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Fidelity bank PBT hits N6.7bn in Q1 2019 on gains from other income

Fidelity Bank

Nigeria’s tier 2 lenders, Fidelity bank has kicked off the 2019 financial year on a strong footing as its first quarter (Q1) scorecard showed that Profit Before Tax (PBT)—a metrics that measure a firm’s profitability—grew by 34 per cent to N6.7 billion from N4.9 billion same time the previous year.

This is on the back of an increase by 230 per cent in the firms other operating income from N556 million in Q1 2018 to N2.5 billion in 2019, and a jump of 47.5 per cent in Net Fee and Commission income to N5.4 billion in Q1 2019 from N3.6 billion the same period in the previous year.

The strong growth in the Other Income line was supported by net foreign exchange gains of N2.3bn realised in Q1 2019 compared to N146m in Q1 2018.

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On the other hand, the impressive growth in the bank’s Net Fee and Commission Income was driven by a higher account maintenance charges which were up 28 per cent; a higher Commission on travellers cheque and foreign bills which was also up by 40 percent and Commission on E-banking activities which grew by 74 percent in the period.

When annualized, the bank’s pre-tax profit touched N26.7 billion by the full year 2019, representing a 6.4 per cent increase from the N25.1 billion reported by the firm in year-end 2018. Gross earnings for the firm also grew 11.8 per cent to N48.4bn from N43.3 billion in 2018.

“We attribute the improvement in these income lines to the banks’ retail strategy, which involves the use of technology in delivering exceptional banking services”, Analyst at Lagos-based investment and financial advisory firm said.