The after-tax profit of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), a pan-African banking conglomerate, surged to its highest in 12 years in the first half of 2025, according to its latest financial statement released on Tuesday.
The group reported a net profit of N433.8 billion, representing a 40 percent increase from N431.1 billion in the first half of 2024.
The results at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed that interest income calculated using the effective interest rate rose to N1.48 trillion from N1.23 trillion. On the flip side, the bank’s interest expense surged 11.2 percent to N516.8 billion from N464.8 billion, driven by the high-interest rate environment.
Further breakdown of the financial statement disclosed that Ecobank’s interest income grew by 21.3 percent in H1, as all major contributory lines recorded an increase in investment securities (9.94 percent), loans and advances to customers (17.1 percent), treasury bills and other eligible bills (82.6 percent), and other investments (22.7 percent).
Read also; Ecobank Transnational’s outlook upgraded to ‘stable’ by Moody’s
The bank recorded a 27.2 percent growth in net interest income to N971 billion in the first half of 2025 from N753.4 billion in the same period of 2024. Non-interest income of the bank increased by 28 percent to N766 billion from N594 billion during the period.
Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Group, said: “Our half-year results reflect strong execution of our Growth, Transformation, and Returns (GTR) strategy and the resilience of our diversified pan-African business model. Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, for the first time in over a decade, we reduced our Groupwide cost-to-income ratio to below 50% through strong revenue growth, disciplined cost management, and operational efficiency.
The bank also seemed to have gained from the Naira devaluation, as trading income and foreign exchange gains surged 28 percent to N294 billion in the first six months compared to N230 billion in the same period last year.
ETI’s operating expenses stood at N853 billion in H1’25, up 17 percent from N728 billion in the same period of 2024. This was driven by staff expenses, which stood at N370 billion, a 19.3 percent increase from N310 billion.
Depreciation and amortisation stood at N59.3 billion in the first half of this year, indicating a 17.4 percent increase from N50.4 billion in the corresponding period of 2024.
Read also: Ecobank repays 50% Eurobond issuance, signals strong liquidity position
However, operating income stood at N34.2 billion, indicating a 52.6 percent increase from N22.4 billion.
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period increased to N8.24 trillion from N5.53 trillion. Movement in cash and cash equivalents reveals that net cash generated from operating activities stood at N882.5 billion, up from N509.5 billion.
Net cash generated from investing activities stood at a negative N374 billion, down from a positive N19.3 billion, while net cash generated from financing activities amounted to a negative N270 billion, down from a negative N75 billion.
Ecobank’s current share price as of July 39 stood at N36.6 from N30.4 on January 31st.
