More unaudited half-year financials poured into the Nigerian stock market on Monday with mixed numbers, showing that all is not well with the Nigerian economy, with most companies only able to stay afloat, as at June 30, 2018.
One of those that came with not-too-palatable figures was Diamond Bank, which reported flat earnings, arising from the marginal drop in interest income, at a time expenses ballooned by N6.03bn or 26.85%.
Specifically, gross earnings stood at N98.503bn from N97.895bn; with interest and similar income at N74.967bn, down from N76.538bn; while expense rose to N28.486bn from N22.455bn; resulting in net interest income of N46.481bn, representing a N7.602bn or 14.05% slide from prior half-year’s N54.083bn.
The bank recorded impairment charge for credit losses of N18.391bn, slightly lower than the N18.941bn of the 2017 half year, a breakdown of which showed that collective impairment charge on customer loans and advances of N20.499bn, from N20.409bn. There were also recoveries of N2.81bn on loans previously written off, compared to N2.397bn in previous half-year. Fee and commission income also stayed flat at N19.208bn, compared to N19.184bn; resulting in net interest income after impairment charge for credit losses of N28.089bn, which declined by N7.052bn or 20.06% from N35.142bn.
Fee and commission income was also flat at N19.208bn from N19.184bn; fee and commission expense rose by N979.369m or 28.18% from N3.474bn to N4.453bn; leaving net fee and commission income at N14.755bn, from N15.71bn.
Net trading income improved by a significant N1.966bn, or 94.76% to N4.04bn from N2.074bn in the first half of 2017; other income rose to N285.872m from just N96.799m, following which net operating income slipped to N47.171bn from N54.024bn, representing a decline of N5.852bn, or 11.03%.
Total expenses rose to N44.261bn from N43.506bn, led by ‘other operating expenses, which climbed to N28.007bn from N26.55bn; followed by a drop in personnel expenses to N11.634bn from N12.493bn; just as depreciation and amortization increased to N4.102bn from N3.978bn.
Profit before tax stood at N2.919bn, falling from N9.517bn; while a slide in tax expense for the period fell from N1.454bn to N470.275m; following which net profit fell by N5.613bn or 69.61% to N2.449bn. A loss from discontinued operations of N650.792m, up from N39.385m, resulting in profit for the year of N1.798bn, as against the N8.023bn of prior half year. Fair value loss on available for sale investment of N1.1bn from a gain of N57.589m; and the foreign currency translation difference for foreign operations of N47.253m represented a drop from N4.076bn in 2017. These resulted in other comprehensive loss for the year of N1.147bn, compared to the N4.019bn in 2017; while total comprehensive income for the year of N650.986m, compared to N4.004bn, representing Earnings Per Share of eight kobo, up from 35 kobo.
There was also a decline in balance sheet size, with total assets falling from N1.714tr as of December 31, 2017, to N1.587tr by half-year; as customer loans and advances dropping to N727.693bn as against the N755.503bn. Total liabilities stood at N1.366tr from N1.491tr, with customer deposits dipping to N1.104tr from N1.161tr.