Ecobank announces 12% increase in profit
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) on Wednesday announced 12 per cent increase in profit for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 to N57.95 billion from N51.76 billion in nine months ended September 30, 2016.
The pan-African financial institution profit before tax also rose by marginally by three per cent to N69.4 billion as against N67.5 billion in prior nine months of 2016.
Growth in profitability was driven by 24 per cent increase in gross earnings to N564.46 billion in nine months ended September 30, 2017 from N456.7 billion in nine months ended September 30, 2016.
The Group CEO, ETI. Mr. Ade Ayeyemi, in a statement said, “Our results reflected the benefits of diversification and the progress made in executing our strategy to positioning the company for long-term growth.
Actions we took around reducing costs have shown positive results and were evident in improvements to the cost-to-income ratio for the group, and particularly for Nigeria. We expect further efficiency gains to come from ongoing right-sizing of our Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa region and subsequently the rest of our West Africa regions.
“Our commitment to creating a digital bank is progressing strongly. The number of mobile app downloads, merchant acquisitions, and merchant processing volumes have increased. Ecobank OMNI and Bank Collect, both cash management solutions for our commercial and corporate clients, are making it easier for them to efficiently pay and receive cash digitally.
“With the operating environment still subdued, albeit showing signs of recovery, asset quality indicators remain high and will stay at these levels for a few more quarters. In response, we have reduced lending activity, continued to strengthen risk management processes, and are engaging constructively with our customers to make good on their past-due loan payments.
“Overall, we remain optimistic and dedicated to serving our customers with the financial services solutions they need.”
From balance sheet position, the group total assets gained two per cent to N6.4 trillion as at September 30, 2017 as against N6.26 trillion reported in 2016 full financial year.
Deposits from customers increased by five per cent to N4.32 trillion as at September 30, 2017 from N4.1 trillion in 2016 while loans and advances to customers rose marginally by 0.2 per cent from N2.8 trillion in 2016 to N2.83 trillion as at September 30, 2016.
