December 08, (THEWILL) – FCMB Group Plc recently announced a pre-tax profit of N27.6 billion for the third quarter of 2024, up from N16.9 billion in the same period last year, and this points to a bountiful 2024 annual performance.
The growth marks a year-on-year increase of 63.35 percent, bringing the total pre-tax profit for the nine months ending September 30, 2024, to N91.8 billion.
In Q3 2024, the company saw a 77.06 percent increase in earnings from fees and commissions, reaching N16.3 billion.
Additionally, the net trading income saw a substantial rise, from N1.1 billion in Q3 2023 to N18.4 billion, mainly due to gains from trading FGN bonds.
FCMB’s Q3 2024 results highlights a strong performance despite a significant increase in interest expenses during the quarter.
Gross earnings for Q3 2024 climbed by 88.18 per cent year-on-year to reach N213.3 billion, contributing to a nine-month total of N587.7 billion.
However, this positive momentum was partly offset by a 160.36% increase in interest expenses, which reached N109 billion for the quarter.
Much of this rise was due to higher costs from deposits and borrowings, which contributed to the increased financing expenses.
On the other hand, FCMB’s net fee and commission income grew by 77.06 percent, reaching N16.3 billion for the third quarter.
This growth added to the company’s overall performance, with service fees and commissions making up more than half of its total commission income for the nine months, which totalled N29.1 billion.
Similarly, the net trading income saw a sharp increase of 1555.04 percent year-on-year, rising to N18.4 billion, primarily driven by foreign exchange gains and strong performance in FGN bond trading.
These gains contributed to the overall increase in trading income for the nine-month period, which reached N27.3 billion, with foreign exchange trading accounting for N17.9 billion of the total.
The company also saw ‘other income’ grow by 104.38% year-on-year, reaching N21 billion for the third quarter. Much of this was fueled by foreign exchange gains, which bolstered FCMB’s overall revenue.
Despite the rise in interest expenses, FCMB’s profit margins remained robust. Pre-tax profit for Q3 2024 grew by 63.35 percent to N27.6 billion, while post-tax profit surged by 66.55 percent, reaching N22.9 billion.
Analysts note that the strong performance was reflected in a marked increase in earnings per share, which rose to N4.63 from N2.78 in the previous year, a 66.55 per cent jump in Q3.
FCMB’s total assets grew by 54.21 percent year-on-year to N6.8 trillion as of September 30, 2024.
Key components of this growth include investments in securities, which totaled N1.2 trillion, loans and advances to customers, which rose to N2.5 trillion, and restricted reserve deposits, which amounted to N1.1 trillion.
“We continue to leverage our unique Group structure to build a technology driven ecosystem that is fostering inclusive and sustainable growth in the communities we serve.
“This strategy is enabling us to deliver robust performance in spite of the challenging domestic and global environment.
“Barring unforeseen circumstances, we believe this trend will be sustained and accompanied with improving efficiencies arising from greater scale and ongoing digitization,” the bank said.
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
