Revenue of FBN Holdings, the parent company of Nigeria’s oldest bank, First Bank, rose marginally by 6.4 percent to N805.2 billion in FY 2022, compared to N757.3 billion in the corresponding period.
The Tier-1 lender posted a pre-tax profit slide to N157.7 billion from N166.7 billion, while profit for the year stood at N136.2 billion, down from N151.1 billion a year earlier, according to the audited earnings report issued on Friday..
However, the assets of the 129-year-old financial services institution crossed the N10 trillion mark to N10.6 trillion as against N9 trillion in the preceding year. The surge in customers’ deposits from N5.9 trillion in 2021 to N7.2 trillion in 2022 contributed to the strong assets base.
Loans and advances to customers also increased to N3.8 trillion from N2.9 trillion, indicating the bank’s commitment to grow the economy through lending to the real sector.
Stock of the 129-year-old advanced by 1.8 per cent in Lagos on Friday, where it was quoted at N14.25 per share at the close of trade for the week.
The financial services group reached the revenue milestone riding on the wave of higher interest rates in Nigeria, which have risen 650 basis points to 18.5 per cent since May 2022, enabling lenders to charge more for loans.
Interest income, which often accounts for the lion’s share of lenders’ revenues, surged by half to N551.9 billion, according to FBN Holdings’ helping to push turnover to a record high of N805.1 billion.
The group’s financials, the last to be released by a publicly quoted lender, came more than two months after the deadline set by the Nigerian Exchange.
Growth for a net fee and commission was flattish as that income category only grew 1.1 per cent to N118 billion.
Revenue from electronic banking fees, slightly dipped by 2.3 percent during the revenue period.TEXEM AdvertTEXEM Advert
Operating expenses climbed by 23.3 per cent to N218.5 billion, driven by spikes in maintenance costs and insurance premiums, the latter alone jumping by 826.2 per cent.
The lender put aside N68.6 billion to cover the cost of potential borrower defaults, 25.2 per cent lower than the previous year’s.
A look at the bank’s lending portfolio showed that it increased credit to agriculture significantly during the period.
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
