Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc has reported a profit before tax of N300.4bn for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, demonstrating resilience in its core earnings and continued leadership in Nigeria’s financial services industry.
The result, filed with both the Nigerian Exchange Group and the London Stock Exchange, showed GTCO’s interest income rose by 41.1 per cent year-on-year, while fee and commission income climbed by 41.2 per cent. These earnings helped cushion the impact of the non-recurrence of a one-off fair value gain of N331.6bn recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
According to the unaudited financials, the Group’s loan book (net) grew by 15.6 per cent, rising from N2.79tn as at December 2024 to N3.22tn by the end of March 2025.
In the period under review, Customer deposit liabilities also improved, increasing by 7.7 per cent from N10.40tn to N11.20tn during the same period. Total assets stood at N15.9tn, while shareholders’ funds closed at N3.0tn.
GTCO maintained a solid capital base, with its Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio closing at 34.6 per cent, far above the regulatory minimum. The Group also recorded improvements in asset quality, as IFRS 9 Stage 3 loans reduced to 4.5 per cent at the Group level (down from 5.2 per cent in December 2024) and 3.3 per cent at the Bank level (from 3.5 per cent).
Cost of Risk declined sharply to 0.4 per cent from 4.9 per cent at the end of last year, underscoring improved risk management and loan book performance.
Commenting on the results, GTCO’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Segun Agbaje, said the Q1 performance highlights the strength and resilience of the Group’s diversified earnings and the solid structure of its balance sheet.
“Our Q1 2025 performance reflects the strength of all our business verticals and our capacity to generate strong and sustainable earnings,” Agbaje stated. “While the fair value gains of N331.6bn reported in Q1 2024 did not recur this quarter, the Group recorded solid growth across most income lines, underpinned by a diversified revenue base and a healthy, well-structured balance sheet.”
He added, “We remain optimistic about the year ahead. The fundamentals of our business are strong, our customer base continues to grow, and we are executing with discipline across our strategic priorities. Importantly, at this pace, the Group is well-positioned to deliver the full year PBT of 2024 at the very minimum by the end of the 2025 financial year.”
GTCO continues to post some of the strongest metrics in the Nigerian banking sector, with a pre-tax return on average equity of 42.2 per cent, return on average assets of 7.8 per cent, cost-to-income ratio of 29.0 per cent, and CAR of 34.6 per cent.
The PUNCH reported that Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc has reported a profit before tax of N1.27 trillion for the 2024 financial year, representing a 107.8 per cent increase from N609.31 billion posted in 2023.
