FBN Holdings Doubles Q3 2022 PBT, Records N105bn

Kayode Tokede

FBN Holdings Plc yesterday on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) announced that its profit before tax (PBT) doubled to N105.5 billion in its unaudited financial statement for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared with the N52.9 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2021.
The holding company also grew its profit after tax to N91.2 billion in nine months of 2022, representing an increase of 123.6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) from the N40.8 billion reported in nine months of 2021.

The increase in profit was attributed to a double-digit increase in gross earnings and interest income.
FBN Holdings announced N547.2billion gross earnings in nine months of 2022, representing an increase of N432.6billion compared to the nine months results it posted in 2021, while its interest income hit N370.4billion in nine months of 2022, an increase of 26.6 per cent y-o-y from N260.1billion reported in nine months of 2021.

The financial position of FBN Holdings contributed to impressive performance in the period as total assets closed September 30, 2022, at N9.85 trillion, representing an increase of 10.3 per cent y-o-y from N8.93 trillion in full year ended December 31, 2021.
The holding company reported N3.6 trillion net customer loans & advances as of September 30, 2022, from N2.88 trillion in 2021; just as its customers’ deposits rose by 12.8 per cent y-o-y to N6.6trillion as of September 30, 2022 from N5.85 trillion reported in 2021financial year.

Commenting on the results, the Group Managing Director, FBN Holdings, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo in a statement said, “FBNHoldings has again in Q3 2022 delivered a stellar performance, growing sustainable income from our core businesses. This is a testament to the success of our focus on carefully growing the business and driving profitability.

“As a result, Gross earnings grew 26.6per cent y-o-y to N546.2 billion, while profit before tax doubled y-o-y to N105.5 billion. I am particularly delighted by the significant improvement in our credit risk portfolio.
“Specifically, the NPL ratio closed at 4.7per cent within the regulatory threshold of five per cent, while the coverage ratio increased to 75.1per cent from 62.2per cent in FY 2021.

“Furthermore, during the period under review, in attestation of the progress made by the Group, Fitch upgraded the credit ratings of FBNHoldings and FirstBank to ‘B’ with a Stable Outlook.
“Value creation remains our overarching objective as we continue to leverage the strengths of our unique brand and heritage to optimise our diverse business portfolio.

He added that, “We are confident of making further progress, with the capacity to generate sustainable performance that delivers superior returns to all our stakeholders.”
The banking subsidiary also showed impressive performance in period as Profit before tax moved to N96.4 billion in nine months of 2022,  up 119.1 per cent y-o-y from N44 billion reported in nine months of 2021, while profit after tax closed nine months of 2022 at N85.7 billion, representing an increase of  142.1per cent from N35.4 billion reported in nine months of 2021.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of First Bank of Nigeria Limited (Commercial Banking Group), Dr Adesola Adeduntan, “The performance of the Commercial Banking Group for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, has again shown that the Group is making progress in the pursuit of its ‘Quantum Profitability Leap’ agenda. The improved profitability during the period under review further reinforces the Bank’s commitment to its growth aspirations despite the challenging market conditions.

“Our gross earnings are up 27.5per cent y-o-y to N512.9 billion, and net interest income up 55.7per cent y-o-y to N248.5 billion respectively.
“On the back of the impressive growth recorded in our top line, our profit before tax recorded another strong growth of 119.1per cent y-o-y to N96.4 billion, whilst profit after tax also grew impressively by 142.1per cent y-o-y to N85.7 billion as the Bank continues to reap the benefits of the changes to our business model in addition to revamping of our risk management and control architecture.”

He added that, “We continue to record progress in driving down our non-performing loan ratio, which has now come down to 4.86 per cent at the end of the third quarter, within regulatory limit of five per cent. This is the first time since 2015 that we would be within the regulatory limit, and we achieved this ahead of our initial target of Q4 2022.

“In further testament to the ongoing turnaround and repositioning of the Parent and Banking Group, Fitch, following the conclusion of their review during the quarter, announced the upgrade of FBNHoldings and FirstBank’s Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to ‘B’ from ‘B-‘, with Outlook Stable. This has aligned our credit rating to our Tier 1 peers and the sovereign and has further positioned the Group for more market opportunities.

“We remain confident that as we go into Q4 2022 and plan for the new year, we will continue to strengthen our franchise capabilities and offerings across all our markets, not only to withstand the current headwinds but also continue to deliver top-end value-adding products and services to our esteemed customers and other stakeholders.”