A 14.2 per cent growth in interest income and 17.6 per cent growth in non-interest income were among the major divers of strong performance of Nigeria’s leading bank, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) during the half year (H1) ending June 30, 2015, when the operating environment was characterized by declining yields and upward pressure on cost of funding..
The recently released H1 2015 result of GTBank showed a 15 per cent or N20 billion rise in gross earnings to N153 billion as against H1 2014.
Profit before tax for the period also increased 18 per cent or N9.7 billion to N63.1 billion this was enhanced by 14.2 per cent growth in interest income and 17.6 per cent growth in Non-Interest income compared to H1 2014.
Profit after tax rose 21 per cent to 53.4 billion from N44 billion realized in the same period of 2014, as Earnings per share grew 21.3 per cent or 33 kobo to 188 kobo.
Total assets improved 8 per cent from December last year to N2.5 trillion as net loans and advances rose 2.3 per cent to N1.3 trillion from N1.28 trillion recorded December 2014, while total liabilities added 9 per cent to close at N2.2 trillion for the financial period ended 30th June 2015.
Return on Assets (ROA): Guaranty Trust Bank’s asset profitability performance showed a 0.3 per cent appreciation to 4.36 per cent from 4.06 per cent recorded for half year 2014.
Net Interest Margin (NIM) remained strong in an operating environment characterized by declining yields and upward pressure on cost of funding, as it dropped slightly by 0.17 per cent from 8.34 per cent in H1 2014 to 8.17 per cent for the financial period ended 30th June 2015.
Cost to Income Ratio dropped to 43.75 per cent maintains group’s efficiency in operations.
Return on Equity (ROE) increased to 28.12 per cent from 26.63 per cent recorded in 2014, depicting profitability of the group, evident in its 21.3 per cent PAT appreciation of N53.4 billion.
Loan to deposit ratio stood at 78.83 per cent in H1 2015 with H1 2014 figure not available, but the figure for full year (FY) 2014 is 76.21 per cent, while liquidity ratio for H1 2015 stood at 38.93 per cent from 40.07 per cent in FY 2014, while non-performing loans ratio (NPL) stood at 3.73 per cent in H1 2015 from 3.15 per cent in FY1014.
The bank has announced an interim dividend of N7.4 billion at 25 kobo per share, its closure date has been fixed at September 8, 2015 and dividend payment date scheduled for September 21, 2015.
By Pita Ochai
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