Nigeria: FBN Holdings Achieves Record-Breaking Performance in H2 2024

FBN Holdings Plc, the parent company of Nigeria’s longest-established bank, First Bank, has announced outstanding financial results for the second quarter of 2024. The company reported a pre-tax profit of N177.79 billion, marking a notable 18.9% increase compared to the previous year. This achievement contributed to a record-breaking half-year profit of N411.9 billion, more than double the N205 billion pre-tax profit recorded during the same period in 2023.

The impressive performance comes under the leadership of new Chairman Femi Otedola and Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Olusegun Alebiosu. Otedola assumed the role in January, while Alebiosu took over in April.

Financial Highlights (Q2 2024 vs. Q2 2023):

• Net Interest Income: Increased by 132% to N288 billion from N124.3 billion.
• Net Fees and Commission Income: Rose by 55.7% to N58.4 billion, up from N37.5 billion.
• Operating Profit: Gained 18.8%, reaching N177.7 billion compared to N149.5 billion.
• Pre-tax Profit: Grew by 14.2% to N156.1 billion from N136.6 billion.
• Earnings per Share: 40 kobo.
• Loans and Advances to Customers: Expanded by 42.8% to N9 trillion from N6.3 trillion.
• Customer Deposits: Increased by 42.4%, totaling N15.1 trillion compared to N10.6 trillion.
• Net Assets: Rose by 29.4% to N2.2 trillion from N1.7 trillion.

The robust growth in FBN Holdings’ financial results is attributed to a dramatic increase in interest income, which more than doubled to N288 billion compared to N124.3 billion in Q2 2023. This surge was driven by higher loans and advances to customers and increased income from investment securities. Despite reporting net foreign exchange losses of N66.45 billion, contributing to a total half-year loss of N165 billion, the company mitigated these losses with net gains from instruments at fair value, amounting to N433.2 billion for the first half of the year.

The commercial banking segment remained the primary profit driver, contributing N366.1 billion, while the Investment Banking and Asset Management group added N37.1 billion. This exceptional performance highlights FBN Holdings’ strategic agility and ability to leverage market opportunities, delivering significant value to shareholders amidst a challenging economic landscape.