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  • FBN Holdings declares N270b profit in third quarter

    FBN Holdings declares N270b profit in third quarter

    FBN Holdings has achieved profit before tax of N270 billion in the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

    The commercial banking unit posted N922.2 billion gross earnings, which represents 79.8 per cent increase from N512.9 billion it achieved during same period of last year. 

    Its net interest income of N371 billion, represents 49.3 per cent increase from  N248.5 billion recorded in 2022. The profit before tax of N248.5 billion, up 157.9 per cent compared with  N96.4 billion achieved  in September, last year while profit after tax of N221.1 billion, represents  158.2 per cent rise from N85.7 billion recorded same period of last year.

    “The  total assets of N13.8 trillion, represents 37.2 per cent growth as against  N10.1 trillion it achieved in December 2022. Customers’ loans and advances (net) of N5.3 trillion, up 40.1 per cent  year-to-date as against N3.7 trillion in December 2022. Customers’ deposits of stood at N8.9 trillion, up 29.2 per cent year-t-date as against  N6.9 trillion it achieved in December 2022,” it said. 

    The Merchant Banking and Asset Management (MBAM)/FBNQuest recorded gross earnings of N60.6 billion, up 68.7 per cent compared with N35.9 billion it achieved in September, last year while profit before tax stood at N21.0 billion, up 83 per cent as against N11.5 billion it achieved in September, last year. 

     Group Managing Director, FBN Holdings, Nnamdi Okonkwo, said: “Over the period, we have delivered a strong performance and growth enabled by focused execution of our strategic plans. Gross earnings were up by 80.1 per cent, while our profit before tax grew by 156 per cent year-on-year. 

    “At the same time, our credit risk portfolio remains healthy, with an non-performing loan ratio of 4.6 per cent and a coverage of 85.4 per cent. Cost-to-income ratio improved to 50 per cent from 65 per cent in 2022 on the back of enhanced revenue generation as well as effective cost containment initiatives despite the high inflationary environment.”

    Read Also: Companies in last-minute rush to meet Q3 report deadline

    “We remain committed to leveraging technology, automation and our brand strength to enhance our value proposition, increase revenues and improve the overall operational efficiency of the Group. We are confident in our continuous progress in generating sustainable value for our shareholders.”

    Chief Executive Officer, FirstBank of Nigeria Limited (Commercial Banking Group), Dr. Adesola Adeduntan,  stated: ”In the nine months ended September 30, 2023, FirstBank Group reported impressive financial results, reflecting sustained growth and resilience of the franchise.

    “Our gross earnings at the end of the quarter were N922.2 billion, marking a remarkable increase of 79.8 per cent year-on-year. The substantial increase of 49.3 per cent y-o-y in net interest income reflects our commitment to managing interest rate dynamics effectively and optimising our interest-earning assets, while the impressive growth of 111.6 per cent y-o-y in non-interest income underscores our success in diversifying the bank’s revenue streams and providing value-added services to our customers. Growth of 157.9 per cent and 158.2 per y-o-y in Profit Before Tax and Profit After Tax respectively reflect our commitment to delivering exceptional value to our shareholders and stakeholders.”

    He said the performance is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our entire team, and it reaffirms FirstBank’s position as one of the leading players in the commercial banking industry. 

    “As we continue to face dynamic market conditions, our agility, risk management capabilities and strategic approach will remain pivotal in sustaining this impressive growth trajectory. Looking ahead, we are committed to sustaining this momentum, exploring new growth opportunities through innovation and upholding our core value of customer centricity,” he added.

  • FBN Holdings plans innovation week

    FBN Holdings Plc has  plans to hold its Group Innovation Week. The week is to provide opportunities for members of the staff across the FBN Holdings Group to develop and sustain an innovative culture that will enhance its overall business performance.

    The week which began on Monday will end  on Friday August 2 with the launch of an innovation platform.

