Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc has announced it made a profit before tax of N30.6 billion in the first three months of 2016 covering the period January to March 2015. However, the bank’s profit was N1.97 billion or 6.1% less than the N32.7 billion profit before tax made in the comparable period of 2015.
GTBank released its results to the Nigerian Stock Exchange on 20 April, 2016 showing the details of its performance in the first three months of 2016.
The results show that GTBank made N55.8 billion in interest income and paid out just N15 billion as interest expense for the period. This enabled the bank to make N41 billion in net interest income marginally higher than the N39 billion it made in the same period of 2015.
One area that GTBank made money was in fees and commissions earned on transactions by its customers. The bank made N17 billion as fees and commissions income which was 39% higher than the N12 billion made in the comparable period of 2015.
The significant increase in fees and commission income is impressive considering that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has barred banks from charging COT which was a significant source of income for Nigerian banks. So apparently, GTBank has been able to seek alternative sources of fee based income which has boosted its profits.
Sources close to the bank says GTBank may be making money from its e-banking operations, which are widely used by its retail customers.
GTBank made a profit after tax of N25.6 billion for the period, just 3.6% lower than the N26.6 billion made in the comparable period of 2015. GTBank remains one of Nigeria’s most profitable financial institutions and analysts expect that its performance is likely to improve in the second quarter once economic activities pick up with the expected implementation of budget 2016.
GTBank’s share price closed at N16.16 on 20 April 2016. The share price is down 13% since the beginning of 2016.
