Despite Domestic, Global Economic Uncertainty, 9 Banks Declare N346bn Profit in Q1 2023

• Interest income up 45% on MPR  .Access emerge most profitable financial institution

Kayode Tokede

Domestic and global economic uncertainty not withstanding, 9 deposit money banks in the country declared N346 billion profit after tax in the first quarter of (Q1) 2023, an increase of 29.3 per cent over N267.69billion reported in the first quarter of 2022.

Nigeria’s fragile economy, which has been in and out of economic recessions in the last six years, experienced depressing scarcity of naira notes with currency in circulation hitting its lowest in 14 years in Q1 2023.

Also, Nigeria’s inflation rate accelerated to 22.04 per cent in March 2023 from 21.82 in January, fuelled essentially by the cost of energy, food, and naira scarcity, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had stated that the increase in the MPR was to further tackle inflation rate. However, experts say the new rate would have a counter-effect on businesses and by extension, the larger economy.

So far, a total of 9 banks have released unaudited first quarter ended March 31, 2023 result and accounts to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), with Access Holdings Plc leading the chart as most profitable financial institution in Nigeria.

Other banks that have released unaudited Q1 2023 are: Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Wema Bank Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, FCMB Group Plc and Stanbic IBTC Holdings.

The 9 banks reported N1.14 trillion interest income in Q1 2023, an increase of 45 per cent from N788.2 billion in Q1 2022, amid Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hike in Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 18 per cent.

THISDAY analysis of the banks’ results showed that Access Holding declared N71.66 billion profit in Q1 2023, an increase of 24 per cent from N57.83billion in Q1 2022,while Zenith Bank in Q1 2023 posted N66.01billion profit after tax, an increase of 13.43 per cent in Q1 2022.

GTCO came third as the most profitable bank, declaring N58.17billion profit after tax in Q1 2023, an increase of 35 per cent from N43.21billion reported in Q1 2022.

UBA in the period declared N53.6billion profit after tax in Q1 2023, an increase of 29 per cent from N41.5billion in Q1 2022.

Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, UBA, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, in a statement said despite the high inflationary, and challenging global environment, Group was able to leverage the uptick in interest rates and improved digital offerings, in growing funded and non-funded income.

According to him, “For 2023, we remain committed to improving the Group’s performance as we strategically position our entities to take advantage of emerging developments within their jurisdictions and across the globe. We will continue to deliver excellent rewards to our stakeholders.”

The group’s Executive Director, Finance and Risk, Mr. Ugo Nwaghodoh, attributed the Q1 2023 performance to resilience and commitment towards delivering value and enhancing the confidence of its customers, stakeholders and the wider public notwithstanding the competitive landscape and current global trend in the industry.

“The impressive performance of UBA Group in first quarter 2023 is hinged on its continuous improvement and growth in gross earnings and balance sheet size as gross earnings grew by 47.5per cent year-on-year to N271.2billion and total assets up by 4.6per cent to N11.4 trillion from N10.9 trillion as at December 2022, ” Nwaghodoh stated.

ETI, a pan-African bank announced N40.41billion profit in Q1 2023, an increase of 5.4 per cent from N38.32billion in Q1 2022.

The CEO of Ecobank Group, Jeremy Awori  in a statement said:  “Our results for the Q1 2023 showed progress despite the challenging global and regional macroeconomic environment. Once again, we have demonstrated the resilience of our pan-African diversified business model, efficiency, balance sheet stability, deep customer relationships and the hard work of our 14,000+ Ecobankers.

“Net revenues grew 11per cent, or 34per cent if you strip out the effects of translating the performances of our affiliates in their local currencies into US dollars, with revenue momentum robust across all our businesses.

“Furthermore, continued efficiency gains catalysed the growth in pre-provision, pre-tax operating profits by 13per cent, a key metric for assessing the Company’s earnings power. However, profits before tax at $125 million were flat due to currency movements but up 31per cent at constant currency.”

On its partm, Stanbic IBTC Holdings reported N28.86billion profit in Q1 2023 from N15.07billion in Q1 2022 (an increase of 92 per cent); Union Bank posted N12.63billion profit in Q1 2023, an increase of 128 per cent from N5.55billion in Q1 2022; FCMB Group announced N9.3billion profit in Q1 2023 from N5.2billion in Q1 2022 and Wema Bank declared N5.38billion profit in Q1 2023, an increase of 88 per cent from N2.86billion reported in Q1 2022.

Commenting, the MD/CEO, Union Bank, Mudassir Amray in a statement said,  “A great start to 2023 with encouraging Q1 results. The strategy we put in place is working. We still have a long way to go, as we have ambitious targets. However, we are committed to developing the right balance between convenience and security.”

Chief Financial Officer, Union bank, Mr.  Joe Mbulu said,  “We are delighted with our financial performance because it came on the backdrop of a slow first quarter, occasioned by the general elections, the pushback of the naira redesign policy and persistent macroeconomic headwinds.

“Net operating income after impairments increased by 34per cent to N32.65 billion from N24.32 billion in Q1 2022 on the back of deepening revenue from our core business – corporate, SME and retail; whilst operating expenses increased by 10per cent to N19.83 billion against  N17.97 billion in Q1 2022, majorly due to the high inflationary environment, increased power cost and increased in non-discretionary regulatory cost.

“As we progress into the year, we will continue to leverage technology to improve our efficiency and drive our non-interest income. As a result, we are confident of delivering more value to our shareholders and outperforming our Q1 returns on equity and assets, which stood at 16.9per cent and 1.8per cent, respectively.”