Fidelity Bank Plc has announced a N28.1 billion profit in 2020.
BEVERLY HILLS, April 02, (THEWILL) – The bank reported a 50.9 per cent growth in Core Operating Profits from N29.8 billion in 2019 FY to N44.9 billion while Net Revenue increased by 15.0 per cent from N111.8 billion in 2019 FY.
Customer Deposit rose by 38.7 per cent from N1, 225.2 billion to N1, 699.0 billion just as Total Assets grew by 30.5 per cent from N2, 114.037 trillion in 2019 FY to N2, 758.148 trillion.
However, Profit Before Tax dropped by 7.6 per cent to N28.1 billion from N30.4 billion in 2019, a situation the bank blamed on an increase in its loan provisions to shield it from any headwinds. It described that arrangement as a positive move for the Bank especially in the current era of Covid-19 and its attendant effect on business risks.
The Board is proposing a N6.4 billion payout, which translated to 22 kobo dividend per share to its shareholders.
“We are pleased with our financial performance, which clearly showed the resilience of our business model as core operating profit increased by 50.9% to N44.9 billion from N29.8 billion in 2019 FY.
“We also saw a significant improvement in our efficiency indices as cost-to-income ratio moderated downward to 65.1 per cent from 73.4 per cent in 2019 FY. However, Profit before Tax (PBT) dropped by 7.6 per cent to N28.1 billion as we proactively increased our provisions on risk assets to N16.9 billion from a net write-back of N0.6 billion in 2019 FY, said Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, Fidelity Bank CEO, adding that the bank “took a conservative stance in recognition of the impact of the global pandemic, which has redefined business risks and opportunities in the new normal”.
In a statement Wednesday, the bank said its digital retail banking approach has continued to yield positive results. Though Digital Banking income dropped by 18.8% due to the revised banker’s tariff, it increased by 19.6 per cent Q-o-Q on account of increased customer adoption as more services were migrated to the bank’s digital channels.
Ms Onyeali-Ikpe is happy with the progress of its digital banking play stating that “over 52.8 per cent of customers are now enrolled on the bank’s mobile/ internet banking compared to 47.4 per cent in 2019 FY, while 88.4 per cent of our customers’ transactions were done on the digital platform products and more than 81 per cent of total transactions done on digital platforms”.
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