Goddy Egene
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc has announced improved performance for the year ended December 31, 2018 and recommended a final dividend payment of 245 kobo per share.
The bank recorded gross earnings for the year grew by 3.7 per cent to N434.7billion, from N419.2billion reported in 2017. Its net interest income fell from N246.663 billion to N222.433 billion, while net fee and commission income improved from N40.732 billion to N50.470 billion in 2018. Impairment charges reduced significantly from N12.169 billion to N4.906 billion,.
GTBank ended the year with profit before tax of N215.6 billion, representing a growth of 9.1 per cent over N197.7billion recorded the previous year, while profit after tax (PAT) stood at N184.639 billion compared with N167.913 billion posted in 2017.
The bank’s customer deposits increased by 10.3 per cent to N2.274trillion from N2.062trillion in December 2017, while loan book dipped by 12.9 per cent from N1.449 trillion in 2017 to N1.262trillion in 2018.
The bank is proposing final dividend of N2.45 per share in addition to interim dividend of 30 kobo bringing total dividend for 2018 financial year to N2.75.
Commenting on the results, the Managing Director/CEO of GTBank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said: “In 2018, our focus on staying nimble, strengthening customer relationships and driving our digital-first strategy paid off. We successfully navigated the pressures of our challenging and radically changing business environment, recorded growth across key financial indices and reaffirmed our position as one of the best performing and well managed financial institutions in Africa.”
According to him, the performance reflects, not just the fundamental strength of the brand, but also its commitment to its values of excellence, creating value for all stakeholders and putting its customers first in everything that it does.
“Driven by these values, we are building the bank of the future by pairing the best of our business with the massive potential of digital technologies to create Africa’s first integrated and trusted platform; Habari,” Agbaje said.
In recognition of the bank’s bias for world class corporate governance standards, excellent service delivery and innovation, GTBank has been a recipient of numerous awards over the years. Some of the bank’s awards in 2018 included: Bank of the Year – Nigeria from the Banker Magazine, Best Banking Group and Best Retail Bank Nigeria from World Finance Magazine, Most Innovative Bank from the African Investor, and Best Digital Banking Brand in Nigeria from the Global Brands Magazine.
