Ecobank reports $90m PBT on net revenues of $393m in Q1

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) Plc has recorded Profit before Tax (PBT) of $90million in the first quarter of 2020, down 12 per cent on a reported basis, but up 27per cent in constant currency, driven by positive operating leverage.

Also, customer deposits were up by six per cent to $16,103million as at May 31, 2020, while loans and advances to customers (net) gained two per cent to $8,788million as of March 31, 2020.

The number and value of transactions grew by eight per cent and 15per cent to 4m and $6.1billion, respectively, on Ecobank Omni+, Corporate and Investment Bank’s corporate clients’ online banking platform in the first quarter of 2020.

OmniLite, Commercial Bank’s online banking platform designed specifically to meet the unique financial needs of SMEs increased number of transactions by 40,000 to 126,000, which amounted to $435million.

Ecobank Pay, our payments platform saw a 61per cent increase in merchant acquisition numbers to 195,000 merchants.

Transaction numbers and value on Ecobank Mobile increased 72per cent and 32per cent to 9million and $613million, respectively.

Registered customers increased by 3,000 to 9,000 year-on-year on our Africa RapidTransfer App, which facilitates low-cost money transfer across 33 African countries.

The number of XpressPoints (our physical agency network) grew by approximately 4,000 agents to 43,700, with the value of transactions reaching $445million.

The Group CEO, Ecobank, Ade Ayeyemi said “Q1 2020 was the beginning of an unprecedented, uncharted and disturbing period for businesses, governments and individuals globally, owing to the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic. For us, as a bank, our focus is on making sure that we can meet the needs of our customers despite the pandemic, while also ensuring their wellbeing and safety as well as those of our employees.

“All our countries have successfully activated our business continuity plan in line with the needs of each local environment. Through our investment in technology over the years, working from home has been seamless and indeed a pretext to a possible new normal post-COVID-19.

“As the leading pan-African bank, Ecobank embraced the call to duty with a sense of urgency. With our knowledge of Africa and its intricacies in the fight against the spread of COVID-19, we have contributed about $3 million in the form of cash, healthcare equipment and supplies, in addition to mounting sustained and robust awareness campaigns, while we are also using our digital banking platforms to provide money to some of the most vulnerable members in our communities.”

In recognition of the effects of the pandemic on a significant sector of African businesses, MSMEs, we are further co-leading, with the African Union-NEPAD, and are actively committed to an initiative to support MSMEs with technical knowledge, mentoring, knowledge sharing and financial support, thus playing a vital role in helping their businesses survive the pandemic.

“For the safety of our customers, we continue to adhere strictly to guidance from the WHO, governments, and health agencies in operating our physical locations, where they have to remain open.

“We have made it safer to visit our physical locations by providing temperature checks, crowd control, hand sanitisers and social distancing, among other measures.

“Our ATMs and call centres remain open 24/7, and the full range of our banking services are available via our digital platforms. Ecobank Mobile and Ecobank Online are available to our consumer customers, and Ecobank Omni Lite and Ecobank Omni meet the needs of SMEs and large businesses.

“To further help alleviate the adverse impact of the pandemic on our customers, we have waived some of the fees on our digital channels and we are closely monitoring events to anticipate situations that may require our support to customers as circumstances evolve,” Ayeyemi added.

“That said, our quarterly performance was resilient, again reflecting the strength of our diversified business model. We delivered $90 million in pre-tax profits, an increase of 27per cent if adjusted for currency translation effects, and a return on tangible shareholders’ equity of 17.1 per cent.

“We are managing impairment losses prudently, and as a result, our cost-of-risk increased to 1.5 per cent, versus 0.5 per cent in the prior-year quarter.”