Banks’ earning season continued Wednesday with Guaranty Trust Bank announcing to simultaneously to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges that its gross earnings for full year 2017 rose by N4.6 billion to N419.2 billion. It was a 1.1 percent rise over the N414.6 billion recorded in 2016.
There were increases across a number of indicators with profit before tax growing by 21.3 percent to N200.2 billion as at December 2017. In the 2016 financial year, the bank recorded N165. 1 billion as pre-tax profit. Profit after tax grew by 28.9 percent from N132.3 billion to N170.5 billion.
Earnings growth were attributed primarily to growth in interest income as well as e-payment revenues.
While the bank’s loan book dipped by 8.9 percent from N1.590 trillion recorded in 2016 to N1.449 trillion last year, customer deposits increased by 3.8 percent to N2.062 trillion from N1.986trillion in December 2016.
The bank’s balance sheet remained strong with a 3.9 percent growth in total assets and contingents as the bank closed the year with total assets and contingents of N3.845 trillion and shareholders’ funds of N625.2Billion.
In terms of assets quality, NPL ratio increased to 7.7 percent in December 2017 from 3.7 percent in December 2016. This was largely as a result of classification of a single exposure within the Nigerian telecommunications industry.
Overall, asset quality remains stable with adequate coverage of 119.6 percent, while capital remains strong with CAR of 25.7 percent.
On the backdrop of this result, Return on Equity (ROAE) and Return on Assets (ROAA) closed at 35.4 percent and 6.2 percent respectively.
Against this performance, the bank is proposing a final dividend of 240 kobo per unit of ordinary share held by shareholders in addition to interim dividend of 30 kobo per unit of ordinary share bringing total dividend for 2017 financial year to N2.70 per unit of ordinary share.
