By Ayomide Otitoju
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has reported a profit before tax (PBT) of N111.9 billion for the year ended December 31, 2024, reflecting a 71% year-on-year increase, according to a corporate disclosure filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Thursday.
Despite a 56.6% decline in revaluation income and a 1.9% drop in net interest margin, the Group’s gross revenue climbed to N794.4 billion, up 53.9% from N516.4 billion in 2023. The growth was largely driven by a 75.2% increase in interest income and an 8.7% rise in non-interest income.
Net interest income rose to N225.3 billion, while net impairment losses dropped by 30.7% to N41.2 billion, reducing the Group’s cost of risk from 3% to 1.8%.
However, operating expenses surged by 45.7% to N229.1 billion, driven by inflation, rising personnel costs, and foreign currency-linked expenses.
The Group’s total assets expanded by 59.5%, from N4.42 trillion to N7.05 trillion. Customer deposits increased by 39.4% to N4.30 trillion, while loans and advances rose by 28% to N2.36 trillion.
On recapitalisation, FCMB said it had secured N144.6 billion from the first phase of its capital-raising programme, doubling its share count from 19.8 billion to 39.6 billion.
The capital injection enabled the bank to raise its capital adequacy ratio to 18% and secure a National Banking License. The bank said further capital-raising efforts are underway to meet the new minimum capital requirements for maintaining its international license.
