GTBank Releases 2018 Full Year Audited Results …….. Reports Profit before Tax of 215.6 Billion

      Guaranty Trust Bank plc has released its audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2018to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges. A review of the results shows positive performance across all financial metrics and improved strategicpositioning of the brand. Gross earnings for the year grew by 3.7% to 434.7billion from 419.2billion reported in the December 2017. Profit before tax stood at 215.6billion, representing a growth of 9.1%over 197.7billion * recorded in the corresponding year ended December 2017. The Bank’s customerdeposits increased by 10.3% to 2.274trillion from 2.062trillion in December 2017, however, loan book dipped by 12.9% from 1.449trillion recorded as at December 2017 to 1.262trillion in December 2018.  In view of the above, the Bank closed the 2018 financial year with Total Assets of 3.287trillion andShareholders’ Funds of 575.6Billion. In terms of Assets quality, NPL ratio and Cost of Risk improved to7.3% and 0.3% in December 2018 from 7.7% and 0.8% in December 2017 respectively. In addition,coverage ratio for NPL stood at 105.1% and Capital adequacy ratio remained very strong, closing at23.4% despite the implementation of IFRS 9. On the backdrop of this result, Post Tax Return on Equity(ROAE) and Return on Assets (ROAA) closed at 30.9% and 5.6% respectively. The Bank is proposingfinal dividend of 2.45k per unit of ordinary share held by shareholders in addition to interim dividend of30k per unit of ordinary share bringing total dividend for 2018 financial year to 2.75k per unit of ordinaryshare. Commenting on the financial results, the Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Mr SegunAgbaje, said; “In 2018, our focus on staying nimble, strengthening customer relationships and driving ourdigital-first strategy paid off. We successfully navigated the pressures of our challenging and radicallychanging business environment, recorded growth across key financial indices and reaffirmed our positionas one of the best performing and well managed financial institutions in Africa.He further stated that; ‘This result reflects, not just the fundamental strength of our brand, but also ourcommitment to our values of excellence, creating value for all stakeholders and putting our customers firstin everything that we do. Driven by these values, we are building the bank of the future by pairing the bestof our business with the massive potential of digital technologies to create Africa’s first integrated andtrusted platform; Habari. GTBank has continued to report the best financial ratios in terms of profitability, efficiency and capital for aFinancial Institution in Nigeria as revealed by its return on equity (ROAE) of 30.9%, cost to income ratio of37.1% and capital adequacy of 23.4%. These ratios are a testament to the efficient management of theBank. In recognition of the Bank’s bias for world class corporate governance standards, excellent servicedelivery and innovation, GTBank has been a recipient of numerous awards over the years. Some of theBank’s awards in 2018 include Bank of the Year – Nigeria from the Banker Magazine, Best Banking Groupand Best Retail Bank Nigeria from World Finance Magazine, Most Innovative Bank from the AfricanInvestor, and Best Digital Banking Brand in Nigeria from the Global Brands Magazine.