FCMB Group Plc has reported a growth in profit before tax for the half year 2023 to N38.2bn.
The figure represents a 148 per cent growth compared to N15.4bn in the corresponding period of 2022.
The financial institution disclosed this in the group’s unaudited six-month results released on the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Tuesday.
Across key indicators, the lender recorded impressive growth. The report showed that various divisions achieved robust earnings growth, as the banking group division rose by 185.5 per cent; consumer finance, 10.3 per cent; investment management, 53.3 per cent; and investment banking 54.3 per cent.
FCMB Group’s gross revenue grew by 88.7 per cent to N238.2bn for June 2023, as against N126.2bn for the same period in the previous year. This growth was driven by a 51.9 per cent increase in interest income and a 216.9 per cent increase in non-interest income.
Commenting on the financial results, the Group Chief Executive, FCMB Group Plc, Ladi Balogun, said, “We continue to leverage our unique group structure to build a technology-driven ecosystem that fosters inclusive and sustainable growth in the communities we serve.
“This strategy enables us to deliver robust performance despite the challenging domestic and global environment. Barring unforeseen circumstances, this trend will be sustained and accompanied by improving efficiencies arising from greater scale and ongoing digitisation.”
FCMB Group customers’ deposits rose by 45.3 per cent year-on-year to N2.38tn at the end of June, up from N1.64tn in the corresponding period of 2022, while loans and advances also grew by 37.4 per cent to N1.54trillion, compared to N1.12trillion in the previous period.
The half-year results also showed impressive performance in environmental, social, and corporate governance activities that contributed significantly to the society’s sustainable and inclusive growth.
Within the six months under review, FCMB Group contributed to food security and import substitution in Nigeria by growing lending to the agricultural sector by 18.4 per cent to N174billion from N147.4billion for the full year 2022.
Working with partners, FCMB provided access to finance for 24,000 rural farmers, and the rehabilitation of 80,000 farming households was supported in the North-East geo-political zone of the country.
In the area of climate action, the company secured funding of up to N5billion from local development finance institutions for on-lending to customers requiring solar energy solutions in line with its commitment to support renewable energy sources.
FCMB leveraged its banking business to drive foreign exchange flows by facilitating over $160m and $81m in export and remittance flows into the country, respectively, during the first half of 2023.
FCMB Group acquired an additional 869,000 customers, thereby increasing its customer base to 11.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, as against 10.1 million in the corresponding period of 2022.