The company’s Group Managing Director, Mr Urum Kalu Eke,
disclosed in a statement made available on
Saturday in Lagos.
The profit before tax rose by 9.2 per cent when compared
with N41.4 billion recorded in the comparative period of 2020.
Profit after tax (PAT) stood at N38.1 billion against N35.6
billion posted in the corresponding period of 2020, indicating an increase of
6.9 per cent.
However, the company’s gross earnings decreased by 1.7 per
cent to N291.2 billion in the period under review against N296.4 billion
recorded in the preceeding period.
The company’s operating expenses recorded an increase of 9.6
per cent of N152.6 billion from N139.2 billion posted in the comparative
period.
Commenting on the results, Eke said the result was
reflective of FBN Holding’s focus on strengthening the organisation as well as
commitment to strategic objectives to drive stability in performance and
delivering sustainable growth.
“In line with our focus on revenue diversification, we
continue to grow our non-interest income as we progressively become a more
transaction-led institution and implement innovative and technological driven
measures to improve overall efficiency.
“The macro and socio-economic conditions remain challenging
given the COVID-19 pandemic and the low-interest rates environment.
“While these points negatively impacted overall revenue
generation, we are confident that FBN Holdings can navigate this challenging
operating environment and keep delivering sustained innovative solutions that
enrich customer experience,” he said.
Dr Adesola Adeduntan, the Chief Executive Officer of
FirstBank and its subsidiaries, said: “The commercial banking group’s financial
performance in H1 was impressive with a 17.9 per cent and 14.9 per cent uplift
in PBT and PAT, respectively.
“These results were delivered despite the challenging
macro-economic conditions that were further exacerbated by the negative impacts
of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the prevailing low yield environment which
continues to compress margins.
“The effects of these factors resulted in the slight drop
recorded in gross earnings and net interest income.
“Going into the second half, the bank will fully harness the
returns from the strong and quality risk assets portfolio created in the first
half of the year, taking advantage of the uptick in interest rates,” Adeduntan
said.
He said accelerated growth in the second half of the year
would be supported by the bank’s dominance and increased opportunities in the
financial inclusion and digital banking businesses.
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