6th December, 2024
FCMB Group Plc recorded a remarkable 67% rise in Profit Before Tax (PBT) to ₦91.8 billion for the nine months ending September 30, 2024.
The growth underscores the Group’s robust financial and operational performance across its business divisions.
Gross revenue surged by 67.2% to ₦587.8 billion, up from ₦351.5 billion in the corresponding period of 2023. This increase was driven by an 86.5% growth in interest income and a 26.2% rise in non-interest income.
Net interest income climbed 44.3% year-on-year to ₦173.8 billion, supported by an improved yield on earning assets, which rose from 14.9% to 17.4%.
Group Chief Executive Ladi Balogun attributed the strong performance to sustained double-digit growth across all four business divisions.
He stated, “Our transformative capital raising programme and improved interest margins, coupled with significant balance sheet growth, will continue to enhance efficiency ratios and liquidity levels. We remain committed to accelerating support for the Nigerian and broader African economies through our purpose-led strategy.”
Operating expenses grew by 51.7% to ₦169.1 billion, influenced by rising personnel costs, regulatory expenses, and inflation.
However, the Group maintained an efficient cost-to-income ratio of 55.4%. Net impairment losses on financial assets fell by 22% to ₦44.4 billion, reducing the cost of risk to 2.7% from 3.9% in the previous year.
The PBT growth was broad-based across the Group’s divisions, with Nigerian Banking operations contributing 68% and other subsidiaries accounting for 32%.
Year-on-year earnings growth was notable in all segments: Consumer Finance (108.5%), Investment Banking (63.3%), Banking Group (49.8%), and Investment Management (31.4%).
The Group’s total assets expanded significantly by 75.9% to ₦6.82 trillion, while loans and advances increased by 58.9% to ₦2.53 trillion. Customer deposits rose by 71.1% to ₦4.33 trillion, and assets under management grew by 36% to ₦1.30 trillion.
FCMB Group also reported a 15.2% rise in its customer base to 13.9 million, adding over 1.3 million new customers. Its agency banking network expanded to over 362,000 agents, gaining an additional 700,000 customers.
Despite challenges in debt capital markets caused by high interest rates, the Investment Banking Division mobilised ₦876 billion in capital for clients, surpassing the ₦691 billion raised in the prior year.
The Group successfully closed the first phase of its capital raising programme, while plans for the next phase are underway. An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) has been scheduled to finalise steps to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recapitalisation directive and retain its international banking license.
