Goddy Egene
Guaranty Trust Bank Plc’s market capitalisation hit N1.04 trillion as at yesterday to lead other banking stocks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Zenith Bank Plc followed with N769.214 billion, while Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc with N470.339 billion held on to the third position.
Access Bank Plc closed as the fourth most capitalised with N302 billion, while United Bank for Africa Plc ended with N282.145 billion. FBN Holdings Plc had a market capitalisation of N260.1 billion, just as Union Bank for Africa Plc printed at N160.164 billion.
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, and FCMB Holdings Plc had a market capitalisation of N119 billion,N75.334 billion, N64.557 billion.
However, analysts said Stanbic IBTC should be more valuable due to its limited free float because its ownership is concentrated.
“But more importantly, is its return on equity(ROE) which is the second highest among the banks after GTBank.And ROE is the ultimate measure of value creation,” the analysts said.
GTBank recently reported a resilient results for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, showing growth in most performance metrics. The bank recorded a net income of N188 billion, up from N173 billion in the corresponding period of 2019. Net fee income stood at N33 billion, compared with N47 billion in 2019. Loan impairment charges soared by 267 per cent from N2.762 billion to N10.145 billion in 2020.
GTBank ended the nine months with a profit before tax (PBT) of N167.352 billion as against N170.652 billion in 2019, and profit after tax of N142.283 billion compared with N146.989 billion in 2019.
Commenting on the performance, the Managing Director/CEO of GTBank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said: “Our third quarter (Q3) result is a reflection of how we have appropriately positioned our balance sheet to cope with current economic realities and the challenging business environment. It is also testament to the enduring loyalty of our customers, the hard work and dedication of our staff and the unwavering support we continue to enjoy from all our stakeholders in our drive to deliver best-in-class financial services and superior and sustainable returns.”
Meanwhile, the market maintained its positive performance with the NSE All-Share Index gaining 0.10 per cent to close at 34,803.00, while market capitalisation added N17.8 billion to be at N18.2 trillion. Activity level declined as volume and value traded fell by 40.8 per cent and 48.9 per cent to 257.6 million shares and N3.5 billion respectively. The most traded stocks by volume were Zenith Bank Plc (40.6 million shares), Transcorp Plc (23.2 million shares) and Access Bank Plc (20.9 million shares) while Zenith Bank Plc (N999.3 million), MTN Nigeria Plc (N686.1 million) and T}GTBank (N242.0 million) led by value.
