First Bank’s first quarter result has seen them record a profit after tax growth of 54.8%, to N48 billion from N31bn, in the same period in 2022.
Further analysis of the bank’s financial statement for Q1 2023 indicates that it raked in a profit before tax of N53.5bn, up by 57.0% from N34.1bn in March 2022.
The profit was largely driven by net interest income of N110bn against N72.9bn posted in March 2022, which is an increase of 50.9%.
Other highlights of the result include a growth of 44.2% y-o-y in gross earnings to N245.7bn from N170.4bn in March 2022.
Non-interest income of N67.8bn, up 10.6% y-o-y (Mar 2022: N61.3bn). Operating expenses of N107.6bn, up 21.0% y-o-y (Mar 2022: N88.9bn).
Commenting on the result, the Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, noted: “This year marks our 129th anniversary, and these results clearly demonstrate the resilience of our business model and proven ability to transform ourselves to meet the demands of changing times and seasons.
“We are optimistic about the rest of FY 2023 and these results are a sign of better things to come.”
Meanwhile, FBN Holdings Plc also recorded impressive results in its 2023 Q1 financial statement.
The group posted a 53.64% growth in profit before tax from N36.518bn in Q1 2022 to N56.105bn while profit after tax stood at N50.054bn, representing a 54.48% growth from N32.401bn in the previous year.
In its audited financial statements for the year ending 31st December 2022, the Group’s Gross earnings grew by 6.3% to N805.1bn (Dec 2021: N757.3billion). This was driven by strong growth in interest income (+49.6% y-o-y) to N551.9bn (Dec 2021: N369.0 bn). The increase in interest income benefited primarily from 31.5% y-o-y growth in loans to customers. This was further supported by the higher interest rate environment, which positively impacted yields. On the other hand, interest expense growth of 34.0% y-o-y to N188.7bn (Dec 2021: N140.8bn), was contained following strategic growth in deposit mobilisation and funding at optimised rates. As a result, net interest income improved impressively by 59.2% y-o-y to N363.2bn (Dec 2021: N228.2bn). Fees and commission income grew 2.4% y-o-y to N144.0bn (Dec 2021: N140.6bn)
“In 2022, we were faced with varying macro-economic challenges including high inflation and currency depreciation, the effect of which contributed to the 9.0% y-o-y increase in operating expenses to N364.1bn (Dec 2021: N334.2bnn). Despite these challenges, the Group maintained operating expenses growth well below the year-end inflation rate of 21.3%. Despite the macro pressures, operating income remains robust at N590.4bn (Dec 2021: N592.6bn), resulting in cost to income ratio of 61.7%. Going forward, we remain focused on further improving efficiency,” the group noted in a statement on the financial report.
The report also showed that the different divisions in the group also posted impressive results for the 2022 financial year. The commercial banking group reported Gross earnings of N748.6bn, up 4.4% y-o-y (Dec 2021: N716.8bn), Total assets of N10.1trn, up 18.1% y-o-y (Dec 2021: N8.5trn), Profit before tax of N147.0bn, up 12.4% y-o-y (Dec 2021: ₦130.9bn) and Profit after tax of ₦129.4 billion, up 9.8% y-o-y (Dec 2021: N117.8bn)
Despite the challenging macroeconomic and operating environment, the FBNQuest group recorded 42.2% year-on-year growth in profit-before-tax to close at a four-year high of N13.9bn.
The performance was underpinned by a 25.4% increase in gross earnings to N53.1bn, and the successful implementation of cost optimisation initiatives saw operating expenses drop by 2.7% despite inflationary pressures.
The FBNQuest group’s total assets increased by 28.5% to N495.4bn, and the group remains well capitalised with Shareholders’ Funds of N63.3 billion. The Merchant Bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood comfortably above the regulatory requirement of 10%, at 16.3%.
The Investment Management Division increased its contribution to top-line revenues to 36.2% in 2022 from 30.2% in 2021 while the Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) Division performed well, contributing 30.4% to top-line revenues.
Meanwhile the Institutional Securities Division contributed 33.4% to top-line revenues; the Fixed Income, Currencies, and Treasury business continues to be a major driver with 35.6% of divisional top-line revenue, while the Equity brokerage business grew by 48.8%.