    There will be panel discussions with industry innovation thought leaders, such as Gbenga Agboola, Co-Founder and CEO Flutterwave, Odunayo Eweniyi, Co-Founder and CEO Piggybank and Funlola Jide-Aribaloye, CEO Reliance HMO; a demo fair featuring tech giants Microsoft, Oracle and The Terragon Group; workshops and an open house at the FirstBank Digital Lab. The week-long event provides a platform for “Cultivating an Innovative Mindset” for staff to become familiar with internal structures and tools available to support an innovative culture.

    According to FBN Holdings Group Managing Director, U. K Eke, “there is a new emerging economy, driven by changes in technology, demographics and the environment. “As a Group, we have taken the decision to welcome these changes and harness opportunities from serving our large base of customers by leveraging technology and pushing frontiers in an effort to extend our leadership in the market. The innovation week is therefore, a platform to work as a Group and across the aisle as we seek creative ways of leading the change in the financial services sector across Middle Africa.”

  • FBN Holdings promises better returns

    FBN Holdings Plc will surpass its previous performance in the current business year and ensure regular and better returns to shareholders, the board and management of the financial services group have assured.

    The assurance came as shareholders approved payment of N9.3 billion as cash dividend for the 2018 business year.

    Addressing shareholders at the annual general meeting in Lagos, FBN Holdings Plc Group Managing Director, Dr. Urum Kalu Eke, said the group would outperform its 2018 figures in 2019 while continuing to build greater values for shareholders in the years ahead.

    According to him, the group is stronger now and has been positioned for sustainable growth. “From liquidity perspective, you have a strong institution that will pay dividend on a regular basis. We have built capital buffer at the commercial bank and the other entities are also well capitalised. The year 2019 promises to be a much better year than 2018, all operating entities are in safe hands with good management teams,” Eke said.

    According to him, the group will continue to improve on its credit risks and assets management with a view to achieving a single-digit non-performing loan ratio by the end of this financial year.

    He added that improved recoveries and stronger operational performance will increase the contribution of the group’s flagship commercial banking business to profitability and dividend payment.

    Eke said the company’s focused execution of group’s strategy, investment in future-enabling technologies, development of talents and re-engineered processes will continue to impact returns in the years ahead.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of the group for the year ended December 31, 2018 showed that profit after tax rose by 31.4 per cent to N59.7 billion compared with N45.5 billion in 2017. Profit before tax also increased by 19.7 per cent to N65.3 billion as against N54.5 billion. Gross earnings, however, dropped to N583.5 billion in 2018 as against N595.4 billion in 2017. Total assets rose by 6.3 per cent from N5.2 trillion in 2017 to N5.6 trillion in 2018 while customers’ deposits improved by 10.9 per cent from N3.1 trillion in 2017 to N3.5 trillion in 2018. The group also witnessed reduction in impairment charges, which declined to N87.3 billion in 2018 as against N150.4 billion in 2017, representing a drop of 42 per cent.

    FBN Holdings Plc Chairman, Dr Oba Otudeko, said the group had mapped out strategies aimed at ensuring enhanced value creation for the future. “We are not resting on our laurels, and our renewed approach to synergy and innovation will be major drivers to unlocking earnings potential for our group. We believe that our efforts to integrate our offerings and provide end-to-end solutions for our customers will create a competitive advantage in our markets,’’ Otudeko said.

    He noted that in 2018, increased group-wide collaboration resulted in a remarkable achievement of N20 billion synergy revenues, representing three-year revenue synergy targets for the group between 2017 and 2019.

    First Bank Nigeria (FBN) Limited Managing Director, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan assured that the bank will sustain recovery efforts on all provisional accounts to further reduce non-performing loans.

    He added that the bank will continue to drive its agency banking, digital banking and aligning the bank’s accounting system with IFRS 9 rules to ensure that its loan book grows moderately at five per cent.

     

  • FBN Holdings posts N59.7b full-year profit

    FBN Holdings Plc has announced N59.7 billion Profit After Tax (PAT) for the full-year ended December 31, 2018.

    The result also showed that Profit Before Tax (PBT) rose by 19.7 per cent from N54.5 billion in full-year 2017 to N65.3 billion in 2018.

    However, gross earnings dipped by two per cent from N595.4 billion in 2017 to N583.5 billion in 2018. The   group is proposing a dividend per share of N0.26 for 2018 as against N0.25 paid in the previous year.

