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Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc has said it recorded profit before tax of N214.2bn, representing 3.3 per cent dip from N221.5bn recorded in the corresponding year ended December 2021.

The Group disclosed this in a statement on its audited consolidated and separate financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, which was released on the Nigerian Exchange Group and London Stock Exchange.

It stated that this was on the back of N35.6bn impairment recognised on Ghanaian sovereign securities.

The Group’s loan book (net) increased by 4.6 per cent from N1.80tn as of December 2021, to N1.89tn in December 2022, while deposit liabilities grew by 11.6 per cent from N4.13tn to N4.61tn during the same period.

According to the statement, the Group’s balance sheet remained well-structured and resilient with total assets and shareholders’ funds closing at N6.45tn and N931.1bn, respectively.

It stated that, “Capital Adequacy Ratio remained very strong, closing at 24.1 per cent. Similarly, asset quality was sustained as IFRS 9 Stage 3 Loans ratio (NPLs) improved to 5.2 per cent in December 2022 from 6.0 per cent in December 2021. However, cost of risk inched up marginally to 0.6 per cent in FY-2022 from 0.5 per cent in December 2021 due to impact of worsened macros on PDs.”

Commenting on the results, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Mr Segun Agbaje, said, “Our ability to successfully navigate the peculiar challenges in the different markets where we operate underscores our strong business fundamentals and unwavering commitment to sound business strategies.

“Despite the varying challenges and headwinds that weighed on growth in 2022, we were determined to deliver a decent performance and scale effectively to strengthen our competitive edge and drive long-term growth.”

He added, “As an organisation, 2022 was quite significant for us being the first year after our corporate restructuring into a financial holding company in August 2021.

“Today, across our banking, payment, funds management, and pension businesses, we have successfully built a robust ecosystem with immense potential to deepen our addressable market and create more value for all our stakeholders.

“We will continue to prioritise innovation, service excellence, and execute seamlessly towards achieving our vision of leading financial services in Africa.”

The statement noted that overall, the Group continued to post one of the best metrics in the Nigerian Financial Services industry in terms of key financial ratios such as pre-tax return on equity of 23.6 per cent, pre-tax return on assets of 3.6 per cent, full impact capital adequacy ratio of 24.1 per cent and cost to income ratio of 48.0 per cent.

 

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Lamido Yuguda, has blamed the dwindling level of Foreign Portfolio Investments in the country on scarcity of foreign exchange.

Based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the Foreign Portfolio Investment (including equity, bonds and money market instruments) dropped by 27.86 per cent from $3.385.59m in 2021 to $2.442.24m at the end of 2022.

Speaking at the end of the first quarter meeting of the Nigerian Capital Market Committee on Thursday, Yuguda stated that the scarce forex situation was making the country unattractive to foreign investors.

He said, “No matter how attractive a domestic capital market is, a foreign investor will always factor in the ability to transfer their domestic earnings into foreign exchange, so they can repatriate these foreign exchange to their country.

“At the moment, we all know that there are challenges with the foreign exchange situation in Nigeria. International investors are reporting some delays in accessing foreign exchange for the repatriation of their dividends or their capital. Because of this, you are seeing a reduced proportion of foreign investors in the Nigerian capital market relative to what this market has been used to.”

Yuguda expressed optimism that the scarce forex situation would not be a permanent one and he hinged his optimism on some economic developments including the Dangote Refinery expected to commence production this year.
He said, “This is a situation that is not permanent, we expect the foreign exchange situation in their country to substantially improve. There are a lot of economic developments in the country today that are actually laying the foundation for a much more vibrant foreign exchange in the country. We do use a lot of our foreign exchange to import refined petroleum products. We know at the moment that the Dangote refinery in Lekki, once it comes on stream, has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day of refined petroleum products, lubricants and the rest.

“That means that a lot of importation that is happening now, will actually be sourced from this source and the amount of foreign exchange wasted on importing refined petrol should substantially moderate when this huge refinery comes on board. This refinery is very close to completion.”

