Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) reported a 50.3 percent drop in after-tax profit to N449 billion for the half year ended June 30, 2025, compared with N905.6 billion in the same period of 2024.
According to the holding company’s financial statement released on Tuesday, the decline reflected weaker income streams and rising operating expenses, which offset gains from core banking operations.
Gross earnings fell 23 percent year-on-year to N1.07 trillion from N1.39 trillion. Despite this, net interest income rose 29 percent to N632.2 billion from N491.5 billion, driven by a surge in interest income calculated using the effective interest, which increased to N798.4 billion from N607.7 billion.
However, higher funding costs eroded part of this benefit, as interest expenses rose 42 percent to N180.1 billion from N126.4 billion.
Loan impairment charges increased moderately to N55 billion, compared to N47.4 billion, reflecting cautious provisioning amid heightened credit risks. Still, GTCO booked a net impairment reversal of N38.1 billion on other financial assets.
Fee and commission income expanded by 33 percent to N151.5 billion, reflecting stronger transaction banking and electronic channels. Net trading gains also grew to N37.9 billion from N30.5 billion. However, other income dropped to N70.9 billion from N630.3 billion a year earlier, when the group benefited from foreign exchange and revaluation gains
Operating costs continued to pressure margins, rising across all fronts: personnel expenses increased 31 percent to N54.4 billion, depreciation rose 39 percent to N38.3 billion, while other operating expenses jumped 25 percent to N165.8 billion.
GTCO’s banking subsidiaries across Nigeria, West Africa, East Africa, and the UK remained the main revenue generators, while contributions from payments (HabariPay), asset management, and pensions were comparatively modest.
Operating activities generated a robust N572.0 billion in net cash flow, compared to N10.7 billion in H1 2024, thanks to stronger collections and balance sheet optimisation. However, investing activities consumed N132.5 billion, while financing outflows stood at N316.3 billion, partly from dividend payouts and debt repayments.
Earnings per share dropped to N13.59 from N32.12 a year earlier. The board has proposed an interim dividend of N1.00 per share, unchanged from last year.