    The Group’s total assets increased by 6.3 per cent year-on-year to N5.6 trillion as against N5.2 trillion previously achived. The result was driven by 33.3 per cent year-on-year increase in investment in securities to N1.7 trillion compared to N1.2 trillion in 2017.

    Total customer deposits grew by 10.9 per cent year-on-year to N3..49 trillion (compared with N3.14 trillion in the previous year.

    “Capital adequacy ratio for FirstBank (Nigeria) remains strong at 17.3 per compared with 2017 figure   of 17.7 per cent , 230 basis points above the regulatory minimum of 15 per cent, while the capital adequacy ratio for FBN Merchant Bank closed at 12.2 per cent as against 13.5 per cent in the previous financial year above the 10 per cent regulatory requirement for Merchant Banks.

    Read also: FBNInsurance posts N6.3b profit

    Within the last financial year, the credit rating outlook for the Group was revised from Negative to Positive by Fitch Ratings, the Commercial banking business strengthened its competitive position with reorganisation and recapitalisation in key markets to increase the contribution of international subsidiaries while the Commercial Bank reaffirmed its leadership in retail banking with effective coverage of the country via the agency banking initiative with about 15,000 agents, thereby deepening financial inclusion. The group also received regulatory approval to commence the implementation of a Group Shared Service Initiative.

    Commenting on the results, Group Managing Director, FBN Holdings,  UK Eke, said : “Over the course of the 2017 to 2019 strategic cycle, the priority for management has been to strengthen the various businesses across the Group and position for sustainable growth over the long term”. “Our three-pronged approach has primarily been to drive long-term revenue generation capabilities, overhaul risk management processes and drive efficiency across our businesses,” he said, adding that the Group has  seen significant results in its revenue diversification aspiration, with improving digital banking offerings which have enhanced its non-interest income from the commercial banking group. Similarly, there has been steady growth in contribution to the revenue pool of the Group from the insurance business and the merchant banking business, helping to further reinforce the revenue generation capacity of the Group.

    “The revamp of our risk management architecture, which is one of the key enablers to our shareholder value creation aspiration, will ensure our revenue generating capacity translates to stronger growth in profitability now that we have materially progressed in resolving the legacy issues as evidenced by the full provision for the largest non-performing loans in our loan book”.

    “Finally, we have also focused on driving operational efficiencies across the Group by leveraging technology, improving processes and increasing synergies across various entities. In 2019, we expect growth in interest income to complement our growing non-interest revenue as we undertake guided expansion of the loan book which contracted in the last two financial years.”

     

  • FBN Holdings posts N59.7b full-year profit

    FBN Holdings Plc has announced N59.7 billion Profit After Tax (PAT) for the full-year ended December 31, 2018.

    The result released at the weekend also showed PBT also rose by 19.7 per cent from N54.5 billion in 2017 to N65.3 billion last year.

    However, gross earnings dipped by two per cent from N595.4 billion in 2017 to N583.5 billion in 2018 while the group is proposing a dividend per share of N0.26 for 2018 as against N0.25 paid in the previous year.

    The group’s total assets increased by 6.3 per cent y-o-y to N5..6 trillion as against N5.2 trillion driven by 33.3 per cent year-on-year increase in investment securities to N1.7 trillion compared to N1.2 trillion in 2017.

    Total customer deposits grew by 10.9 per cent year-on-year to N3.49 trillion (compared with N3.14 trillion in the previous year.

    “Capital adequacy ratio for FirstBank (Nigeria) remains strong at 17.3 per compared with 2017 figure of 17.7 per cent, 230 basis points above the regulatory minimum of 15 per cent, while the capital adequacy ratio for FBN Merchant Bank closed at 12.2 per cent as against 13.5 per cent in the previous financial year above the 10 per cent regulatory requirement for merchant banks.

