22 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015
Wema Bank’s profit up by 59% By Peter Egwuatu
EMA Bank Plc has W declared a 58.8 per cent increase in Profit Before Taxa-
Chief Executive Officer, Teragro (Agribusiness subsidiary of Transcorp Plc), Dupe Olusola, receiving award from Kunle Malomo of MSY Analytics on behalf of Transcorp for ranking number one in the first ever Growth Strategy Leaders Awards, a ranking of the top 100 publicly traded companies in Lagos.
tion, PBT for the financial year ended 31 December 2014. The bank also grew its Total Assets by 15.6 per cent for the same period under consideration. According to the result released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE , the bank recorded Profit Before Tax growth of 58.8 per cent from N1.95billion in 2013 to N3.09billion in 2015 on the same capital base indicating
Sterling Bank records N104bn gross earnings By Peter Egwuatu
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TERLING Bank Plc has recorded 13 per cent growth in gross earnings for the financial year ended 31 December, 2014. Specifically, it posted N103.7 billion gross earnings for the year under consideration and its Profit Before Tax, PBT rose by 15.4 per cent to N10.7 billion. Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of the bank for the year ended December 31, 2014 released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed appreciable growths in most key performance indices, sustaining the strong performance outlook of the lender in spite of industrywide headwinds. Major highlights showed that net interest income leapt by 20.1 per cent to N43.0 billion in 2014 as against N35.8 billion recorded in 2013. This was driven mainly by 11.4 per cent growth in interest income to N77.9 billion, which far outweighed the 2.2 per cent increase in funding costs to N34.9 billion. This underlined the increasing cost efficiency of the lender as cost of funds had dropped from 6.1 per cent in 2013 to 5.3 percent in 2014. Similarly, non-interest income grew by 18.3 per cent from N21.8 billion in 2013 to N25.7 billion in 2014. This was boosted by 82.2 per cent growth in net trading income to N6.8 billion. The bank continued to strengthen its mid and bottomline performances as its increasing focus on cost reduction, credit risks management and operating efficiency cushioned macro headwinds and retained
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values for shareholders. Net operating income rode on the back of growth in net interest income and a 10.5 per cent reduction in impairment charges to N61.4 billion in 2014, an increase of 24.4 per cent on N49.3 billion recorded in 2013. Meanwhile, operating expenses increased by 26.5 per cent to N50.6 billion in 2014 as against N40 billion in 2013. This was due mainly to on-going investments in branch refits and expansion and rollout of alternative channels as well as regulation-induced cost. Consequently, profit before tax inched up by 15.4 per cent to N10.7 billion while profit after tax increased by 8.8 per cent to N9 billion. The net profit was impacted by 68.4 per cent increase in income tax expense. The bank’s balance sheet also emerged stronger. Net loans and advances increased by 15.4 per cent to N371.2 billion in 2014 compared with N321.7 billion in 2013. Customer deposits rose by 15 per cent to N655.9 billion as against
The bank recorded Profit Before Tax growth of 58.8 per cent from N1.95billion in 2013 to N3.09billion in 2015
N570.5 billion while shareholders’ funds increased by 33.5 per cent from N63.5 billion to N84.7 billion. Total assets closed 2014 at N824.5 billion, representing an increase of 16.5 per cent on N707.8 billion recorded in 2013. Commenting on the results, managing director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Yemi Adeola, said the bank’s performance shows the strengths of its resilient growth model and its ability to continue to deliver value for all stakeholders. According to him, 2014 was
a difficult year in many respects for the Nigerian banking industry as the multiple challenges arising from a weaker macroeconomic environment and the various regulatory responses to them put significant pressure on the margins of banks.”Despite these pressures, we achieved double-digit earnings growth in line with our medium-term strategic objectives. This performance underscores the commitment of the entire team to our corporate goals and the resilience of our business model,” Adeola said.
improved efficiency and better utilization of resources. Wema Bank recorded a 19 per cent growth in customer deposit volumes largely from the Commercial and Retail space despite the tightening government regulation on cash-reserve. Our loans and advances to customers increased by 51%, as the Bank was able to lend more to productive sectors of the economy. In addition, the bank has continued to ensure strong Risk Management, and this is evidenced by the level of non-performing loans ratio at 2.5 per cent. Speaking from the bank’s headquarters in Lagos, Segun Oloketuyi, Managing Director/ CEO of WEMA Bank Plc said “It gives me great pleasure to report that Wema Bank continues to record year on year improvement in its financial performance. The Bank has improved significantly on its profitability and customer growth despite shrinking margins and intense competition. This progress recorded is a result of the continued execution of our three-year growth strategy – Project LEAP.” Continuing he said “The “New Wema Bank” that has now emerged is a stronger, more efficient, resilient and customer-focused organization with a robust risk management and corporate governance structure. The bank has realigned its business focus to concentrate on its key area of strength – Retail Banking.”
NSE, MSCI sign agreement to develop, commercialise co-branded indexes By Nkiruka Nnorom he Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, has Tannounced a strategic co-operation
agreement with MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of investment decision support tools worldwide, to develop and market a co-branded family of indexes for the Nigerian equity markets. Following the partnership, existing and future indexes will be co-branded as the MSCI/ NSE Indexes, including the flagship NSE 30 Index and NSE 50 Index, which will become the MSCI/NSE 30 Index and the MSCI/NSE 50 Index, respectively, the NSE said in a statement. The NSE noted that indexes would be jointly developed and launched in future based on client demand and market development, adding that the indexes would be used as performance benchmarks and as the basis for index-linked products for investors seeking exposure to the Nigerian capital markets. “As the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria is increasingly positioning itself at the center of the development of the region’s capital markets,” said Baer Pettit, Managing Director and Head of MSCI’s Product Group. “MSCI is very proud to establish a strategic relationship with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, and we look forward to working with them to raise the profile of these indexes
around the world. The combination of MSCI’s emerging and frontier markets index expertise and NSE’s position as one of the leading exchanges in the region will, we believe, deliver high quality indexes for both international and domestic investors,” he said. Also speaking, Mr. Oscar Onyema, CEO, NSE, said, “We are proud to collaborate with MSCI, one of the top and most-respected index providers for global stock markets. Our collaboration provides the global investing public, listed companies and other stakeholders in the Nigerian market access to MSCI’s high quality products and internationally recognized brand. The Nigerian Stock Exchange, in cooperation with MSCI, will continue to innovate and bring products to market that will increase the sophistication of African markets and continue to establish Nigeria as the market for entrepreneurial growth.” The MSCI/NSE Indexes will be calculated and disseminated by MSCI, based on the same industry leading standards that apply to the MSCI indexes. MSCI will commercialize the indexes outside of Nigeria while the NSE will continue to serve clients in Nigeria. The NSE is the largest exchange in Africa by volume traded, currently trading an average of 437.4 million shares daily. With 253 listed securities, the NSE’s total market capitalization is USD 90.67 billion.