusive discount offers to Stanbic IBTC card holders at select merchant stores.
“Our Business clients can also sign up for the scheme as merchants and enjoy benefits such as free Stanbic IBTC point of sale (POS) devices, free marketing opportunities as well as access to Stanbic IBTC’s client base. Being a client-focused organisation, this will enable us to strengthen the relationship with our customers,” he added.
Mr Sogunle noted that, “As an Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) driven organisation, we do not relent in achieving our sustainability goals. Thirty-seven of our office locations currently run on solar-powered energy solutions, and we have recycled 6.6 tonnes of waste papers in return for tissue papers year-to-date as we continue to support the global reduction of carbon emissions.
“During the quarter, we disbursed credit facilities of over N504mn to support educational service providers in Nigeria and disbursed about N4.73bn credit facilities to 861 SME clients. We have also modified three additional office locations and 10 offsite ATM locations for accessibility to the physically challenged. Hence, 134 office locations and 97 offsite ATM locations have been modified so far.
“We remain committed to growing our key metrics over the rest of the year and achieving our FY 2022 guidance.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Okitipupa Plc was the sole price gainer at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, August 7, lifting the trading platform by 0.44 per cent at the close of transactions.
The share price of the palm oil producer appreciated during the trading session by N25.00 or 9.0 per cent to N277.00 per unit compared with the previous day’s N252.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation gained N12.29 billion to close at N2,807 trillion, in contrast to the previous session’s N2.795 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) added 93.63 points to finish at 4,678.08 points compared with Thursday’s 4,657.59 points.
The bourse recorded a price loser yesterday, and this was Mass Telecoms Innovation Plc, which crashed by 3 Kobo or 9.4 per cent to settle at 32 Kobo per share versus the previous day’s 35 Kobo per share.
The volume of securities traded by investors plunged by 81.5 per cent to 535,7560 units from 2.9 million units, the value of securities slumped by 93.9 per cent to N6.0 million from N99.2 million, and the number of deals decreased by 41.9 per cent to 36 deals from 62 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 77.0 million units exchanged for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.15 per cent growth was achieved by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, driven by continued buying interest in banking stocks such as First Holdco and others.
The banking index was up by 1.53 per cent during the session, offsetting the losses recorded by the others. The industrial goods segment fell by 0.37 per cent, the insurance counter shrank by 0.21 per cent, and the energy sector contracted by 0.04 per cent, while the consumer goods space closed flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 364.26 points to 245,573.60 points from 245,209.34 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N235 billion to N158.513 trillion from N158.278 trillion.
Despite the gains printed by Customs Street during the trading day, investor sentiment was weak, as there were 22 price gainers and 24 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UPDC surged by 9.23 per cent to N3.55, CWG soared by 6.56 per cent to N19.50, AXA Mansard appreciated by 4.80 per cent to N13.10, Neimeth advanced by 4.24 per cent to N8.60, and Cutix improved by 4.00 per cent to N2.60.
Conversely, Red Star Express lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N18.00, CAP declined by 9.98 per cent to N115.45, John Holt shrank by 9.82 per cent to N10.10, ABC Transport depreciated by 9.57 per cent to N5.20, and Legend Internet crashed by 8.70 per cent to N4.20.
A total of 1.5 billion equities worth N26.7 billion exchanged hands in 42,580 deals on Friday versus the 531.8 million equities valued at N20.5 billion traded in 44,826 deals on Thursday, representing a spike in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 182.06 per cent, 30.24 per cent, and 5.01 per cent, respectively.
The busiest stock during the session was Fortis Global Insurance, with a turnover of 824.5 million units valued at N2.1 billion, FCMB traded 217.9 million units worth N2.8 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 176.2 million units for N4.7 billion, Chams sold 32.5 million units worth N132.1 million, and First Holdco transacted 25.0 million units valued at N3.7 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further closed south against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, August 7, by 81 Kobo or 0.06 per cent to N1,365.69/$1 from N1,364.88/$1.
It was a similar situation for the Nigerian Naira in the official market during the session as against the Pound Sterling; it lost N1.08 to quote at N1,839.17 versus the previous day’s N1,838.09/£1, and against the Euro, it slipped by N1.23 to close at N1,575.73/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,574.80/€1.
Further, at the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian currency weakened against the Dollar yesterday by N2 to settle at N1,371/$1 compared with Thursday’s N1,369/$1, and at the black market, it traded flat at N1,400/$1.
The country’s legal tender came under FX demand pressure on Friday, with turnover rising by 304.3 per cent to $399.5 million from $98.8 million the previous day, with the number of deals slightly up to 107 from 106.
Next week, traders expect the Naira to hold steady, buoyed by dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), whose presence in the market could help ease demand pressure.
As for the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) neared the $65,000-mark after it gained 0.8 per cent to trade at $64,968.05, as investors took advantage of recent drops to shore up their holdings.
Previously, the decision by the US Senate to delay a vote on the Crypto Clarity Act until at least September weakened the outlook. The bill, which would set out which US regulator oversees which digital assets, needs 60 votes to pass and it is unclear whether it currently has 50.
Solana (SOL) grew by 2.5 per cent to $74.81, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 1.3 per cent to $0.0702, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 1.1 per cent to $593.80, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 0.5 per cent to $1,916.08, Ripple (XRP) also soared by 0.5 per cent to $1.03, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3275.
However, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.1997, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
