Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, made public its 2019 first quarter (Q1) result, with total assets down to N7.84 trillion from N8.22 trillion in the corresponding period of last year.
Nonetheless, the organization reported a profit after tax of N30.587 billion for the quarter (Q1), an increase of 11 percent from N27.863 billion in Q1 2018. Profit before tax also increased from N33.9 billion in 2018, to N37.09 billion in 2019, representing an increase of 12 percent.
A further breakdown of the financial institution’s results, which was released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), showed that gross earnings grew by 0.5 percent to N199.448 billion from N198.615 billion in 2018, while revenue went slightly down from N142.157 billion in 2018 to N140.446 billion. Net interest income for the first three months of the year stood at N75.853 billion, compared to N75.853 billion in the comparative period of 2018, while operating income went down to N140.446 billion, from N142.157 billion in 2018.
Loans and advances to customers stood at N3.09 trillion lower than the N3.339 trillion recorded in 2018, while deposits from customers also shed six percent to N4.476 trillion, from N5.804 trillion in 2018. Total equity during the period stood at N651.09 billion from N660.07 billion in 2018.
Speaking on the results, the Group CEO of ETI, Ade Ayeyemi, said, “We are pleased with our performance in the first quarter, especially amid a challenging macro-economic environment. Our diversified business model continues to be of immense benefit allowing the firm to deliver the promise of the Ecobank brand to our customers across Africa.”
Ayeyemi noted that “Our objective to drive stable non-funded revenues gained momentum, with our non-interest revenues increasing by 25 percent on a constant currency basis, driven by cash management, trade finance, and digital product offerings. We maintained cost discipline across our businesses and drove efficiency in our processes. We recovered a record amount of impaired loans, thanks to an effective non-performing loans recovery strategy, which helped in significantly improving our cost-of-risk.”
He added that “Overall, we are confident that Ecobank will deliver on its strategy, continue to serve our customers well, and generate attractive returns for our shareholders in the long-term.”
