Fidelity Bank Posts 34% Growth in Gross Earnings, Declares Dividend

Kayode Tokede

Fidelity Bank Plc yesterday released its 2022 audited financial statements on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
The results showed a 34.4 per cent growth in gross earnings, year-on-year (YoY), to N337.1 billion, driven by 45.2 per cent growth in interest and similar income to N295.6 billion.

The increase in interest income was led by a combination of improved yield on earning assets and 19.1 per cent YoY expansion in earnings base to N2.64 trillion.
This led to a profit before tax of N53.7 billion, representing 112.9 per cent annual growth.
Commenting on the bank’s performance, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe said, “We are happy to report another year of impressive double-digit growth across key income and balance sheet lines. This validates our growth strategy and capacity to deliver superior returns to shareholders.”

Further review showed that net interest income increased by 60.9 per cent YoY to N152.7 billion.
The high yield environment had a positive impact on net interest margin, which increased to 6.4 per cent from 4.7 per cent in 2021 full year-end, while average funding cost inched up slightly to 4.6 per cent from 4.2 per cent.

Similarly, Fidelity Bank’s total deposits increased by 27.4 per cent to N2.58 trillion, from N2.02 trillion in 2021 full year, in line with the bank’s guidance for 2022FY published in its investor relations presentation.

The increase was driven by 43.1% growth in low-cost deposits (Demand | Savings | Domiciliary), which resulted in improved margins.
Speaking on the contribution of Foreign Currency (FCY) deposits to its financial performance, Onyeali-Ikpe noted, “FCY deposits increased by $597 million (63.4% YoY) to $1.5 billion and now accounts for 27.5 per cent of total deposits from 19.7 per cent in 2021FY, as we continue to harness the benefits of our renewed drive in the export business and the diaspora banking space.”

“Historically, Fidelity Bank has maintained high asset quality and a healthy balance sheet with its Regulatory Ratios well above the minimum regulatory thresholds.

“It reported a Liquidity Ratio of 39.6 per cent and Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at 18.1 per cent compared to the minimum regulatory requirement of 30 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. Its Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ratio remained unchanged at 2.9 per cent for the year.
“In 2023, we are committed to our strategic plan of expanding our service touchpoints beyond the Nigerian market and providing straight-through services that meet and exceed the needs of our growing clientele,” explained Onyeali-Ikpe.

On the back of the impressive performance, the bank has declared a final dividend of 40 kobo per share which took its total dividend for FY 2022 to 50kobo per share.