FBN Holdings Plc has announced N59.7 billion Profit After Tax (PAT) for the full-year ended December 31, 2018.
The result released at the weekend also showed PBT also rose by 19.7 per cent from N54.5 billion in 2017 to N65.3 billion last year.
However, gross earnings dipped by two per cent from N595.4 billion in 2017 to N583.5 billion in 2018 while the group is proposing a dividend per share of N0.26 for 2018 as against N0.25 paid in the previous year.
The group’s total assets increased by 6.3 per cent y-o-y to N5..6 trillion as against N5.2 trillion driven by 33.3 per cent year-on-year increase in investment securities to N1.7 trillion compared to N1.2 trillion in 2017.
Total customer deposits grew by 10.9 per cent year-on-year to N3.49 trillion (compared with N3.14 trillion in the previous year.
“Capital adequacy ratio for FirstBank (Nigeria) remains strong at 17.3 per compared with 2017 figure of 17.7 per cent, 230 basis points above the regulatory minimum of 15 per cent, while the capital adequacy ratio for FBN Merchant Bank closed at 12.2 per cent as against 13.5 per cent in the previous financial year above the 10 per cent regulatory requirement for merchant banks.
Within the last financial year, the credit rating outlook for the Group was revised from Negative to Positive by Fitch Ratings, the commercial banking business strengthened its competitive position with reorganisation and recapitalisation in key markets to increase the contribution of international subsidiaries while the commercial bank reaffirmed its leadership in retail banking with effective coverage of the country via the agency banking initiative with about 15,000 agents, thereby deepening financial inclusion. The group also received regulatory approval to commence the implementation of a Group Shared Service Initiative.
Commenting on the results, UK Eke, the Group Managing Director, said: “Over the course of the 2017-2019 strategic cycle, the priority for management has been to strengthen the various businesses across the Group and position for sustainable growth over the long term. Our three-pronged approach has primarily been to drive long-term revenue generation capabilities, overhaul risk management processes and drive efficiency across our businesses.
‘’We have seen significant results in our revenue diversification aspiration, with improving digital banking offerings which have enhanced our non-interest income from the commercial banking group. Similarly, there has been steady growth in contribution to the revenue pool of the Group from the insurance business and the merchant banking business, helping to further reinforce the revenue generation capacity of the Group.
‘’The revamp of our risk management architecture, which is one of the key enablers to our shareholder value creation aspiration, will ensure our revenue generating capacity translates to stronger growth in profitability now that we have materially progressed in resolving the legacy issues as evidenced by the full provision for the largest NPL in our loan book.
Finally, we have also focused on driving operational efficiencies across the Group by leveraging technology, improving processes and increasing synergies across various entities.
‘’In 2019, we expect growth in interest income to complement our growing non-interest revenue as we undertake guided expansion of the loan book which contracted in the last two financial years.”
