Sterling bank Plc has announced 47.9 per cent increase in profit after tax in its unaudited first quarter result and accounts for period ended March 31, 2022 from N2.4billion reported in the same period of March 31, 2021.
The bank’s gross earnings grew by 23.2 per cent to N38.1 billion as against the N30.9 billion reported in Q1 2021.
This was primarily due to a 43.3 per cent increase in operating income driven by a 17.5 per cent growth in net interest income and a 40.5 per cent increase in fees & commission.
According to the bank: “While we maintain deposit level, we have achieved a 6.4 per cent YTD growth in low cost funds which improved our CASA mix to 72.5 per cent from 68.1 per cent (FY 2021). OPEX grew by 21.3 per cent driven by an increase in general and administrative expenses, and other operating expenses such as the AMCON surcharge.”
Sterling Bank reported 3.4 per cent increase in loans & advances i to N735.8 billion as cost of risk increased marginally by 20 basis points to 1.1 per cent. The NPL ratio remained stable at 0.8 per cent. Overall, the Bank grew its balance sheet by 2.1 per cent to N1.66 trillion and achieved a 47.9 per cent growth in profit after taxes to reach N3.5 billion compared to the profit of N2.4 billion reported for Q1 2021.
The Chief Executive Officer, Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman in a statement said, “The year commenced with great expectations for growth globally on the back of the recovery achieved in 2021.
“However, the outbreak of conflict in eastern Europe had resulted in elevated energy prices, stoked inflation globally and undermined the expected pace of economic growth In Nigeria, this development in addition to supply chain disruptions impacted prices further and resulted in rising inflation
Despite the macroeconomic setbacks, our business showed remarkable resilience as we adapted to our new environment and continued to deliver value to all stakeholders Our customer centric strategy has enabled us to continue to support our partners through innovative product offerings
Overall, we closed with a profit after tax of N3.5 billion in the first quarter of the year, a 47.9 per cent improvement on the corresponding period in 2021.
