Wema Bank revenue surges by 17.5% in 2016

 

WEMA Bank Plc yesterday announced its audited 2016 financial results.
The bank continued to record improved performances, as gross earnings in 2016 grew by 17.56 percent from N45.79 billion in 2015 to N53.83 billion. Profit before tax and profit after tax increased by 9.36 percent and 13.66 percent respectively to N3.27 billion and N2.59 billion against N2.99 billion and N2.27 billion in 2015.
Total Assets as at December 2016 stood at N421 billion representing a 6 percent increase over the N397 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2015 as loans to customers rose by 23 percent to close the 2016 year at N228 billion from N186 billion recorded in 2015.
Impressively, the bank during the year maintained its Non-Performing Loans (NPL) at 4.01 percent, below the regulatory limit of 5 percent, despite the challenging macro-economic environment.
Furthermore, the bank continues to record growth in its retail deposit drive, as the Wema brand gains continued acceptance. Savings deposit grew by 27.6 percent from N35.58 billion to N45.40 billion while current account deposit grew by 28.14 percent from N17.45 billion to N22.36 billion.


Speaking on the result, the Managing Director/Chief Executive, Segun Oloketuyi gave further insights into the performance of the bank saying, 2016 was a challenging year given the spate of economic headwinds that impacted the economy and the banking industry, in particular. Despite the tough operating environment, Wema Bank recorded a double-digit growth in gross earnings, which rose 18.48 percent from N45.79 billion to N54.25 billion driven by an 18.61 percent and 13.61 percent increase in interest and non-interest income respectively, he said.
He stressed that, the bank continued to benefit from its improving brand acceptance and market penetration.
“This flowed through to the bottom-line with profit after tax being 14.10 percent higher at N2.59 billion compared to N2.27 billion in 2015.”
As a financial institution built on public trust, sound risk management practices remain at the core of our business model. The Bank was not immune from the impact of the economic slowdown and a more prudent approach was taken, in providing for some loans. We closed with a Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio of 5.07 percent from 2.67 percent in the prior year. In addition, our coverage ratio remains robust at 100 percent with Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at 11.07 percent, which is above the regulatory minimum of 10 percent, Oloketuyi said.
He affirmed that funding remains at the core of the bank strategy; “we reported an encouraging growth rate in our retail deposit volumes. We also intensified and contracted a couple of partnerships during the year which have contributed in good measure to customer acquisitio.”
However, we remain optimistic about the bank’s performance as we leverage on the continued growth of our digital and physical footprints to grow our market share and improve our returns to all stakeholders.