Onome Amuge
Wema Bank Nigeria Plc has announced an increase in its pre-tax profit, with a 174 percent year-over-year (YoY) growth reported in the third quarter of 2024, despite operating in a challenging business environment.
The bank’s unaudited consolidated financial statements, revealed that its pre-tax profit for the quarter stood at N60.62 billion, representing a significant increase from the N22.18 billion recorded in the same period of the previous year.
The bank’s financial statement disclosed substantial growth in its balance sheet, expanding by 38 percent to N3.084 trillion, driven by a 23 percent increase in deposits to N2.292 trillion.
Loans and advances also exhibited a growth of 25 percent, reaching a total of N1.003 trillion. The bank also maintained a manageable level of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs), with a ratio of 3.19 percent.
Wema Bank experienced a surge in its gross earnings, rising by 91 percent to N288.32 billion, primarily driven by an 81 percent growth in interest income to N229.11 billion, along with a 144 percent jump in non-interest income to N59.21 billion.
The bank’s financial performance for Q3’24 was characterised by strong key performance metrics, with Return on Equity (ROAE) reaching 38.62 percent, while Pre-Tax Return on Assets (ROAA) stood at 2.64 percent.
The bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 14.06 percent, while its cost to income ratio stood at 60.47 percent.
Moruf Oseni, the managing director and CEO of Wema Bank, credited the bank’s third quarter performance to the institution’s resilience in the face of a challenging operating environment.
Oseni noted that despite the difficulties, the bank remained steadfast in its growth strategy, and is determined to maintain this momentum going forward into 2025.
He stated, “Our Q3 2024 numbers speaks to our resilience despite a tough operating environment. We will sustain our growth trajectory into 2025. The performance is headlined by impressive improvements in Profit before Tax which grew strongly by 174 percent.
“The growth of gross earnings by 91.07 percent, Total Assets by 38 percent and earnings per share at 328.1kobo shows the core improvements to our balance sheet. In addition, our cost to income ratio at 60.48percent has witnessed significant improvement from the previous period.”
