Three banks declare N140bn in first quarter 2019

Three Deposit Money Banks (DMBs): Zenith, Access and Guaranty Trust Bank have collectively recorded a total of N140.685 billion as Profit after Tax (PAT)  for the first quarter (Q1) ended in March 2019.

Their separate Q1 financial results obtained by Nigerian Tribune show that Zenith Bank’s profit after tax increased from N47 billion in 2018 to N50.234 billion in 2019. This amounts to a 6.8 per cent increase year on year.

Access Bank Plc declared N41.148 billion as profit after tax, for its first quarter ended March 31, 2019, as against N22.116 billion recorded in the same period of 2018.

Similarly, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) recorded N49.303 billion PAT in Q1 2019 compared to N44.670 billion  for the same period of 2018.

Further details of Zenith Bank’s result indicate that its gross earnings dipped from N169 billion in 2018 to N158 billion in 2019. This amounts to a 6.9 decline year on year.

Profit before tax, however, rose from N54 billion in 2018 to N57.2 billion in 2019. This amounts to a 5.9 per cent increase year on year.

In the same way, Access Bank Plc declared N45.10 billion as profit before tax, for its first quarter ended March 31, 2019, representing 64.4 per cent increase compared to N27.44 billion posted in the corresponding quarter in Q1’18.

Highlights of the bank’s Q1 financial statement released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), showed that the bank’s earnings rose by 16.4 per cent to N160.12 billion on the back of 9.1 per cent increase in interest income.

The basic earnings per share at N1.39 kobo was 80.5 percent increase compared to N0.77 in the corresponding period in 2018.

• Analysts project 28.25% growth in Access Bank’s profit

Commenting, Herbert Wigwe, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank, said: “The group delivered solid earnings underscoring the value potentials of the newly expanded business model. Gross earnings showed a16 percent increase to N160.1 billion from the prior year, comprising strong earnings on interest income and non-interest income of 69 percent and 31 percent respectively, whilst Profit before Tax (PBT) grew by 66 per cent to N45.1 billion.”

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc also released its unaudited Financial Results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges, which showed positive performance across all financial metrics.

Gross earnings for the period grew by 1.2per cent to N110.3billion from N109.0billion posted in March 2018.

Profit before Tax improved to N57.0billion from N52.6billion recorded in the corresponding period of March 2018, representing a growth of 8.3 per cent.

Commenting on the first quarter results, the Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Mr Segun Agbaje, said; “Going into 2019, we knew that it would be a challenging year, but our strategy and unwavering focus on delivering value for our customers and shareholders continues to underpin our ability to consistently deliver solid results despite changing market variables. We carried on the momentum of the previous year, posting strong growth in earnings, effectively managing costs and leveraging our digital-first customer-centric strategy to deliver world-class services that are simple, cheap and easily accessible.”

The bank recorded earnings per Share of N1.74, Return on Equity (ROAE) of 32.79 per cent, Cost to Income Ratio of 38.64 per cent and Capital Adequacy of 22.25 per cent.