Yemisi Izuora
FCMB Group Plc audited financial results showed that the Group’s gross revenue increased to N188 billion compared to N177.2 billion in 2018. The strong performance also manifested in profit before tax, which rose by 9 per cent to N20.1 billion.
Following this, the financial institution has declared a dividend of 14 kobo per share to shareholders. FCMB Group, a holding company divided along three business groups; Commercial and Retail Banking (First City Monument Bank Limited, Credit Direct Limited, FCMB (UK) Limited and FCMB Microfinance Bank Limited); Investment Banking (FCMB Capital Markets Limited and CSL Stockbrokers Limited) as well as Asset & Wealth Management (FCMB Pensions Limited, FCMB Asset Management Limited and CSL Trustees Limited), also reported appreciable growth in key operating areas going by the audited results.
The financial results also showed that net interest income increased by 5 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) to N76 billion for the twelve months of 2019 from N72.6 billion within the same period in 2018. In demonstration of enhanced customers confidence in FCMB, deposits grew to N943.1 billion in December 2019, as against N863.4 billion in September 2019. Loans and advances disbursed by the Group as at the end of December 2019 stood at N715.9 billion, representing a rise of 12% (Quarter-on-Quarter, QoQ), compared to N638.1 billion in September 2019. Moreover, total assets of the Group went up by 10% QoQ to N1.67 trillion in December 2019 from N1.52 trillion in September 2019, just as capital adequacy ratio stood at 17.17%, which is above the benchmark set by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Commenting on the overall performance, FCMB Group stated that: “Post-tax profits increased by 16% to N17.3 billion, this translates to a return on average equity (RoAE) of 9% and earnings per share of 87.2 kobo, an improvement on 8.1% and 75.2 kobo, respectively, in 2018”.
It added that: “Our businesses continue to improve with growth in other key indicators, such as loans and advances, deposits and assets under management (AUM), which grew by 13.1%, 14.8% and 28.3%, respectively. Our customer base also grew by 27.7% across the Group from 5.3 million to 6.8 million. Overall, customer satisfaction has shown positive trends, with a net promoter score of 31 in banking and 23 in asset management. Asset quality has continued to improve, with the Group-wide NPL ratio coming down to 3.7% from 5.9%. Similarly, capital adequacy ratio has remained stable at 17.2% for our Commercial and Retail Banking Group”. FCMB Group is a frontline financial services institution in Nigeria with subsidiaries that are market leaders in their respective segments. FCMB has continued to distinguish itself through innovation and delivery of exceptional offerings.