Coronation Merchant Bank declares N5.1 billion profit before tax

The Coronation Merchant Bank Group on Friday announced that it recorded a 66 per cent growth in its gross earnings in 2017 and recorded a profit before tax of N5.1 billion.

The announcement was made by the Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Abu Jimoh, at an annual general meeting held in Lagos, according to a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES by the bank.

Mr Jimoh said the bank was able to achieve such success through strong business fundamentals despite the tough market conditions that characterised significant parts of 2017.

He added that the effectiveness of the bank’s strategy, the quality of past decisions and the commitment of the board and management to maximise shareholder value while actively expanding franchise in select, high growth markets where there is a competitive advantage; were other reasons for the performance of the bank.

He said the 66 per cent gross earnings growth stood at N25.5 billion and the non-interest income growth was at 57 per cent.

“Our deliberate focus on the efficiency of our business operations has continued to yield considerable returns for the Bank. Despite the high inflation rate, Cost-to-income ratio increased marginally by 90bps to 46.1 per cent (Dec 2016: 45.2 per cent), reaffirming the Bank’s commitment to rein in costs while improving operating efficiency.

“Aside from the strong earnings performance, the Group recorded a significant growth in its Balance Sheet in 2017. Total assets increased by 28 per cent to N136.7bn from N106.6bn in December 2016, and shareholder’s funds increased to N29.5bn from N25.9bn – a valid testament to the resilience of the Group’s operations and its adaptability to current market realities and challenges, ” the statement said.

The CEO pledged that the bank would continue to gain momentum in its efforts to achieve more diversified earnings, as it strengthens its subsidiaries offerings.

“We will continue to maintain a disciplined and prudent approach in asset creation in line with our overall risk management framework and evidenced in our growth in loan book of 42% which increased from N22.7bn to N32.3bn with zero NPL.

“While general economic conditions and the regulatory environment remain tight, we believe that our new business and lending strategies, embedded risk management culture and continuous cost savings will enable us stand firm throughout this period

“In the coming years, we will focus on the disciplined implementation of our growth strategy to drive efficiency in all segments of our business leveraging fintech and process re-engineering,” he said.