Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc has announced a N609.3bn profit before tax for the 2023 financial year.
According to its audited consolidated and separate financial statements filed with the Nigerian Exchange Group and London Stock Exchange on Monday, PBT increased by 184.5 per cent from N214.2bn reported in the previous year.
GTCO is one of the top financial holding companies in the country, with a market capitalisation worth over N1tn on the NGX.
During the period under review, the group post-tax profit rose by 218.99 per cent to N539.65bn from N169.17bn in 2022.
Its loans and advances improved by 31.5 per cent to N2.48tn, while deposits grew by 63.7 per cent to N7.55tn.
The group’s total assets and shareholders’ funds closed at N9.7tn and N1.5tn, respectively.
In terms of ratios, its capital adequacy ratio remained strong, closing the year at 21.9 per cent, while asset quality was sustained as IFRS 9 Stage 3 loans improved to 4.2 per cent in December 2023 from 5.2 per cent in the same period of the prior year.
However, the cost of risk was higher at 4.5 per cent from 0.6 per cent in December 2022 due to the worsening macroeconomic factors.
GTCO’s pre-tax return on equity stood at 50.6 per cent, pre-tax return on assets was 7.6 per cent and the cost-to-income ratio stood at 29.1 per cent.
Commenting on the results, the Group Chief Executive Officer of GTCO, Mr Segun Agbaje, said, “The challenging operating environment of 2023 truly tested the business model we put in place for the holding company, for both our banking and non-banking business verticals. Harnessing the group’s synergies yielded a strong performance, allowing us to strengthen our foothold in banking whilst also building viable and resilient businesses of HabariPay, Guaranty Trust Fund Managers, and Guaranty Trust Pension Managers.
“Also important to our success is our relentless obsession with innovation and offering great customer experiences as demonstrated by the successful redesign and upgrade of our mobile banking application, GTWorld.”
Agbaje maintained that GTCO had continued to strive to create value for its stakeholders.
“In a landscape characterised by evolving regulatory reforms, global uncertainties, and heightened competition, we have continued to leverage our inherent strengths and capabilities to unlock significant value, creating more opportunities for the businesses and individuals we serve.
“As we navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, we are confident that our robust underpinnings and focus on flawless execution will continue to drive sustainable growth across all our operations and deliver long-term value for our stakeholders,” he enthused.
The group will be paying a final dividend of N2.70k bringing the total dividend for 2023 to N3.20k.
