Kayode Tokede Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Plc (ETI) for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 audited result and accounts reported stronger growth in profit, attributable to reduction in impairment charges on loans & advances to customers and effective management Operating Expenses (OPEX). The results underlined solid and resilient results amid numerous domestic and foreign challenges that faced the sector and economy at large in the period under review. The group continued to maintain a wellstructured, efficient and diversified balance sheet with strong earnings capacity.
ETI joined most outstanding banks on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) to report consistent growth in profitability. The balance sheet structure enabled the group to withstand the negative impact of COVID-19, which virtually affected all the sectors of the nation’s economy. The pan-African bank in the nine months under review crossed N100billion mark in Profit Before Tax (PBT). PBT rebounded in the period, against prior nine months of 2020 figures when the Ecobank paid goodwill impairment of N60.6million, leading PBT to decline by -68.49 per cent in the period. In the period under review, the Group reported its highest PBT as it was up by 316.47 per cent to N143.67billlon from N34.5 billion reported in nine months of 2020. Also, profit after tax grew by 916 per cent to N104.51billion in nine months of 2021 from N10.28billion reported in nine months of 2020.
The growth in profits was on the back of a 11.93 per cent in operating income to N516.17billion in nine months of 2021 from N461.74 billion reported in nine months of 2021, while impairment charges on financial assets dropped slightly by 3.12 per cent to N59.57billion from N61.5billion reported in nine months of 2020 (fell -10.4 per cent to $145.01million) According to the bank: “Impairment charges on loans (net) were $103 million compared with $128 million in the prior year. Gross impairment charges were $231 million, $31 million more than a year ago, driven by higher impairment and better economic conditions continued to sustain loan recoveries, which were $128 million for the period, increasing $55 million from the prior year.
The cost-of-risk was 1.43% compared to 1.79per cent in the prior year.” With the growth in profits, Basic earnings per share (EPS) rose to N301.06 from a negative of N50.17 in nine months of 2020. Return on equity Also, Return on equity rose to 16.39 per cent in nine months of 2021 from 4.87 per […]