FBN Holdings Increases Profit by 159% to N236bn in Q3

FBN Holdings has reported a 159 per cent growth in its Profit After Tax (PAT) to N236.4 billion for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023, compared to N91.2 billion declared in the same period of 2022.

The holding company of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, explained that its gross earnings stood at N985.6 billion, indicating an 80.1 per cent increase from N547.2 billion.

Analysis of the group’s financial statement showed that its interest income jumped 71 per cent to N633.8 billion from N370.4 billion, while net interest income surged 51.4 per cent to N377.7 billion from N249.5 billion.

Also, its non-interest income grew 108 per cent to N326.9 billion from N157 billion, while operating income rose to N704.6 billion from N406.5 billion.

Similarly, FBN Holdings’ commercial banking group, First Bank of Nigeria, recorded 158.2 per cent growth in profit after tax to N221.1 billion from N85.7 billion.

The bank’s gross earnings increased by 79.8 percent to N922.2 billion in the first nine months of this year from N512.9 billion in the same period of 2022.

Commenting, the Group Managing Director of FBN Holdings, Nnamdi Okonkwo, said, “Over the period, we have delivered a strong performance and growth enabled by focused execution of our strategic plans. Gross earnings were up by 80.1 percent, while our profit before tax grew by 156 percent year-on-year.

“At the same time, our credit risk portfolio remains healthy, with an NPL ratio of 4.6 percent and a coverage of 85.4 percent. Cost to income ratio improved to 50 percent from 65 percent in 2022 on the back of enhanced revenue generation as well as effective cost containment initiatives despite the high inflationary environment”, he added.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank Nigeria Limited, Adesola Adeduntan, said, “in the nine months ended September 30, 2023, First Bank Group reported impressive financial results, reflecting sustained growth and resilience of the franchise. Our gross earnings at the end of the quarter were N922.2 billion, marking a remarkable increase of 79.8 percent year-on-year.

“The substantial increase of 49.3 percent year-on-year in net interest income reflects our commitment to managing interest rate dynamics effectively and optimising our interest-earning assets, while the impressive growth of 111.6 percent year-on-year in non-interest income underscores our success in diversifying the bank’s revenue streams and providing value-added services to our customers.

“Growth of 157.9 percent and 158.2 percent year-on-year in profit before tax and profit after tax respectively reflect our commitment to delivering exceptional value to our shareholders and stakeholders”, he said.

The bank’s net interest income rose to N371.0 billion from N248.5 billion.

Net loans and advances to customers increased to N5.3 trillion as of September 2023, up 40.1 percent from N3.7 trillion in December 2022.

Customers’ deposits stood at N8.9 trillion in September 2023, up 29.2 percent from N6.9 trillion in December 2022.

The holding company’s merchant banking and asset management group, FBNQuest, recorded 83 percent growth in profit before tax to N21 billion, up from N11.5 billion.

Gross earnings amounted to N60.6 billion, up 68.7 percent from N35.9 billion in the similar period of 2022.

FBNQuest’s total assets stood at N609.7 billion in September 2023, indicating 23.1 percent growth from N495.4 billion in December 2022.