Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses, Fidelity Bank Plc, yesterday announced that its core operating profits grew by 50.9 per cent for the year ended December 31, 2020.
In a clear demonstration of its resilience and stability, the bank’s indices showed strong growth in core operating profits, net revenue, and other key financial indices.
According to its audited results, the bank’s posted a 50.9 per cent growth in core operating profits from N29.8 billion in 2019 to N44.9 billion in 2020, while net revenue increased by 15 per cent from N111.8 billion in 2019FY.
Customer Deposit, which is a measure of consumer confidence rose by 38.7 per cent from N1.23 billion in 2019 to N1.69 billion while total assests grew by 30.5 per cent from N2.11 trillion recorded in 2019 to N2.76 trillion.
However, Profit Before Tax (PBT) dropped by 7.6 per cent to N28.1 billion from N30.4 billion in 2019 FY, due to an increase in the bank’s loan provisioning to shield it from any headwinds.
Encouraged by the healthy results, the Board of Fidelity Bank is proposing a N6.4 billion payout, which translates to 22 Kobo dividend per share to its shareholders.
Commenting on the results, the Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, said the bank’s performance shows the resilience of its business model even as it took a conservative stance in recognition of the impact of the global pandemic which has redefined business risks and opportunities in the new normal.
“We saw a significant improvement in our efficiency indices as cost-to-income ratio moderated downward to 65.1 from 73.4 per cent in 2019FY. 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”, She said.
As seen in recent years, the bank’s digital retail banking approach has continued to yield positive results but its banking income dropped by 18.8 per cent due to the revised banker’s tariff, it increased by 19.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter on account of increased customer adoption as more services were migrated to the bank’s digital channels.