Fidelity Bank Plc’s profit before tax rose by 27.3 per cent from N10.2bn in the second quarter of 2017 to N13bn in the corresponding period of 2018.
According to a report which was released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Wednesday, the bank’s profit after tax rose by 31 per cent to N11.8bn from N9.03bn in the second half of 2017 to N11.8bn in same period of 2018.
It disclosed that its gross earnings rose by 3.6 per cent from N85.8bn to N88.9bn.
The bank stated, “In other indices, total assets grew by 13.7 per cent to N1,567.6bn from N1,379.2bn in the previous period. Total deposits, a measure of customer confidence, increased by 19.7 per cent to close at N927.9bn from N775.3bn in 2017.”
Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, attributed the impressive performance to the disciplined approach in managing the balance sheet growth of the bank, its strategic cost containment initiatives; focused attention to chosen business segments and determined execution of its retail and digital banking strategy.
He stated, “Gross earnings, net fee and commission income all grew primarily due to the increase in transactional activities. Our digital banking initiative continues to gain traction with almost 40 per cent of our customers now enrolled on our mobile/Internet banking products and over 80 per cent of total transactions now done on our digital platforms.”
It added that as shown in recent years, Fidelity Bank’s retail digital banking strategy had continued to positively impact on the business.
The statement said, “This was again evident in the HI 2018 results as savings deposits increased by 10.6 per cent to N197.5bn. The bank is on track to achieving a fifth consecutive year of double-digit savings growth. Low-cost deposits now account for 73.8 per cent of total deposits.”
Although total operating expenses grew by 5.7 per cent to N32.7bn, Okonkwo maintained that the bank’s cost-to-income ratio remained relatively stable at 67.7 per cent when compared to 67.5 per cent reported in the previous year.
“This is in spite of the double-digit inflationary environment in Nigeria. With regulatory ratios such as the Capital Adequacy Ratio at 17 per cent, Liquidity Ratio at 33.2 per cent, well above required threshold,” it stated.
Okonkwo was optimistic that the bank would sustain the sterling performance in the second half of the year.
