Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc recorded modest growths in the top-line and bottom-line in 2018 with pre-tax profit rising by 9.1 per cent to N215.6 billion in 2018.
Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of GTB for the year ended December 31, 2018 released yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that gross earnings rose by 3.7 per cent to N434.7billion in 2018 as against N419.2 billion in 2017. Profit before tax stood at N215.6 billion in 2018 as against N197.7 billion recorded in 2017, representing an increase of 9.1 per cent.
The board of the bank has recommended payment of final dividend per share of N2.45, in addition to interim dividend per share of 30 kobo, bringing total dividend per share for 2018 to N2.75.
Further analysis showed that the bank’s customer deposits increased by 10.3 per cent from N2.062 trillion to N2.274 trillion. However, loan book dipped by 12.9 per cent from N1.449 trillion in 2017 to N1.262 trillion in 2018. Total assets stood at N3.287 trillion while shareholders’ funds totalled N575.6 billion in 2018. In terms of assets quality, non-performing loan (NPL) ratio and cost of risk improved to 7.3 per cent and 0.3 per cent in 2018 compared with 7.7 per cent and 0.8 per cent recorded respectively in 2017. Coverage ratio for NPL stood at 105.1 per cent while capital adequacy ratio closed at 23.4 per cent despite the implementation of IFRS 9.
Managing Director, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Mr Segun Agbaje, said the results reflected the success of the bank’s focus on staying nimble, strengthening customer relationships and driving digital-first strategy.
According to him, the bank successfully navigated the pressures of challenging and radically changing business environment as it recorded growth across key financial indices while reaffirming its position as one of the best performing and well managed financial institutions in Africa.
“This result reflects, not just the fundamental strength of our brand, but also our commitment to our values of excellence, creating value for all stakeholders and putting our customers first in everything that we do. Driven by these values, we are building the bank of the future by pairing the best of our business with the massive potential of digital technologies to create Africa’s first integrated and trusted platform; Habari,” Agbaje said.