Guaranty Trust Bank PLC has released its unaudited financial results for the period ended March 31, 2020 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.
Profit before tax stood at N58.2billion, representing a growth of 2.1 per cent over N57.0 billion recorded in the corresponding period of March 2019.
The Bank’s Loan Book grew by 8.0 per cent from N1.502 trillion as at December 2019 to N1.622 trillion in March 2020, while customers’ deposit increased by 9.3 per cent to N2.768 trillion from N2.533 trillion in the same period.
The Bank maintained a well-structured and diversified balance sheet with Total Assets and Shareholders’ Funds closing at N4.057 trillion and N661.1 billion respectively.
Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio remained very strong, closing at 23.5 per cent.
In terms of Asset quality, NPL ratio and Cost of Risk improved to 6.0 per cent and 0.1 per cent in March 2020 from 6.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent in December 2019 respectively.
Loan Loss coverage also improved to 130.5 per cent for Lifetime Credit Impaired Loans compared to 126.6 per cent in December 2019.
Commenting on the financial results, the Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank PLC, Segun Agbaje, said: “These are very difficult and uncertain times, not just for the financial services sector and the economy as a whole, but also for hundreds of millions of people around the world whose lives and livelihoods have been put at risk by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“At GTBank, we know that the impact of this pandemic may sustain for months to come, but we remain positive that, by staying nimble and continuing to build on the strength of our businesses, we are appropriately positioned to cope with emerging economic realities, as reflected in our first quarter result.
“As a platform for enriching lives, our focus is on safeguarding lives and livelihoods.
“That is why we are working round the clock to keep all our members of staff and customers safe, supporting the government in combatting the pandemic and being there for our customers in every way that they may need our support at this time.”
Overall, Guaranty Trust Bank PLC continues to be best-in-class in the Nigerian banking industry in terms of financial ratios, that is Post-Tax Return on Equity of 29.7 per cent, Post-Tax Return on Assets of 5.1 per cent and Cost to Income ratio of 40.6 per cent.
These ratios reflect the Management stability and well-structured Balance sheet coupled with operational efficiency, the Banker said in a statement on Wednesday.
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 awards include Best Bank in Africa and Best Bank in Nigeria, by the Euromoney Magazine (2019), Best Banking Group and Best Retail Bank Nigeria from World Finance Magazine (2019), Bank of the Year – Nigeria from the Banker Magazine (2018), Most Innovative Bank from the African Investor (2018), and Best Digital Banking Brand in Nigeria from the Global Brands Magazine (2018).
