FBN Holdings bolsters performance as Q1 profit increase by 63%
FBN Holdings Plc has reported a 14.5% increase in gross earnings for the first quarter of financial year 2020.
Amid rising cases of coronavirus, the financial supermarket profit for the period jerked up 62.7% to ₦25.7 billion.
The holdings which submitted its unaudited Q1 result to the Nigerian Stock Exchange had been working on balance repair program.
Its financial scorecard shows that gross income settled at ₦159.7 billion as against ₦139.4 billion declared in 2019.
FBNH delivered profit before tax of ₦28.7 billion against ₦17.8 billion in March 2019.
Meanwhile, its profit after tax hits ₦25.7 billion in contrast with ₦15.8 billion in the comparative period.
The group net-interest income went down by 15.9% to ₦60.3 billion compared with ₦71.7 billion in 2019.
However, non-interest income grew by 88.9% to ₦49.7 billion against ₦26.3 billion in 2019.
Commenting on the results, Mr Urum Kalu, FBN Holdings Group Managing Director, said the first quarter results further reflected the turnaround of its business which began to manifest in 2019.
“The current situation demonstrates the importance of the deployment of appropriate technology and effectively validates our recent investment in enhancing our capacity in technological innovation and digitisation of our products and services.
“We are currently assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and will update the market as soon as we are able to give guidance for the rest of the year.
“As a group, we are progressing with our business continuity plans and all hands are on deck to ensure safety of our employees and service to our customers with minimal disruption.
“We are united with our government, industry and the wider society in our resolve to flatten the curve of COVID-19 and limit the damage caused by the pandemic,” Eke said.
Also speaking on the results, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, FirstBank Chief Executive Officer, said the commercial banking group performed very well in the first quarter.
“We are pleased with the performance of the commercial banking group in the first quarter of 2020, with gross earnings up 15.6% and PBT up 54.8% year-on-year respectively.
“We have also seen further improvements in our NPL and Cost-to-Income ratios and are now a stronger and more resilient institution, with a significantly enhanced risk management architecture,” he said.
“Adeduntan said that as the organisation began execution of the early phase of the new 2020 – 2022 strategic plan, it was aware of unprecedented times.
“However, I am confident that we are well-equipped to handle the headwinds.
“We have invested heavily in the last three years to establish our digital banking footprint with a network of over 53,000 agents across Nigeria as well as over 13 million customers actively transacting on our digital platforms.
“We have built capacity to continue to offer gold standard services to our customers while safeguarding our staff through the pandemic,” Adeduntan said.
FBN Holdings bolsters performance as Q1 profit increase by 63%