    Within the last financial year, the credit rating outlook for the Group was revised from Negative to Positive by Fitch Ratings, the commercial banking business strengthened its competitive position with reorganisation and recapitalisation in key markets to increase the contribution of international subsidiaries while the commercial bank reaffirmed its leadership in retail banking with effective coverage of the country via the agency banking initiative with about 15,000 agents, thereby deepening financial inclusion. The group also received regulatory approval to commence the implementation of a Group Shared Service Initiative.

    Commenting on the results, UK Eke, the Group Managing Director, said: “Over the course of the 2017-2019 strategic cycle, the priority for management has been to strengthen the various businesses across the Group and position for sustainable growth over the long term. Our three-pronged approach has primarily been to drive long-term revenue generation capabilities, overhaul risk management processes and drive efficiency across our businesses.

    ‘’We have seen significant results in our revenue diversification aspiration, with improving digital banking offerings which have enhanced our non-interest income from the commercial banking group. Similarly, there has been steady growth in contribution to the revenue pool of the Group from the insurance business and the merchant banking business, helping to further reinforce the revenue generation capacity of the Group.

    ‘’The revamp of our risk management architecture, which is one of the key enablers to our shareholder value creation aspiration, will ensure our revenue generating capacity translates to stronger growth in profitability now that we have materially progressed in resolving the legacy issues as evidenced by the full provision for the largest NPL in our loan book.

    Finally, we have also focused on driving operational efficiencies across the Group by leveraging technology, improving processes and increasing synergies across various entities.

    ‘’In 2019, we expect growth in interest income to complement our growing non-interest revenue as we undertake guided expansion of the loan book which contracted in the last two financial years.”

  • Nigeria equity market rises by 0.14% in cautious trading

    The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) market indices on Tuesday sustained growth, posting a marginal gain of 0.14 per cent in a cautious trading.

    Specifically, the All-Share Index rose by 43.72 points or 0.14 per cent to close at 32,173.66 against 32,129.94 achieved on Monday.

    Also, the market capitalisation which opened at N11.981 trillion increased by N17 billion to close at N11.998 trillion.

    Analysts at Cordros Capital said that investors should tread cautious due to sensitive political landscape.

    “Amidst the still sensitive political landscape, we still hold the view that the blend of compelling valuation story, together with positive macroeconomic picture, leaves scope for market recovery in the medium-to-long term.

    “However, we guide investors to tread a cautious trading path in the short term,” they said.

    A breakdown of the price movement table shows that NASCON recorded the highest price gain of 80k to lead the gainers’ table to close at N20 per share.

    Dangote Flour followed with a gain of 60k to close at N11, while Guaranty Trust Bank appreciated by 40k to close at N37.60 per share.

    Union Bank of Nigeria grew by 30k to close at N7, while Zenith Bank added 20k to close at N24.70 per share.

    Conversely, Dangote Cement topped the laggards’ table, shedding N1 to close at N196 per share.

    Read Also: NSE to launch new trading platform for mutual funds

    Redstar Express trailed with a loss of 50k to close at N5, while Caverton lost 15k to close at N2.30 per share.

    Custodian and Investment also declined by 15k to close at N5.90, while UACN went down by 15k to close at N8.10 per share.

    Also, the volume of shares traded improved by 75.45 per cent, while the value of shares transacted rose by 32.57 per cent.

    Consequently, investors bought and sold 400.87 million shares worth N3.46 billion traded in 3,885 deals.

    This was in contrast with a turnover of 228.48 million shares valued at N2.61 billion traded in 3,544 deals on Monday.

    Diamond Bank was the most active stock for the day, trading 119.79 million shares worth N299.33 million.

    FBN Holdings followed with an account of 44.39 million shares valued at N358.98 million, while United Bank for Africa sold 40.82 million shares worth N314.48 million.

    Guaranty Trust Bank traded 32.51 million shares valued at N1.22 billion, while Zenith Bank sold 24.40 million shares worth N604.99 million.

    NAN

  • FBN Holdings earns N293.3b

    FBN Holdings Plc yesterday announced its unaudited results for the six months ended  June 30, 2018 with gross earnings of N293.3 billion. The earnings rose 1.6 per cent year-on-year when compared with last year’s figures.

