SAHARANEWS – Guaranty Trust Bank Plc yesterday released its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 (Q1’19), which showed that profit before tax (PBT) rose by 8.3 percent to N57 billion during the quarter.
A statement from the bank said: “Gross earnings for the period grew by 1.2 percent to N110.3 billion from N109 billion posted in March 2018. Profit before tax improved to N57 billion from N52.6 billion recorded in the corresponding period of March 2018, representing a growth of 8.3 percent. Customers’ deposits also rose by 6.0 percent to N2.410 trillion in March 2019 from N2.274 trillion in December 2018, whilst the Bank’s Loan book grew by 1.6 percent from N1.262 trillion as at December 2018 to N1.282trillion in March 2019.
“Balance sheet remained strong with the Bank closing the quarter ended March 31, 2019 with Total Assets of N3.556 trillion and Shareholders’ Funds of N627.2 billion. In terms of Assets quality, NPL ratio and Cost of Risk closed 7.03 percent and 0.05 percent in March 2019 from 7.30 percent and 0.34 percent in December 2018 respectively.”
Commenting, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Mr Segun Agbaje, said; “Going into 2019, we knew that it would be a challenging year, but our strategy and unwavering focus on delivering value for our customers and shareholders continues to underpin our ability to consistently deliver solid results despite changing market variables. We carried on the momentum of the previous year, posting strong growth in earnings, effectively managing costs and leveraging our digital-first customer-centric strategy to deliver world-class services that are simple, cheap and easily accessible.”
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He further stated that: “Whilst ensuring the long-term growth of our business is the greatest value that we can create for our communities, we are also leveraging our resources, expertise and network to help people thrive. That’s why, from April 28 to May 1, 2019, we are organizing the biggest food and drink festival in Africa to give small businesses in the food industry the platform, network and access to the markets that they need to grow.”