Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) has reported profit before tax of N74.1 billion in the first quarter of year 2023.

The figure represents an increase of 36.5% over N54.3 billion recorded in the corresponding period ended March 2022.

In its Unaudited Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements for the period ended March 31, 2023, made available to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and London Stock Exchange (LSE), the Group’s loan book (net) dipped by 1.5% from N1.88 trillion recorded as at December 2022 to N1.86 trillion in March 2023, while deposit liabilities increased by 9.9% from N4.61 trillion in December 2022 to N5.07 trillion in March 2023.

The Group’s balance sheet remained well structured and resilient with total assets and shareholders’ funds closing at N6.7 trillion and N975.6 billion, respectively.

Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very strong, closing at 23.2%, while asset quality was sustained as IFRS 9 Stage 3 Loans ratio and Cost of Risk (COR) closed at 5.4% and 0.2% in March 2023 from 5.2% and 0.6% in December 2022, respectively.

Commenting on the results, the Group Chief Executive Officer of GTCO, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said: “Our first quarter results reflect the strength of the GTCO franchise, the quality of our decision making, and the unfolding success of our efforts towards becoming a leading financial services company in Africa.

“Despite severe headwinds, we delivered a decent performance, recording growth across key revenue lines. We are also not relenting in our resolve to better outcomes for people and businesses within our financial ecosystem.

“2023 is shaping up to be another interesting year. Some of the challenges from the past few years are still lingering, and uncertainties ahead would test the resilience of most economies and businesses. We are confident in our positioning as a thriving financial services company underpinned by strong business fundamentals and will continue to benefit from a well-diversified earnings base.”

Overall, the Group continues to post one of the best metrics in the Nigerian financial services industry in terms of key financial ratios i.e., Pre-Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) of 31.1%, Pre-Tax Return on Assets (ROAA) of 4.5%, Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 23.2% and Cost to Income ratio of 43.1%.

GTCO is a leading financial services group with banking operations in Nigeria, West Africa, East Africa, United Kingdom alongside new businesses in Payment, Funds Management and Pension Fund Administration.

Its leadership in the banking industry and efforts at empowering people and communities has earned it many prestigious awards over the years.

Recently, the Bank was recognized as Africa’s Best Bank and the Best Bank in Nigeria at the 2021 Euromoney Awards for Excellence. It also retained its position as Africa’s Most Admired Financial Services Brand in the 2022 ranking of The Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands.

The Star