Temitope Adebayo
Fidelity Bank Plc has reported an increase in gross earnings to N103.7 billion for the first half of 2019 from N92.3 billion recorded in the same period of 2018.
The audited result of the bank for the period ended June 30, 2019, released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that despite the country’s challenging and fiercely competitive business environment, Fidelity Bank Plc delivered a 15.7 per cent rise in Profit Before Tax (PBT) from N13.0 billion in the earlier period to N15.1 billion during the period under review.
The lender’s half-year financial report, also, indicated an increase in its Profit After Tax (PAT) by 15.6 per cent to close at N13.6 billion from N11.8 billion recorded in 2018.
Similarly, the financial institution’s total deposits, which measures customer confidence, increased by 12.0 per cent to close at N1,097.0 trillion from N979.4 billion in 2018 Financial Year (FY).
Commenting on the results, Fidelity Bank CEO, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo expressed delight with the bank’s financial performance.
According to Okonkwo, the bank remained focused on the execution of its medium-term strategic goals and targets for the 2019FY whilst promising that the bank would continue to sustain the momentum and deliver another strong set of results for the 9M 2019.
He said, “Gross Earnings increased by 12.3 percent to N103.7bn driven by a 52.4 percent growth in our fee-based income and a 7.2 per cent growth in Interest Income.
Digital Banking, Okonkwo stated has continued to gain traction is driven by new initiatives in the retail lending segment and increased cross-selling of its digital banking products.
“We now have 45.0 per cent of our customers enrolled in the bank’s mobile/internet banking products, 82.0 per cent of total transactions now done on digital platforms and 29.0 per cent of fee-based income now coming from digital banking”, he added.
The Fidelity CEO pointed out that retail loans were steadily on the rise after the launch of the bank’s new digital lending product dubbed Fidelity Fastloan, further adding that the bank has deepened lending partnerships with select Financial Technology (FinTechs) companies.
Buoyed essentially by innovative digital technologies, Fidelity Bank’s retail strategy has become a major game-changer for the business. This was again evident in the H1 2019 results as savings deposits now account for about 22.6 per cent of total deposits –
a clear sign of the bank’s increasing market share in the retail segment. “We are on course to achieving the 6th consecutive year of double-digit savings growth”, he stated.
Total Deposits however increased by 12.0 per cent to N1,097.0 billion from N979.4bn driven by double-digit growth in both local and foreign currency deposits. Non-performing Loans (NPLs) ratio improved to 5.4 per cent from 5.7 per cent in the 2018FY due to the growth in the loan book.
With regulatory ratios such as the Capital Adequacy Ratio at 17.0 per cent, Liquidity Ratio at 34.8 per cent, well above the required threshold, Okonkwo was optimistic that the bank will sustain this sterling performance in the second half of the year.
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