5 banks record N2trn gross earnings in 9 months

FIVE top Deposit Money Banks (DMB) namely: Access Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank and Union Bank Plc have surprised the market with cumulative gross earnings record of over N2 trillion in nine months in 2020.

This is contained in their various third quarter (Q3) 2020 unaudited results for the period ended September 30, 2020.

The banks delivered strong top-line figures despite a challenging and fast-changing macro and banking landscape, occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent decline in oil price.

Access Bank recorded gross earnings of N592.8 billion (+15% y/y), on the back of a 100 per cent year on year  (y/y) growth in non-interest income to N217.5 billion, buttressing the effectiveness of its strategy and capacity to generate sustainable revenue.

Despite the high cost of operating the enlarged franchise and an increase in net impairment charge, Profit Before Tax (PBT) stood at N116.6 billion.

Customer deposits also grew by 24 per cent year to date (YTD) to N5.26 trillion in September 2020 with strong savings account deposits of N1.23 trillion.

United Bank for Africa Plc recorded gross earnings of N454 billion which is a six per cent growth from N429 billion in the previous quarter.

It recorded an eight per cent decline in profit before tax to N90.4 billion as well as profit after tax decline of 5.5 per cent to N77.1 billion.

The bank’s net assets grew by 9.6 per cent from N598 billion to N655 billion.

Similarly, another top lender, Zenith Bank Plc announced its unaudited results with gross earnings rising by four per cent to N509 billion from N491 billion posted in the same period in the previous year.

According to the unaudited account which was presented to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), this growth was driven by non-interest income which grew by 11 per cent  to N173 billion from N157 billion recorded at the end of Q3 2019, reflecting the group’s increasingly diversified business model. The group’s Profit Before Tax (PBT) rose marginally to N177 billion at the end of Q3 2020, representing a one per cent growth over the N176 billion posted in the corresponding period last year.

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc released its Q3 2020 unaudited results for the period ended September 30, 2020.

Key highlights show that gross earnings grew by 1.3 per cent to N328 billion from N324 billion in the previous quarter.

Profit before tax declined by 1.9 per cent to N167 billion, just as profit after tax declined by 3.2 per cent to N142 billion. The lender’s net assets grew by 9.9 per cent from N687 billion to N756 billion.

The advent of  COVID-19 pandemic created a challenging operating environment for the banking industry, however, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc one of the longest-standing financial institutions in the industry recorded growth in its top and bottom-line earnings as well as witnessing a bulking up of its statement of financial position.

Gross earnings grew by 3.61 per cent, from N117.15 billion to N121.38 billion

Profit before tax for the group declined by 1.34 per cent from N15.64 billion to N15.44 billion in nine months 2020, just as profit after tax declined by 0.81 per cent from N15.64 billion in the corresponding period in 2019 to N15.44 billion.

Total assets grew significantly by 24.13 per cent from N1.80 trillion in nine months 2019 to N2.24 trillion in nine months 2020.

PBT for nine months 2020 slumped by 1.34 per cent from N15.64 billion in nine months 2019 to N15.44 billion in nine months 2020.

According to the bank, the marginal decline in PBT was driven by a 0.34per cent increase in operating expenses despite the 1.86per cent increase in operating income.

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