The shareholders of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc at its 29th annual general meeting (AGM) held on Thursday April 18, 2019 in Lagos authorized the bank’s directors to pay final dividend of N2.45kobo per share.
It had paid interim dividend of 30kobo per share, bringing the total dividend paid for the year 2018 financial year to N2.75kobo.
Also at the meeting, the shareholders received and adopted the bank’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018 and the report of the directors, auditors and statutory audit committee thereon.
The bank’s results in the review financial year show positive performance across all financial metrics and improved strategic positioning of the brand.
Gross earnings for the year grew by 3.7percent to N434.7billion from N419.2billion reported in the December 2017. Profit before tax stood at N215.6billion, representing a growth of 9.1percent over N197.7billion recorded in the corresponding year ended December 2017. The Bank’s customer deposits increased by 10.3percent to N2.274trillion from N2.062trillion in December 2017, however, loan book dipped by 12.9percent from N1.449trillion recorded as at December 2017 to N1.262trillion in December 2018.
In view of the above, the Bank closed the 2018 financial year with Total Assets of N3.287trillion and Shareholders’ Funds of N575.6billion. In terms of Assets quality, non-performing loans (NPL) ratio and Cost of Risk improved to 7.3percent and 0.3percent in December 2018 from 7.7percent and 0.8percent in December 2017 respectively.
In addition, coverage ratio for NPL stood at 105.1percent and Capital adequacy ratio remained very strong, closing at 23.4percent despite the implementation of IFRS 9. On the backdrop of this result, Post Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) and Return on Assets (ROAA) closed at 30.9percent and 5.6percent respectively.
“We are firmly on track towards executing our strategy, achieving our vision and fulfilling our purpose. Given the outlook of improving macroeconomic conditions, the bank remains resolute in taking advantage of these opportunities to growing earnings, improving profitability and delivering returns to our esteemed shareholders,” said Osaretin Demuren, chairman, GTBank Plc.
She noted that as the bank continues to consolidate its leading position in Nigeria’s financial services sector, “we are also making progress in growing our business across select, high growth Africa markets. We believe that our commercial success depends on the prospects of Africa and we, in turn, play a significant role as a catalyst for her growth.”
Segun Agbaje, Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc said, “In 2018, our focus on staying nimble, strengthening customer relationships and driving our digital-first strategy paid off. We successfully navigated the pressures of our challenging and radically changing business environment, recorded growth across key financial indices and reaffirmed our position as one of the best performing and well managed financial institutions in Africa.”
“We have a clear vision and continue to set ourselves ambitious aspirations. What the people at GTBank achieve every year through commitment and hard word is extraordinary. Guided by our values and inspired by the rich legacy of our organization, I am confident in our capability to continue to grow and transform our organization to become truly dominant now, and in the future, whilst consistently delivering the returns that you, our shareholders deserve.”
