By Business Editor
FCMB Group Plc records positive financial performance across key indicators with a 148% growth in profit before tax of N38.2 billion from January to June this year, compared to N15.4 billion in the corresponding period of 2022.
Highlights of the diversified Group’s unaudited six-month results released on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) floor showed that various divisions achieved robust earnings growth: Banking Group 185.5per cent, Consumer Finance 10.3per cent, Investment Management 53.3per cent, and Investment Banking 54.3per cent. In addition, FCMB Group’s gross revenue grew by 88.7per cent to N238.2 billion for June 2023, as against N126.2 billion for the same period in the previous year. This growth was driven by a 51.9per cent increase in interest income and a 216.9per cent increase in non-interest income.
The Group Chief Executive of FCMB Group Plc, Mr Ladi Balogun, said: “We continue to leverage our unique Group structure to build a technology-driven ecosystem that fosters inclusive and sustainable growth in the communities we serve. This strategy enables us to deliver robust performance despite the challenging domestic and global environment.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, this trend will be sustained and accompanied by improving efficiencies arising from greater scale and ongoing digitization.”
Customer confidence in FCMB Group remained strong, as deposits rose by 45.3% year-on-year to N2.38 trillion at the end of June, up from N1.64 trillion in the corresponding period of 2022, whilst Loans and advances also grew by 37.4% to N1.54 trillion, compared to N1.12 trillion in the previous period.
The Group’s Assets Under Management (AUM) recorded an increase of 23.6% year-on-year to N910.3 billion at the end of June 2023, up from N736.4 billion at the end of June 2022.
The half-year results also showed impressive performance in environmental, social, and corporate governance activities that contributed significantly to the society’s sustainable and inclusive growth. For instance, within the six months under review, FCMB Group contributed to food security and import substitution in Nigeria by growing lending to the agricultural sector by 18.4% to N174.0 billion from N147.4 billion for the full year 2022. Working with partners, access to finance was provided to 24,000 rural farmers, and the rehabilitation of 80,000 farming households was supported in the North-East geo-political zone of the country.
In the area of climate action, the company successfully secured funding of up to N5 billion from local development finance institutions for on-lending to customers requiring solar energy solutions in line with its commitment to support renewable energy sources.
FCMB effectively leveraged its banking business to drive foreign exchange flows by facilitating over $160 million and $81 million in export and remittance flows into the country, respectively, during the first half of 2023. The financial institution secured over N71.6 billion of funding from Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and donor agencies at the end of June 2023, which was channelled to support the attainment of sustainable development goals in critical sectors of the economy.
By democratizing access to comprehensive financial services, FCMB Group acquired an additional 869,000 customers, thereby increasing its customer base to 11.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, as against 10.1 million in the corresponding period of 2022.
Digital banking initiatives continue to gain traction across the Group’s various businesses as users of its new mobile app that offers lending, wealth, and payment solutions grew by 20% year-on-year to 1.6 million. With an enlarged customer base, an expanded distribution platform, and the use of artificial intelligence to automate and optimize loan underwriting processes, the company disbursed over 3 million loans worth N105 billion to individuals, N5.2 billion to micro-enterprises, and N171 billion to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises. Seventy-eight thousand customers accessed retail investment products via FCMB’s digital channels. Similarly, its agency banking network grew to over 115,000 agents nationwide.
FCMB Group is listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX). It serves over 11.7 million customers across four platforms: banking, consumer finance, investment management, and investment banking.
