ETI reports 29% increase in profit to N62.55bn
By Kayode Tokede
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) Plc has reported 29 per cent increase in profit to N62.55billion in unaudited result and accounts for half year (H1) ended June 30, 2021 from N48.53billion reported in H1 2020.
ETI in its unaudited result and accounts submitted on Monday to Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) also reported profit before tax that gained 33 per cent to N85.32billion in H1 2021 from N64.13billion reported in H1 2020.
The management cut in impairment charges on financial assets and increased gross earnings impacted on profits in the period under review.
From the profit & loss figures, ETI’s gross earnings was up by 13per cent to N442.9 billion from N392billion reported in H1 2020.
In addition, impairment charges on financial assets, thus, dropped by one per cent to N20.77billion in H1 2021 from N21.03billion reported in H1 2020.
The financial institution crossed N11trillion in total assets to N11.02trillion as at half year ended June 30, 2020 unaudited result and accounts.
The pan-African bank total assets gained eight per cent from N10.38trillion reported in full year ended December 31, 2020.
ETI in its unaudited result and accounts submitted on Monday to Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) also reported seven per cent decline in deposits from customers to N7.86trillion as at June 30, 2021 from N7.3trillion reported in full year ended December 31, 2020 while loans and advances to customers dropped by two per cent to N3.63trillion as June 30, 2021 from N3.7trillion reported in 2020.
The Group CEO, Ecobank Group, Ade Ayeyemi in a statement said, “We saw continued and sustained resilience in our performance, which is indicative of the success of our ‘execution momentum’ drive.
“As a result, we generated a return on tangible equity of 16.1per cent versus 15.2 per cent a year ago and increased diluted EPS and tangible book value per share by 19 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively.
“In addition, profit before tax increased 23 per cent to $210 million.”
He expressed further that, “Group revenues rose seven per cent to $825 million, despite the challenging operating environment with the third wave of Coronavirus infections threatening economic recovery.
“Our diversified pan-African business model continued to rise to the challenge. Revenues grew 13 per cent and 6% in our Commercial and Consumer businesses, while our focus on growing the trade business led to increased trade assets.
“The slowly increasing business and spend activity drove a 20 per cent rise in our Payments business’s revenue to $90 million. Deposits growth was strong, with total deposits now over $19 billion, an increase of $1.0 billion in the second quarter and $2.4 billion in a year, driven by our omnichannel strategy.
“Though loan growth remained flat, we are focused on providing support to MSMEs for growth,” Ayeyemi said.
“I am proud of the team’s hard work in driving efficiency, which continues to reflect in our cost-to-income ratio of 58.7 per cent ahead of guidance and progressing well toward our medium-term goal of approximately 55 per cent.
“In addition, credit quality continued to be exceptionally strong. As a result, our NPL ratio of 7.4 per cent is a substantial improvement from the prior year’s 9.8 per cent, as we also build reserves to insulate the balance sheet with an NPL coverage ratio of 86.7 per cent and pushing towards our nearterm target of 90 per cent.
“We successfully raised $350 million Tier 2 Sustainability Notes in June, the first-ever by a financial institution in sub-Saharan Africa and first to have a Basel III-compliant 10-year non-call 5 structure outside South Africa in 144A/RegS format.
“The Bond was 3.6 times oversubscribed, demonstrating strong confidence in the Ecobank Group and our commitment to the sustainability of our communities and their social needs. I am deeply grateful to all stakeholders and must thank our clients for continuing to put their trust in Ecobank for their diverse banking needs,” he explained.
