By Francis Ajuonuma
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (“GTCO” or the “Group”), grew a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of ₦1.266 trillion in its audited financial results for the full year ended December 31, 2024.
This represents an increase of 107.8 per cent over N609.3 billion recorded at the end of the 2023 financial year.
GTCO’s performance reflects not just strong earnings but also the quality and sustainability of its’ earnings, underpinned by a well-diversified revenue base, robust risk management practice, and disciplined capital management, recording growth across all financial and non-financial metrics, and continues to maintain a well-structured, healthy, and diversified balance sheet.
The Group’s loan book (net) increased by 12.3 per cent from ₦2.48 trillion in December 2023 to ₦2.79trillion in December 2024, while deposit liabilities grew by 37.8 per cent from ₦7.55trillion to ₦10.40trillion during the same period. Total assets and shareholders’ funds closed at ₦14.8trillion and ₦2.7trillion, respectively.
Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very robust and strong, closing at 39.3 per cent, likewise, asset quality was sustained as evidenced by IFRS 9 Stage 3 Loans which closed at 3.5 per cent at Bank Level and 5.2 per cent at Group in December 2024 (2023: Bank, 2.5 per cent; Group, 4.2 per cent) and cost of risk (COR) closed at 4.9 per cent from 4.5 per cent in December 2023.
Commenting on the results, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO Plc), Segun Agbaje, said; “Our strong performance for 2024 underscores the resilience and depth of our business, driven by a well-diversified earnings base across our banking and non-banking subsidiaries, all of which are P&L positive.
”Our capacity to generate sustainable high-quality earnings, maintain strong asset quality, and drive cost efficiencies reflects the soundness of our long-term strategy and disciplined execution.
”We have also prudently provided for all our forbearance loans, well ahead of the June 2025 timeline, whilst fully accruing for the windfall tax, further strengthening our balance sheet and enhancing financial resilience.
He further added; “The total dividend of ₦8.03k for the 2024 FYE is underpinned by the quality of our earnings and is in line with our long tradition of increasing dividend pay-out year-on year. Looking ahead, we remain committed to building a Financial Services Group that thrives on innovation, operational efficiency, and sustainable profitability.
”We will continue to deepen our relationships with customers, leverage technology to deliver cutting-edge financial solutions, and accelerate the growth of all our business verticals—Banking, Funds Management, Pension, and Payments—to unlock new opportunities and create more value for our shareholders.
Overall, the Group continues to post one of the best metrics in the Nigerian Financial Services industry in terms of key financial ratios i.e., Pre-Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) of 60.5 per cent, Pre-Tax Return on Assets (ROAA) of 10.3 per cent, Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 39.3 per cent and Cost to Income ratio of 24.1 per cent.