    The company’s profit before tax rose 9.1 per cent to N38.9 billion, as against 2017 figure N35.6 billion while profit after tax stood at N33.5 billion, up 13.7 per cent when compared with N29.5 billion in 2017.

    Its total assets stood at N5.3 trillion, up 1.3 per cent year-to-date while customer deposits rose 4.1 per cent to N3.3 trillion, s against N3.1 trillion in 2017.

    FirstBank indicated its intention to call the 8.25 per cent $300 million FBN Finance Company B.V. Subordinated callable note due in 2020. The bank opened a digital laboratory as part of its strategy to drive innovation in the digital banking space.

    Commenting on the results, its Group Managing Director, UK Eke, said: “FBNHoldings continues to make steady progress towards delivering on its strategic targets. This has been demonstrated with a 13.7 per cent  y-o-y increase in profit after tax, 21.4 per cent y-o-y growth in non-interest and 15.4 per cent y-o-y decline in impairment charge. Clearly, the Group is on its way to delivering its promises on asset quality, enhancing revenue generating capacity through non-interest income and driving further efficiencies.”

    As we ramp up initiatives to grow interest income, we remain focused on the implementation of key initiatives across our subsidiaries and further strengthen our businesses towards delivering sustainable performance as well as optimising returns to our shareholders.

    Commenting on the results, the Managing Director/CEO of FirstBank and its Subsidiaries, Adesola Adeduntan, said: “The Commercial Banking Group reported a relatively strong set of results and I am pleased to report consistent improvement towards our strategic objectives. This is reflected in a strong 28.5 per cent y-o-y increase in non-interest income, 15.5 per cent y-o-y reduction in the impairment charge and a marginal increase of 0.9 per cent y-o-y in operating expenses, despite the high inflationary environment.”

  • FBN Holdings in N5b off-market shares deals

    Two deals were struck yesterday for the transfer of 1.11 per cent equity stake in FBN Holdings Plc valued at N5 billion. Two deals were struck for the exchange of 400 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each of FBN Holdings at N12.50 per share.

    Transaction report obtained by The Nation showed that the deals were negotiated off-market deals, implying that the deals were consummated by the buying and selling investors ahead of the formal transfer at the Exchange.

    As an off-market, negotiated cross deal, it means that the deal was not subjected to the dynamics of price discovery for the particular period. Off-market trade implied that the deal was sealed outside the floor of the NSE.

    The negotiated cross deal platform of the Exchange is a special-purpose trading platform that is meant for voluminous transaction. By the cross deal, it implies that the buyer and the seller had been prearranged and the transfer at the stock market was a mere perfection of the agreement between the two. The negotiated cross deal allows the parties to the deal to close the deal at reduced cost.

    FBN Holdings is the holding company for First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) and its former subsidiaries. It recently launched a three-year medium-term strategic plan aimed at extracting significant synergies from the group with a view to enhancing returns to shareholders.

    The three-year 2017-2019 Strategic Plan with the theme: Rebuilding the Group for Enhanced Shareholder Value, aims at increasing efficiency and consolidating the growth momentum of the FBN Holdings in line with its vision of being a leading Middle Africa financial service group.

    Meanwhile, Nigerian equities opened this week with a renewed selloff with nearly two in every three price changes closing on the negative. Benchmark indices at the Exchange indicated average decline of 0.26 per cent, equivalent to net capital loss of N105 billion. The decline depressed the average year-to-date return to 12.6 per cent.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted equities dropped from its opening value of N15.508 trillion to close at N15.403 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the main index that tracks share prices also dropped from its opening index of 43,167.86 points to close at 43,056.51 points.

    There were 34 losers against 19 gainers. Unilever Nigeria led the losers with a drop of N1.40 to close at N60.80. Nestle Nigeria followed with a loss of N1 to close at N1,380 while NASCON Allied Industries dropped by 90 kobo to close at N23.

    On the positive side, Total Nigeria led the gainers with a gain of N4.10 to close at N246.10. Dangote Sugar Refinery followed with a gain of 85 kobo to close at N23.35 while Nigerian Breweries rose by 50 kobo to close at N130 per share.

