Stanbic IBTC H1 earnings grow by 3% to N117.4bn

…Declares 100k interim dividend

Benjamin Omoike

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, a member of the Standard Bank Group, has recorded an increase in gross earnings to N117.4 billion; representing a 3 per cent growth in its mid-year audited results for the period ended June 30, 2019.

The Group, also, announced an interim dividend of 100 kobo.

According to the Stanbic IBTC’s income statement, the lender maintained its total operating income of N94 billion.

Profit before tax stood at N44.7 billion, while profit after tax was N36.2 billion. Other results reflect an increase in non-interest revenue which stood at N54.9 billion while net-interest income was N39.3 billion.

Stanbic IBTC’s balance sheet reflects that the Group’s total assets were N1,619.3 billion while the gross loans and advances were N479.7 billion, an increase in five per cent, compared to last year’s figures.

While customer deposits were N693.5 billion, there was an improvement in current-and-savings-accounts deposits mix which went up to 68.9 per cent.

Speaking at the formal announcement of the results at the Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC Headquarters, Yinka Sanni, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC stated that the Group’s business segments were profitable, despite the challenging business and regulatory environment.

He said: “Our financial results in the first half of 2019 reflected similar trends encountered in the first quarter. The operating environment remained muted, regulatory changes coupled with the highly competitive landscape continued to impact overall returns.

Still, our diversified business model continues to set us apart. Our business segments remained profitable and resilient although at a slower pace when compared to the prior year.”

Sanni disclosed that there has been a return to growth in the second quarter, mainly from the communication and oil and gas sectors. He further added that the gross non-performing loan to total loan ratio which was 3.91 per cent, was within acceptable regulatory limits.

Speaking on other areas of the mid-year results in which the Group experienced growth, he noted that assets under custody rose to N7 trillion (representing a 42 per cent growth) while assets under management grew by eight per cent to N3.5 trillion.

Sanni highlighted three areas through which Stanbic IBTC Holdings achieve growth targets as EZ cash loan/advance, a recently launched instant credit solution; enhanced migration of customers to digital platforms and the launch of RetireWell Individual Retirement Savings Account, a retirement savings account targeted at self-employed individuals.

He shed more light on those initiatives: “To further drive credit growth, in the retail space, we launched an instant credit the solution named EZ cash loan/advance, which gives access to loans in less than a minute to pre-approved customers.

This, among other initiatives, will enable us to achieve the targeted loan growth for the year.

“The disciplined execution of our digital strategy has seen customers increasingly adopting and transacting on our digital platforms. The number of transactions performed by customers on our digital channels was up 26 per cent between H1 2019 and H1 2018.

This translated into a year-on-year growth of 71 per cent in electronic banking fees.

Moreover, we instituted a digital academy targeted at equipping staff with digital skills at various levels while also driving collaboration with Fintech players to position us for early adoption of innovative solutions.

“Following the launch of the micro pension initiative by the government earlier in the year, we deployed the RetireWell Individual Retirement Savings Account.

We have put in place a strong agency network in key locations to drive growth in this area and we have made good progress in this regard.”