According to the financial group’s H1 2023 report filed with
the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Monday, profit after tax improved by 161.84
per cent to N291.7bn at the end of June 2023.
The board of directors of the financial institution also
proposed 50 Kobo as an interim dividend, which was 66.67 per cent higher than
the dividend of 30 Kobo for the corresponding period in 2022.
The growth in gross earnings arose from both interest income
and non-interest income. Interest income
grew by 72per cent from N241.7 billion in H1 2022 to N415.4 billion in H1 2023,
while non-interest income grew by 246per cent to N515.7 billion from N149
billion .The growth in interest income is attributed to the impact of both the
growth and repricing of risk assets. The
liberalization of the foreign exchange market during the period spurred the
growth in non-interest income as revaluations gains improved significantly.
In terms of efficiency, cost-to-income ratio improved to
38.5per cent from 58per cent on the back of an enhanced income line. The liberalization of the foreign exchange
market coupled with the heightened risk environment resulted in cost of risk
growing to 8.8per cent from 1.4per cent.
During the period under review, the cost of funding also
grew year-on-year from 1.4 per cent in H1 2022 to 2.6 per cent in H1 2023
because of the spike in interest rates between both periods as interest expense
grew from N57bn in H1 2022 to N153.6bn in H1 2023.
The bank’s total assets rose by 31 per cent from N12.3tn in
December 2022 to N16tn in H1 2023, mainly driven by growth in customers’
deposits and the devaluation of the local currency. Customers’ deposits grew by
30 per cent from N9tn in December 2022 to N11.6tn.
Loans and advances also grew by 32 per cent from N4.12tn in
December 2022 to N5.38tn during the period under review, partly due to the
revaluation of the foreign currency-denominated loans as well as growth in
local currency loans.