Six big banks report N4.2trn profit in Nine Months 2024
Amid domestic and foreign macroeconomy challenges, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), and five other big Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) operating in Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan Countries in Africa generated an estimated N4.15 trillion profit before tax in nine months of 2024.
This is about 110.4 per cent increase from N1.97 trillion profit before tax generated in nine months of 2023, according to nine months unaudited financial statement released to investing public on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
After paying an accumulative N789.88 billion income tax expenses in nine months of 2024, THISDAY gathered that the six DMBs generated N3.91 trillion profit after tax in nine months of 2024, a growth of 104per cent from N1.92 trillion reported in nine months of 2023.
The other big DMBs are: Zenith Bank Plc, Access Holdings Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), FBN Holdings Plc and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI).
So far in 2024, these DMBs are faced with a range of challenges stemming from both internal economic factors and global financial trends.
Notable challenges include: currency volatility and foreign exchange shortages, double-dight inflation that is currently at 32.70per cent as of September 2024 and rising interest rate by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); digital transformation and cybersecurity threats, and competition from Fintech and Mobile Money Operators (MMO).
These DMBs, however, leveraged on the interest rate hike by CBN to drive interest income from loans & advances to customers, and interest from Government securities.
Others challenges are power and infrastructure challenges; talent acquisition/retention and geopolitical and global economic factors.
Despite these challenges, DMBs operating in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Countries in Africa have significantly driven profit before tax generation in the period under review.
Take for instance, GTCO, and Zenith Bank emerged the only DMBs with over N1 trillion profit before tax generation in nine months of 2024.
In the period under review, GTCO’s declared N1.21 trillion profit before tax, about 181.5 per cent increase over N433.2billion generated in nine months of 2023, while Zenith Bank hits N1 trillion profit before tax in nine months of 2024, representing an increase of 99 per cent from N505.04 billion reported in nine months of 2023.
As ETI announced N708.54 billion profit before tax in nine months of 2024, a growth of 170 per cent from N262.17billion in nine months of 2023, FBN Holdings declared N610.86 billion profit before tax in nine months of 2024, up by 128 per cent from N267.88 billion reported in nine months of 2024.
The CEO of Ecobank Group, Mr. Jeremy Awori in a statement stated that the nine months of 2024 results highlight the resilience and commitment of the Pan-African financial institution, even amid a challenging economic landscape that African governments actively address through fiscal and monetary policies.
“These results also exemplify our diversified business model’s strength and unwavering commitment to executing our Growth, Transformation, and Returns (GTR) strategy.”
“We have made significant progress on our transformation agenda over the past three quarters. Our revenue and earnings growth expectations are built on strengthening our customer-centric business lines, allowing us to deliver the products and services our customers need.
“We are simplifying operations and developing new offerings. Furthermore, we continue to invest in our technology platforms to maximise our potential. Hence, we have restructured our organisation to prioritise client focus, creating new opportunities to achieve our goals,” Awori added..
On his part, the Group Managing Director, FBN Holdings, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo said, the Holdings delivered a strong performance in the nine months of 2024, achieving significant growth driven by the effective execution of our strategic priorities.
“’Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, our focus on operational efficiency, customer-centric innovations, and prudent risk management continues to generate sustainable value for our stakeholders,” he said.
Looking ahead, Okonkwo added that, “we remain focussed on executing our digital transformation strategy, enhancing customer experience, and driving long-term growth.”
In addition, UBA’s profit before tax stood at N603.48billion in nine months of 2024, about 20.2 per cent increase from N502.09billion reported in nine months of 2023, while Access Holdings announced N558.18billion profit before tax in nine months of 2024, a growth of nearly 90 per cent from N294.42billion reported in nine months of 2023.
The Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA, Mr. Oliver Alawuba in a statement, said the nine months 2024 performance has been underpinned by consistent strong growth on all core and sustainable banking income lines.
He added that “Our substantial investments in technology are yielding tangible business value. This commitment is instrumental in delivering enhanced customer experiences and optimizing operational efficiency.”
