Fidelity earns N10bn profit in 3 months

Fidelity Bank Plc has recorded N10 billion profit in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, indicating a 53.9 percent growth in Profit Before Tax (PBT).

Details of the unaudited results, released to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) show that net revenue increased by 13.4% from N30.3bn in Q1 2020 to N34.4bn in 2021. The PBT grew from N6.6bn in 2020 to N10.1bn as of March 31, 2021.

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Commenting on the results, MD/CEO of Fidelity Bank, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe said: “We commenced the year showing impressive double-digit growth in profitability and improved performance across key efficiency indices whilst ensuring our business model continued to deliver strong positive results in line with our guidance for the 2021 financial year.

“Gross Earnings increased by 7.7% to N55.1bn on account of 66.7% growth in non-interest revenue to N12.1bn from N7.2bn in Q1 2020.”

She said the increase in net interest revenue (NIR) came from foreign exchange related income, digital banking income and account maintenance charge etc. as total customers’ induced transactions across all its service channels increased by 30.4% YoY and 17.1% QoQ.

Operating Expenses increased by N1.3bn (6.2%) to N23.0bn largely driven by N4.3bn growth in regulatory charges (NDIC & AMCON Charges). Excluding the increase in regulatory charges, total operating expenses would have dropped by 13.8% (6.1% QoQ) to N18.6bn from N21.6bn in Q1 2020 (Q4 2020: N19.8bn).