By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc has emerged as the first Nigerian financial institution to cross the N1 trillion mark in profit after it improved its profit before tax (PBT) by 206.6 per cent in the first six months of 2024 to N1.004 trillion from N327.4 billion achieved in the same period of last year.
The company disclosed this information in its Audited Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements for the period ended June 30, 2024, released to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Wednesday.
Its loan book (net) increased by 25.5 per cent year-to-date from N2.48 trillion in December 2023 to N3.11 trillion in June 2024, while deposit liabilities grew by 39.8 per cent from N7.55 trillion in December 2023 to N10.55 trillion in June 2024.
The financial services provider recorded growth across all its asset lines and continues to maintain a well-structured, healthy, and diversified balance sheet across all jurisdictions wherein it operates a banking franchise as well as across its Payments, Pension and Funds Management business verticals with total assets and shareholders’ funds closing at N14.5 trillion and N2.4 trillion, respectively.
Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very robust and strong, closing at 21.0 per cent, while asset quality was sustained as evidenced by IFRS 9 Stage 3 Loans which closed at 4.3 per cent in June 2024 from 4.2 per cent in December 2023 and improvement in Cost of Risk (COR) to 1.6 per cent from 4.5 per cent in December 2023.
Overall, GTCO continues to post one of the best metrics in the Nigerian Financial Services industry in terms of key financial ratios i.e., Pre-Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) of 103.6 per cent, Pre-Tax Return on Assets (ROAA) of 16.6 per cent, Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 21.0 per cent and Cost to Income ratio of 16.7 per cent.
Commenting on the results, the chief executive of GTCO, Mr Segun Agbaje, said, “We are immensely proud of the progress we have made as a leading financial holding company.
“Despite the uncertainties in the operating environment, our performance in the first half of the year, where we recorded our highest profit to date, is a testament to the resilience and adaptability of our business model.
“We remain optimistic about the future and are committed to leveraging our unique strengths as a thriving financial services ecosystem to create sustainable value for all our stakeholders as we continue to position all our business verticals–Banking, Funds Management, Pension, and Payments–for rapid growth across key markets.”