FCMB Group has reported a remarkable financial performance for the year ending December 31, 2023, with a significant surge in both revenue and profit. The financial conglomerate’s unaudited results, released last week to the Nigerian Exchange Group, revealed an impressive 306% increase in total income, demonstrating strong growth across all key financial metrics.
The group’s revenue skyrocketed by 82.6%, reaching N516.79 billion by the close of 2023, up from N282.98 billion in 2022. A major driver of this growth was the interest income, which surged to N355.68 billion in 2023, a notable increase from N219.55 billion in the prior year. This growth was fueled by the high interest rate environment in Nigeria, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised rates to curb rising inflation, particularly food and headline inflation.
However, the rising interest rates also led to an increase in interest expense, which climbed to N178.25 billion from N97.55 billion in 2022. Despite this, the group saw an impressive net interest income of N177.42 billion for 2023, up from N121.99 billion the previous year.
Personnel costs also saw a sharp rise in 2023, reflecting both higher wages and increased benefits. Total personnel expenses reached N51.31 billion, representing a 44.6% increase compared to N35.61 billion in 2022. A breakdown of these expenses showed that wages and salaries accounted for N35.31 billion, up from N25.29 billion in the previous year. Additionally, the group made N1.01 billion in contributions to defined contribution plans in 2023, compared to N716.67 million in 2022. Other employee-related expenses, such as medical costs and staff benefits, grew to N15.17 billion, up from N9.59 billion in 2022.
The group’s profit after tax surged by an impressive 206.9%, reaching N95.52 billion, compared to N31.13 billion in 2022. A significant contributor to the year’s overall performance was foreign exchange gains, with the naira’s depreciation against major currencies playing a crucial role. The naira fell from around N466/$ in June 2023 to approximately N900/$ by the end of the year. FCMB benefited from foreign currency translation gains, earning N13.4 billion from exchange rate differences and an additional N26.51 billion from its foreign operations, contributing significantly to the N145.69 billion total income for 2023, compared to N35.86 billion the previous year.
Investors reacted positively to FCMB’s strong financial results. The group’s stock price rose by 60 kobo, closing at N11.10 per share, marking a daily gain of 5.7% and a year-to-date growth of 188.3%.