Yuguda also said that the Nigerian economy has a huge potential to generate foreign exchange from a lot of non-oil sources.

He added, “If you have a much higher realisation of foreign exchange from non-oil sources and a reduced utilisation of foreign exchange to import petrol, you will find that this will give you a much better situation where you can use the greater availability of foreign exchange to meet the needs of investors, who are interested in taking advantage of the economic opportunities existing in our country.

“It is not a situation that has no solution.”

The stock market on the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. on Thursday recorded a bearish tilt as the overall capitalisation dropped by N5 billion.

The All Share Index decreased by 8.83 points, representing a decline of 0.02 per cent to close at 51,944.58 from 51,953.41 on Wednesday.

Similarly, the market capitalisation lost N5 billion or 0.02 per cent to close at N28.295 trillion as against N28.3 trillion posted in the previous session.

The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; May & Baker Nigeria, Zenith Bank, Nigerian Exchange Group, Fidelity Bank and Africa Prudential.

Also, market breadth closed negative, with 18 gainers and 21 losers.

Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at N1.54, per share.

Wapic Insurance followed with a gain of 9.69 per cent to close at 42k, while Champion Breweries rose 7.64 per cent to close at N4.93, per share.

Mutual Benefits Assurance went up by 6.25 per cent to close at 34k, while Prestige Assurance appreciated by 5.26 per cent to close at 40k, per share.

On the other hand, May & Baker Nigeria led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N4.05, per share, per share.

Ikeja Hotel followed with a decline of 9.24 per cent to close at N1.08, while Multiverse Mining and Exploration lost 7.60 per cent to close at N2.31, per share.

Academy Press lost 6.67 per cent to close at N1.26, while NPF Microfinance Bank shed 6.32 per cent to close at N1.78, per share.

However, the total volume traded rose by 18.72 per cent to 302.920 million units, valued at N2.023 billion, and exchanged in 3,743 deals.

Transactions in the shares of Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) topped the activity chart with 107.213 million shares valued at N162.832 million.

Fidelity Bank followed with 39.31 million shares worth N206.01 million, while United Bank for Africa traded 22.60 million shares valued at N190.36 million.

Zenith Bank traded 20.61 million shares valued at N521.29 million, while FCMB Group transacted 12.61 million shares worth N47.83 million.

Trading activities on the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. on Wednesday closed flat as the benchmark index settled at 51,953.41 points from 51,952.99 recorded on Tuesday.

The All Share Index closed slightly higher at 51,953.41 points when compared to the 51,952.99 points it closed on Tuesday.

Also, market capitalisation again closed at N28.3 billion.

The slight upturn was due to gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are Dangote Sugar Refinery, Berger Paints, Multiverse Mining and Exploration, Skyway Aviation Handling Company and International Breweries.

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive, as 17 stocks gained relative to 11 losers.

Skyway Aviation Handling Company recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at N5.50 per share.

Associated Bus Company followed with a gain of 9.68 per cent to close at 34k and Berger Paints was up by 8.57 per cent to close at N7.60 per share.

International Breweries rose by 7.41 per cent to close at N4.35, while Multiverse Mining and Exploration gained 4.17 per cent to close at N2.50 per share.

On the other hand, Royal Exchange led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at 54k per share.

Champion Breweries followed with a decline of 9.84 per cent to close at N4.58, while Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) declined by 7.53 per cent to close at 86k per share.

Mutual Benefits Assurance declined 5.88 per cent to close at 32k, while Nigerian Exchange Group shed 4.23 per cent to close at N24.90 per share.

Also, the total volume traded declined by 85.2 per cent to 255.161 million units, valued at N1.787 billion and exchanged in 3,890 deals.

Transactions in the shares of Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) topped the activity chart with 117.529 million shares valued at N163.057 million.

Fidelity Bank followed with 38.031 million shares worth N200.387 million, while United Bank for Africa traded 19.816 million shares valued at N169.194 million.

Zenith Bank traded 11.385 million shares valued at N290.036 million, while Royal Exchange transacted 5.933 million shares worth N3.263 million.