Guaranty Trust Bank Plc on Wednesday posted N165 billion profit before tax (PBT) in its audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2016 to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges.
A review of the results shows positive performance across all financial indices, reaffirming the bank’s position as one of the most profitable and well managed financial institutions in Nigeria. Gross earnings for the period grew by 37 per cent to N414.62 billion from N301.85 billion reported in the December 2015. The performance was driven primarily by growth in interest income as well as foreign exchange income.
Profit before tax stood at N165.14 billion, representing a growth of 37 per cent over N120.69 billion recorded in the corresponding period of December 2015. The bank’s loan book grew by 16 per cent from N1.373 trillion recorded as at December 2015 to N1.590 trillion in December 2016 with corresponding growth in total deposits which increased by 29 per cent to N2.111 trillion from N1.637 trillion in December 2015.
The bank’s balance sheet remained strong with a 19.7 per cent growth in total assets and contingents as the bank closed the year ended December 2016 with Total Assets and Contingents of N3.70 trillion and shareholders’ funds of N504.9 billion.
The bank’s non-performing loans remained low and within regulatory threshold at 3.66 per cent with adequate coverage of 131.79 per cent. Increase in collective impairment was borne out of the prudent stance of the Bank, while capital remains strong with Capital Adequacy Ratio of 19.79 per cent.
Its Managing Director/CEO Segun Agbaje, said: “The bank’s financial performance in 2016, does not only reflect the resilience of our franchise, it demonstrates the fundamental strength of our businesses to deliver sustainable long-term growth. We successfully navigated the heightened economic uncertainty and regulatory headwinds which dominated the year to deliver a solid performance across all financial and non-financial indices.
“We are transforming our organisation into a platform for enriching lives by positioning ourselves at the centre of an extended ecosystem that offers our stakeholders, benefits beyond banking.
