FCMB Group Declares 186% Profit Growth, Proposes N0.50k Dividend

Kayode Tokede

FCMB Group Plc has declared growth in deposits, loans, assets under management, revenue and earnings and improved its environmental, social, and corporate governance scorecard in financial year ended December 31, 2023.

The Group recorded a profit before tax of N104.4 billion, a 186per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase compared to N36.6 billion in 2022 and earnings growth across its business segments: Banking Group 212.6per cent, Consumer Finance 67.3per cent, Investment Management 40per cent, and Investment Banking 89.7per cent.

FCMB Group, which proposed a dividend of 50 kobo per share for its shareholders, contributed to food security and import substitution in Nigeria by increasing lending to the agricultural sector by 38.4per cent from N147.4 billion in 2022 to N204.3 billion in 2023.

In safeguarding the environment, it switched six additional branches of its retail and commercial banking subsidiary (First City Monument Bank Limited) from grid/diesel generators to solar power last year, taking the number of branches running on renewable energy to 160, which represents 78per cent of total branches. In addition, the Bank secured funding of up to N13 billion from local development finance institutions for on-lending to customers requiring solar energy solutions to further support its commitment to driving renewable energy.

FCMB’s customer base grew by 15.6per cent YoY from 10.9 million to 12.5 million for the period ended December 2023, whilst users of its mobile app that offers lending, wealth and payment solutions grew by 31per cent YoY to 3.4 million.

Similarly, the Bank’s agency banking network grew to over 164,000 agents. With an enlarged customer base, an expanded distribution platform, and the use of artificial intelligence to automate and optimise loan underwriting processes, the Group successfully disbursed over 1.5 million loans worth N100.8 billion to individuals, N14.4 billion to micro-enterprises and N177.9 billion to SMEs during the period.

Commenting on the results, the Group Chief Executive of FCMB Group Plc, Mr. Ladi Balogun in a statement said, “We continue to leverage our unique Group structure to build a technology-driven ecosystem that is fostering inclusive and sustainable growth in the communities we serve.

“This strategy is enabling us to deliver robust performance in spite of the challenging domestic and global environment. Barring unforeseen circumstances, we believe this trend will be sustained and accompanied by improving efficiencies arising from greater scale and ongoing digitisation”.

The results across market fundamentals also showed gross revenue of N516.4 billion for the period ended December 2023, an 82.5per cent growth from N283 billion for the same period the prior year.  Net interest income grew by 44.8 per cent from N122 billion in 2022 to N176.6 billion in 2023. Customer confidence in FCMB remained strong, as deposits rose by 58.5 per cent YoY from N1.94 trillion to N3.08 trillion, just as loans and advances grew by 54% from N1.20 trillion to N1.84 trillion. The Group’s total assets increased by 48.3 per cent from N2.98 trillion to N4.42 trillion at the end of December 2023.

FCMB Group’s Assets Under Management increased by 29.6 per cent last year from N783.7 billion to N1.02 trillion. The value of investment banking transactions consummated by the Group rose to N945.3 billion for the period ended December 2023, compared to N857.1 billion in the same period the prior year.