FCMB Group Plc has achieved a profit before tax of N104.4 billion, marking a remarkable 186 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) rise from N36.6 billion in 2022, accompanied by growth in earnings across its various business segments.
In particular, the Banking Group saw a growth of 212.6%, Consumer Finance experienced a rise of 67.3%, Investment Management increased by 40%, and Investment Banking showed a notable growth of 89.7%.
The report released on the Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX) indicated that FCMB Group, which proposed a dividend of 50 kobo per share for its shareholders, contributed significantly to food security and import substitution in Nigeria. This was achieved by increasing lending to the agricultural sector by 38.4% to N204.3 billion in 2023 from N147.4 billion in 2022. Moreover, the Bank extended support to over 300,000 smallholder farmers, with 56% of them being women involved in agriculture, in rural communities to bolster the sector. Throughout the year, the Group raised over $280 million in funding from Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and donor agencies to facilitate the achievement of sustainable development goals in critical sectors of the economy. Leveraging its core banking operations, the Group facilitated inflows of over $700 million in exports and $100 million in remittances into Nigeria as of December 2023.
To prioritize environmental sustainability, FCMB switched an additional six branches of its retail and commercial banking subsidiary, First City Monument Bank Limited, from grid/diesel generators to solar power last year. This brings the total number of branches operating on renewable energy to 160, accounting for 78% of the total branches. Furthermore, the Bank secured funding of up to N13 billion from local development finance institutions to provide on-lending to customers in need of solar energy solutions, further reinforcing its commitment to promoting renewable energy adoption.
FCMB witnessed a 15.6% year-on-year growth in its customer base, which increased from 10.9 million to 12.5 million by the end of December 2023. Additionally, the number of users of its mobile app, offering lending, wealth, and payment solutions, grew by 31% year-on-year to reach 3.4 million. Reflecting on these results, Mr. Ladi Balogun, the Group Chief Executive of FCMB Group Plc, remarked, “We are continuously leveraging our unique Group structure to establish a technology-driven ecosystem that fosters inclusive and sustainable growth in the communities we serve. This strategic approach enables us to achieve robust performance despite the challenging domestic and global landscape. Barring unforeseen circumstances, we anticipate that this trend will persist and be accompanied by enhanced efficiencies resulting from increased scale and ongoing digitization.”
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