Ecobank Group Plc, yesterday declared N140.9 billion ($105.01 million) profit after tax in the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, about 249 per cent growth over N40.41billion ($87.6 million) reported in 2023.
The bank in the results presented to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) declared N201.5 billion ($150.15 million) profit before tax in Q1 2024, representing an increase of 249 per cent over N57.7 billion ($125.09 million) profit before tax declared in Q1 2023.
The group announced N904.15 billion ($673.87 million) gross earnings in Q1 2024, 193 per cent growth from N308.13 billion ($668.04 million) gross earnings announced in Q1 2023.
The group declared total assets of about N34.57 trillion or $26.53 billion as of March 2024, an increase of 33 per cent from N25.92 trillion or $27.23 billion reported in 2023 full financial year.
In addition, loans and advances to customers crossed the N12 trillion mark to N12.73 trillion ($9.76billion), up 27 per cent from N10.03 trillion ($10.54 billion) reported in 2023, while deposits from customers stood at N25.02 trillion ($19.2 billion) as of March 2024, a growth of 32 per cent from N19.01 trillion ($19.97 billion) reported in 2023.
Commenting on the Q1 2024 results, the CEO, Ecobank Group, Mr. Jeremy Awori said, "We made meaningful progress in our Growth, Transformation, and Returns strategy, evidenced by revenue growth across all our businesses. We particularly focused on our Consumer, Commercial, and Payments businesses due to their promising growth opportunities."
"The results for the quarter were strong and demonstrated the continued benefits of diversification and business growth despite uncertainty around rate cuts, persisting inflation, pressure on African currencies, muted economic output, and geopolitical risks.
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"Our revenues increased by $13 million to $496 million. Excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, the increase was even more robust at $114 million.
"Expenses, in constant currency, increased, mainly due to inflation. However, we maintained cost discipline, resulting in an improved cost-to-income ratio of 53.8per cent, with enhancements in our business lines.
"We delivered a profit before tax of $150 million, with an increase of $25 million, or $61 million at constant currency and generated a return on tangible shareholders' equity (ROTE) of 29.5per cent," Awori continued.
"Customer deposits increased by $3.9 billion at constant currency to $19.2 billion on continued deposit mobilisation efforts, improving the balance sheet's liquidity.
"Given the challenging macroeconomic conditions, credit quality deteriorated slightly, as expected, and we continue to work appropriately with borrowers. Furthermore, we successfully repaid our $500 million 5-year Eurobond in mid-April, demonstrating confidence in us and our financing capabilities," Awori continued.
