Despite a challenging business environment, Guaranty Trust (GT) Bank plc said its gross earnings grew by N434.7 billion from N419.2 billion recorded in 2017, thus representing a 3.7 per cent increase.
According to its audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2018, then bank demonstrated positive performance across all financial metrics and improved strategic positioning of the brand. Profit before tax (PBT) stood at N215.6 billion, representing a growth of 9.1 per cent over N197.7billion recorded in the corresponding year of December 2017.
The bank’s customer deposits increased by 10.3 per cent to N2.274 trillion from N2.062 trillion in December 2017, although its loan book dipped by 12.9 per cent from N1.449 trillion recorded in December 2017 to N1.262 trillion in December 2018. The bank is proposing final dividend of N2.45 per unit of ordinary share held by shareholders in addition to interim dividend of 30 kobo per unit of ordinary share bringing total dividend for 2018 financial year to N2.75 per unit of ordinary share.
Commenting on the financial results, the Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Segun Agbaje, said; “In 2018, our focus on staying nimble, strengthening customer relationships and driving our digital-first strategy paid off.
We successfully navigated the pressures of our challenging and radically changing business environment, recorded growth across key financial indices and reaffirmed our position as one of the best performing and well managed financial institutions in Africa.