The long anticipated third quarter earnings report of First City Monument Bank Plc, the holding company of the FCMB Group finally hit the market on Friday, almost two months after end of the reporting period, with very little to cheer, as gross earnings and profit trailed far behind that of previous nine months, following which unless a miracle happens in the ongoing final quarter, shareholders may have little or nothing to share in the form of dividend.
According to the result, gross earnings dropped N21.911bn or 15.56% from N140.727bn in the first nine months of last year, to N118.816bn; helped by interest and discount income which rose marginally from N93.235bn to N96.276bn; while interest expense grew to N46.374bn, from N40.039bn; leaving net interest income at N49.901bn, compared to N53.196bn in the corresponding period of 2016.
Fee and commission income also limped from N13.373bn to N15.549bn; while expens rose to N3.811bn from N2.69bn; resulting in net fee and commission income of N11.737bn, slightly better than N10.683bn in the 2016 nine-month.
Net trading income climbed by N1.143bn or 196.63% from N581.783m to N1.725bn; while net income from other financial instruments at fair value through profit was N103.383m, as against the previous N13.133m loss. Other income fell from N33.549bn to NN5.161bn.
The drop in profit was also despite the reduction in net impairment loss on financial assets from N35.496bn in the 2016 nine-month to N12.653bn; as personnel expenses dropped from N18.702bn to N16.72bn. Depreciation and amortization expense was flat at N3.911bn, compared to N3.313bn; general and administrative expense rose marginally from N18.671bn to N19.078bn, following which results from operating activities dropped to N6.673bn from N14.175bn.
The group also recorded N168.406m share of post-tax result of associate, from nil in the preceding third quarter; while profit before tax fell to N6.6841bn from N14.175bn to N6.673bn; while net profit slumped by N7.513bn or 57.88%.
Foreign currency translation differences for foreign operations dropped to N29.2m from N4.479bn; net change in fair value of available-for-sale financial assets was however positive at N691.331m from a loss of N2.994bn; resulting in other comprehensive income net of tax of N720.531m from N1.485bn; bringing total comprehensive income for the period to N6.189bn, down from N14.466bn, representing Earnings Per Share of N0.37, a drop from N0.87.