FBN Holdings Reports Record-Breaking H2 2024 Performance
FBN Holdings Plc, the parent company of Nigeria’s oldest bank, First Bank, has announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2024, showcasing a remarkable pre-tax profit of N177.79 billion.
This figure represents an impressive 18.9% growth year-on-year, contributing to a record-breaking half-year profit of N411.9 billion. This achievement marks the bank’s best-ever half-year performance, more than doubling the N205 billion pre-tax profit recorded in the same period of 2023.
The strong financial performance comes under the new leadership of Femi Otedola as Chairman and Olusegun Alebiosu as the Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive. Otedola took over as chairman in January, while Alebiosu stepped into his role in April.
Financial Highlights (Q2 2024 vs. Q2 2023):
- Net Interest Income: N288 billion, up from N124.3 billion, marking a 132% increase.
- Net Fees and Commission Income: Rose by 55.7% to N58.4 billion from N37.5 billion.
- Operating Profit: Increased by 18.8% to N177.7 billion compared to N149.5 billion.
- Pre-tax Profit: Achieved a 14.2% growth, reaching N156.1 billion from N136.6 billion.
- Earnings per Share: Stood at 40 kobo.
- Loans and Advances to Customers: Grew by 42.8% to N9 trillion from N6.3 trillion.
- Customer Deposits: Increased by 42.4%, totaling N15.1 trillion compared to N10.6 trillion.
- Net Assets: Rose by 29.4% to N2.2 trillion from N1.7 trillion.
The robust growth in FBN Holdings’ financial results is primarily driven by a significant rise in interest income, which more than doubled to N288 billion compared to N124.3 billion in Q2 2023. This surge was fueled by increased loans and advances to customers and higher income from investment securities. The bank also reported net foreign exchange losses of N66.45 billion, contributing to a total half-year loss of N165 billion. However, these losses were mitigated by net gains from instruments at fair value, totaling N433.2 billion for the first half of the year.
The commercial banking segment remained the dominant contributor to profits, adding N366.1 billion, while the Investment Banking and Asset Management group contributed N37.1 billion. This exceptional performance underlines FBN Holdings’ strategic resilience and ability to capitalize on market opportunities, delivering value to its shareholders in a challenging economic environment.
Source: Nairametrics
