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Chinwendu Obienyi
Guaranty Trust (GT Bank) plc yesterday announced a profit before tax of N57.0 billion from N52.6billion recorded in the corresponding period of March 2018, representing a growth of 8.3 per cent.
According to its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 released to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges, the bank recorded positive performance across all financial metrics with gross earnings for the period rising 1.2.per cent to N110.3 billion from N109.0 billion posted in March 2018.
Customers’ deposits also rose by 6.0 per cent to N2.410 trillion in March 2019 from N2.274trillion in December 2018, whilst its Loan book grew by 1.6 per cent from N1.262 trillion as at December 2018 to N1.282 trillion in March 2019.
Commenting on the first quarter results, the Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Segun Agbaje, said; Going into 2019, we knew that it would be a challenging year, but our strategy and unwavering focus on delivering value to our customers and shareholders continues to underpin our ability to consistently deliver solid results despite changing market variables.
We carried on the momentum of the previous year, posting strong growth in earnings, effectively managing costs and leveraging our digital-first customer-centric strategy to deliver world-class services that are simple, cheap and easily accessible”.
He further stated that; whilst ensuring the long-term growth of our business is the greatest value that we can create for our communities, we are also leveraging our resources, expertise and network to help people thrive. That’s why, from April 28 to May 1, 2019, we are organising the biggest food and drink festival in Africa to give small businesses in the food industry the platform, network and access to the markets that they need to grow.”
Meanwhile the bank’s balance sheet remained strong as it closed the quarter ended March 31, 2019 with Total Assets of N3.556 trillion and Shareholders’ Funds of N627.2 billion. In terms of Assets quality, NPL ratio and Cost of Risk closed 7.03 and 0.05 per cent respectively in March 2019 from 7.30 and 0.34 per cent in December 2018 respectively.
In addition, coverage for NPL stood at 90.12 per cent while Full Impact Capital adequacy ratio remained very strong, closing at 22.25 per cent.
On the backdrop of this result, Post Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) and Return on Assets (ROAA) closed at 32.79 and 5.76 per cent respectively, a pointer to GTBanks strategic positioning in Nigeria and other countries where the Group operates.
