Fidelity Bank Plc has continued to sustain its impressive run of financial performance with the strong 3rd quarter results for the year, released Monday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Details of the results show improvements in key indices though Gross Earnings dropped marginally by 3.7 percent from ₦161.1bn in 2019 to ₦155bn.
Profits were however up by 3.6 percent, closing at a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of ₦21.3 billion whilst Profits After Tax (PAT) rose by 7 percent from N19bn to ₦20.4 billion in the period under review.
In other indices, Customer Deposits, Net Loans, and Total Assets grew in double digits. Total Assets grew by 21 percent from ₦2.1bn in 2019 to ₦2.5bn; Customer Deposits were up by 22.3 percent from N1.23 billion to ₦1.5billion whilst Net Loans rose by 12 percent from N1.12 billion to N1.27billion to cap the good outing by the top lender.
Speaking after the disclosure the Banks CEO, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo said;
‘Our nine months results reflect our resilient business model, particularly in a very challenging operating environment. We worked closely with our customers to gradually recover from the economic impact of the pandemic and the attendant effect of the lockdown‘
He further went on to explain that the drop in Gross Earnings was due to the decline in interest and similar income caused by lower yields and drop-in fee income.
‘Net fee income declined by N1.3bn largely due to a reduction in FX related income on account of the revaluation gains recorded in H1 2020. Digital Banking, however, continued to gain traction as we now have 52.3 percent of our customers enrolled on the mobile/internet banking products from 47.4 percent in 2019FY and 88.2 percent of customer-induced transactions are done on digital platforms.
Similarly, digital banking income increased by 20.0per cent quarter on quarter due to improved adoption by customers and new services migrated to our digital channels‘ he stated.
Fidelity Bank has over the years implemented a retail digital banking strategy and that has continued to deliver, with the bank on course to achieving the seventh consecutive year of double digits growth.
‘The growth in Savings Deposits accounted for 40.2 percent of the total growth in Customer Deposits and Savings Deposits now represent 25.7 percent of total deposits, up from 22.3 percent in 2019‘ he concluded.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
