* Access Bank’s Profits Plunge in H1 2020
Chika Amanze-Nwachuku
Fidelity Bank Plc has posted impressive financial growth in its half year results even in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic that has wreaked havoc to all sectors of the economy.
Highlights of the Bank’s operating results for the year under review showed a growth across its top-to-bottom line figures.
The tier-2 bank’s gross earnings rose to N105.755billion from N103.655billion in the corresponding period of 2019.
Also, profit before tax grew to N11.963billion from N9.812billion, while after tax profit for the review period increased to N11.303billion from N8.498billion reported in the first six months of 2019.
Access Bank’s Profits Plunge in H1 2020
Meanwhile, Access Bank Plc’s consolidated and separate financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2020, showed significant drop in profits.
The results released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Friday, showed that profit before tax for Access Bank Group rose to N74.306 billion during the review period, from the N72.964 billion it reported in the corresponding period of 2019, whereas the Company’s (Bank’s) Profit before tax declined to N49.069 billion in the review period of 2020, lower than the N56.871 billion it generated during the same period in 2019.
Also, the Group’s profit for the period was N61.034 billion in the half-year of 2020, lower than the N61.873 billion it generated in the same period of 2019.
Similarly, the lender’s profit for the period under review was significantly lower at N42.575 billion, when compared to the N49.253billion it reported in the corresponding period of 2019.
However, the Group’s revenue for the review period was N396.7billion, higher than the N324.3billion it posted in the same period of 2019
Similarly, the Bank recorded N338.5billion revenue, significantly higher than the N277.9 billion 2019 figure. Consequently, its Directors approved 25kobo interim dividend to be paid to its shareholders.