Foremost African Banking Group, Guaranty Trust Bank plc, parent company of Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Limited has declared a Profit Before Tax of N107.09 Billion (about USD650 million) for the financial year 2013.

The Bank’s audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2013 was announced to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges. A review of the results shows a strong and positive performance across all financial indices and also affirms the Bank’s position as one of the most profitable financial services provider in Nigeria. In terms of value creation, GTBank maintained its top position in the industry with pre-tax Return on Equity (ROE) of 34.9% and pre-tax Return on Asset (ROA) of 5.6%.

A glance through the numbers reveals an impressive 28.6% growth in loan book from ₦783.91bn (about USD4.7 Billion) in 2012 to ₦1.01tn (about USD6 Billion) in 2013 while customer’s deposits grew by a remarkable 24.3% from ₦1.15tn (about USD7 Billion) in 2012 to ₦1.43tn (about USD8.6 Billion) in 2013. Consequently, the group closed the 2013 financial year with a balance sheet size in excess of ₦2tn (about USD12 Billion) while shareholders’ equity increased by 17.9% from ₦281.83bn (about USD1.7 Billion) in 2012 to ₦332.35bn (about USD2 Billion) in the period under review. Risk management framework in the bank remains very strong as Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ratio decreased to 3.58% in 2013 from 3.75% in the comparative period of 2012.

Commenting on the results, Mr. Segun Agbaje, Managing Director and CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank plc stated that, “As a growing franchise and in spite of the regulatory headwinds, our Bank has posted respectable results that reaffirm our reputation as a market leader and a highly ethical financial institution". We have maintained our cost-leadership position as typified by the cost-to-income ratio (2013: 43.5%; 2012:43.1%) among peers year-on-year.

He further stated that “with this performance, we will maintain our commitment to maximizing shareholder value with a proposed 10% increase in dividend pay-out over what was paid in 2012 and a share price appreciation of 17% in 2013. Our acquisition of Fina Bank Limited, a Kenyan bank with significant business footprint in Rwanda and Uganda gives us the opportunity to commence business in three East African countries via the acquisition of one bank. This will give us great mileage and an opportunity to leverage our brand equity. We hope to further tap into the growth potentials of emerging African economies thus bringing us closer to our philosophy of being ‘A proudly African and truly international’ financial brand”.

Also commenting on the results, the Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Limited, Mr. Lekan Sanusi stated that “Our group’s performance is a reflection of the health of all subsidiaries. Customers and other stakeholders are thus assured that they are dealing with a strong institution”.
He further stated that, “Soon Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Limited would announce its own results, which would also reveal significant growth in its performance”.   

The GTBank group has experienced tremendous growth since its inception in Nigeria in 1990 and presently has growing operations in Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and the United Kingdom due to its ability to exhibit an in-depth understanding of these markets.