FCMB grows profit by 148% in H1

FCMB Group Plc has posted a profit before tax (PBT) of N38.2 billion in its half-year (H1) operations compared to N15.4 billion achieved in the corresponding period in 2022.

The bank’s unaudited six months result showed 148 per cent rise in PBT while gross revenue grew by 88.7 per cent from N126.2 billion to N238.2 billion.

According to the bank, the growth in gross revenue was driven by a 51.9 per cent increase in interest income and a 216.9 per cent increase in non-interest income.

Its deposits rose by 45.3 per cent to N2.38 trillion, up from N1.64 trillion in the previous year. Loans and advances also grew by 37.4 per cent to N1.54 trillion compared to N1.12 trillion in the previous period.

Additionally, the Group’s assets under management (AUM) recorded an increase of 23.6 per cent from N736.4 billion to N910.3 billion. Within the period, the bank also contributed to food security and import substitution in Nigeria by growing lending to the agricultural sector by 18.4 per cent to N174 billion from N147.4 billion in 2022.

The bank, in partnership with its various stakeholders, also provided access to finance to 24,000 rural farmers, while rehabilitation of 80,000 farming households was achieved in the North-East geo-political zone of the country.

In the area of climate action, the company successfully secured funding of up to N5 billion from local development finance institutions for on-lending to customers requiring solar energy solutions in line with its commitment to support renewable energy sources.

The bank also promoted foreign exchange flows by facilitating over $160 million and $81 million in export and remittance flows into the country, respectively, during the first half of 2023.

Group Chief Executive of the bank, 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. By democratizing access to comprehensive financial services, 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.”