Onome Amuge
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc has reported a profit before tax of N300.4 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, reflecting strong underlying performance despite the absence of significant fair value gains that boosted the prior year’s results.
The financial results, filed with the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), revealed that the Nigerian financial services group achieved this pre-tax profit through strong growth in its core earnings. This is as interest income rose by 41.1 per cent year-on-year, while fee income increased by 41.2 per cent.
This operational strength, the group stated, allowed it to absorb the impact of the non-recurrence of N331.6 billion in fair value gains that were a feature of its first-quarter performance in 2024.
The group’s loan book (net) expanded by 15.6 per cent to N3.22 trillion in March 2025, up from N2.79 trillion at the end of December 2024. Customer deposits also saw healthy growth, increasing by 7.7 per cent from N10.40 trillion to N11.20 trillion over the same period.
GTCO highlighted growth across its asset base and affirmed its commitment to maintaining a robust, well-structured, de-risked, and diversified balance sheet across its operating regions.
Total assets reached N15.9 trillion, with shareholders’ funds standing at N3.0 trillion. The group’s capital adequacy remained strong, with a Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 34.6 per cent. Asset quality also improved, as evidenced by a reduction in IFRS 9 Stage 3 Loans to 3.3 per cent at the bank level and 4.5 per cent at the group level. The Cost of Risk (COR) also fell to 0.4 per cent from 4.9 per cent in December 2024.
Segun Agbaje, group chief executive officer of GTCO, commented: “Our Q1 2025 performance reflects the strength of all our business verticals and our capacity to generate strong and sustainable earnings. While the fair value gains of N331.6 billion reported in Q1 2024 did not recur this quarter, the Group recorded solid growth across most income lines, underpinned by a diversified revenue base and a healthy, well-structured balance sheet.”
Looking ahead, Agbaje stated that the financial services group remains optimistic. According to him, the fundamentals of the business are strong, the customer base continues to grow, while operations are executed with discipline across its strategic priorities.