     

  • NSE moves 403.14m shares worth N9.14bn

    NSE moves 403.14m shares worth N9.14bn

    Investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange ( NSE ) on Friday traded 403.14 million shares valued at N9.14 billion exchanged in 4,570 deals.

    This was against a turnover of 371.25 million shares worth N4.87 billion achieved in 4,570 deals on Thursday, an increase of 8.6 per cent.

    United Bank for Africa ( UBA ) drove the activity chart accounting for 74.17 million shares valued at N977.38 million.

    It was followed by Zenith Bank, which traded 44.33 million shares worth N1.39 billion, while GT Bank sold 38 million shares valued at N1.84 billion.

    Transcorp exchanged 24.09 million shares worth N47.82 million and FBN Holdings achieved a turnover of 21. 98 million shares valued at N247.96 million.

    Seplat for the second day running recorded the highest price gain to lead the gainers’ table growing by N25.10 to close at N700.10 per share.

    Total followed with a gain of N11.50 to close at N242.50, while Presco grew by N2.75 to N72.75 per share.

    Lafarge Africa garnered 90k to close at N51, while NASCON improved by 85k to close at N23.80 per share.

    As a result, the All-Share Index rose by 32.85 points or 0.08 per cent to close at 42,876.23 compared to 42,843.38 posted on Thursday.

    Also, the market capitalisation which opened at N15.374 trillion inched N29 billion to close at N15.403 billion.

    On the other hand, Nestle Nigeria topped the losers’ chart dropping by N42 to close at N1, 400 per share.

    Mobil Nigeria Plc trailed with a loss of N7 to close at N177, while Guinness was down by N5.20 to close at N99.70 per share.

    PZ Industries shed 85k to close at N23.30, while International Breweries depreciated by 65k to close at N57 per share.

    NAN

  • RenCap: FBN Holdings not affected by CBN’s dividend payout rule

    Renaissance Capital (RenCap), a global investment bank, yesterday said FBN Holdings Plc will not be affected by the new dividend payout rule released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The firm said that lenders operating holding company structures will not be restricted by the policy in dividend payment.

    In a report titled: ‘Nigerian Banks: CBN includes Additional Provision for Dividend Pay-outs’ the firm said: “Restrictions only apply to the banking entity, and not the group as FBN Holdings for instance paid out N0.20 kobo per share (51 per cent dividend pay-out) in fiscal year 2016, despite a Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) ratio of 24.4 per cent. This was paid out of the other non-banking subsidiaries within the group”.

    “Dividends paid to the shareholders are from the subsidiaries of the holding company of which the commercial banking group (FBN) currently retains in its business to build stronger capital buffers to execute strategic initiatives,” The Nation further learnt.

    The RenCap report said the CBN ban on dividend payout is not a new development as it was originally implemented on October 8, 2014 in a circular which stipulated that a bank’s ability to pay dividend is based on NPLs ratio. Banks with NPL ratios above 10 per cent shall not be allowed to pay dividend.

    It said capital position where banks which do not meet the minimum capital adequacy ratio shall not be allowed to pay dividend and Credit Risk Ratings (CRR) which are not typically disclosed by the banks.

    The revised circular however, includes an additional provision that banks that have capital adequacy ratios (CAR) of at least three per cent above the minimum requirement, CRR of “Low” and NPL ratio of more than five per cent but less than 10 per cent, shall have a dividend pay-out ratio of not more than 75 per cent of profit after tax.

    “Based on our conversations with management, we think that a 75 per cent pay -out ratio is highly unlikely.

    We note that the highest dividend pay-out ratio for the banks in our coverage universe in 2017 is 50 per cent (GTBank and Zenith). We expect the banks to take a conservative stance on dividend pay-out in light of IFRS 9 capital requirements, which could reduce CAR by as much as 150 basis points in a worst case scenario,” the report said.

    It said Zenith Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Fidelity Bank offer attractive dividend yields of seven to eight per cent based on our 2017 fiscal year estimates while GT Bank and Access Bank stand closer to five to six per cent. “Dividends will be declared with the release of fiscal year 2017 numbers, which we expect in about two weeks,” it said.