After days of anxious waiting, the board of Guaranty Trust Bank, on Wednesday presented its audited financials for the year ended December 31, 2018, after trading hours, highlights of which included the slow growth in gross earnings after interest income from loans advanced within the period dropped marginally from N327.333bn to N306.963bn. This was just as interest expenses rose slightly, while the group may have been saved from declaring a profit drop by the 59.68% reduction in loan impairment charges; and the 22% improvement in fee and commission income, among others.
The directors have however recommended a final dividend of N2.45 per share, which brings total payout for the year to N2.75 per share, considering the 30 kobo interim dividend paid for half year, from earnings per share of N6.54, marginally higher than N2.40 from the N5.94 EPS in the corresponding full-year of 2017.
Closure date for the proposed dividend is April 9, 2019, while payment is slated for April 18, same date as the annual general meeting where shareholders are expected to approve.
Gross earnings for the period climbed to N434.698bn, up 3.69% from N419.226bn in 2017; with interest income dropping by 6.22%; as interest expenses rose to N84.529bn, 4.78% higher than the N80.67bn reported in prior full-year, resulting in net interest income of N222.433bn, 9.82% down from N246.663bn in 2017.
A further breakdown of the earnings showed that the bank derived the lion’s share of N356.196bn, or 81.94%, compared to N355.764bn in 2017 from its Nigerian operations; followed by N52.746bn, or 12.13%, as against N40.782bn from the rest of West Africa (comprising Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote D’Ivoire). East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania) fetched N17.595bn, or 4.04%, up from N14.388bn; and N8.16bn, or 1.88% from Europe, down from N8.29bn in 2017.
Loans impairment charges dropped from N12.169bn in 2017 to N4.906bn; following which net interest income after loan impairment charges dropped from N234.494bn to N217.527bn.
Fee and commission income stood at N52.367bn, compared to N42.921bn in 2017; while expenses dropped from N2.189bn to N1.897bn, representing a 13.34% slide; following which net fee and commission income stood at N50.47bn, 23.91% better than prior year’s N40.732bn.
Net gains on financial instruments classified as held for trading with the period rose 116.81% from N11.338bn to N24.583bn; while other income climbed 34.95% from N37.632bn in 2017 to N50.783bn.
Personnel expenses notched 12.26% from N32.832bn to N36.856bn; operating lease expenses was up 30.61% from N1.596bn to N2.085bn; just as depreciation and amortization inched 14.6% from N15.383bn to N17.629bn.
Other operating expenses dropped marginally from N76.002bn to N70.558bn; resulting in N215.586bn profit before tax, up 9.06% from N197.685bn, which was mainly the N189.873bn derived from Nigeria, compared to N179.785bn; followed by N23.509bn from the rest of West Africa, from N15.785bn; while Europe contributed N1.766bn, or N1.409bn; and N438.017m from East Africa, a significant drop from prior year’s N705.452m. Income tax expense stood at N30.947bn from N29.772bn; following which profit for the year rose 9.96% from N167.912bn to N184.639bn.
Total assets for the period stood at N3.287tr from N3.351tr, with customer loans and advances N1.259tr, down from N1.448tr in 2017; and total liabilities from N2.731tr to N2.711tr, which was driven by customer deposits of N2.273tr, rising from N2.062tr previously. Shareholders fund therefore dropped from N619.4bn to N575.567bn.