By Amaka Ifeakandu,
Lagos
Ecobank Transnational Incorporation (ETI) has set a strategy to build a stronger and profitable financial institution. The Group Managing Director, ETI, Ade Ayeyemi, who disclosed this in Lagos during the Bank’s Facts Behind the Figures at the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), maintained that the pan African bank has put in place a robust strategy to realize its objective. According to him, “we are positioning Ecobank for the next phase of growth.
Our “Roadmap to Leadership,” strategy will see us ‘clarify portfolios across countries and businesses, maximize value of portfolios, defend leadership positions in West Africa. specifically, we will also increase market share and improve profitability and return metrics in Nigeria.”.
‘Toward this end, the ETI boss said, the Bank has simplified its operating model leading to re-defining business segments and geographical regions, noting that, the Bank would continue to defend its competitive position, explore opportunities for growth, revisit operational strategy in high potential markets and consider constructive exit from low potential markets.
He was optimistic that despite the Bank’s low performance in some financial indices last year, it is now well positioned to generate high returns to meet shareholders’ expectations.
The bank had in its 2015 financial year posted profit before tax (PBT) of $205 million and revenue of $2.1 billion , compared with $520 million and $2.3 billion for 2014, respectively.
The group’s profit after tax (pat) was $107 million, a decrease of $287 million, or 73 percent, from the prior year.
Net revenue of the group stood at $2.1 billion, a decrease of $174 million, or 8 percent, from the prior year. Revenues were impacted by the significant depreciation of the naira, CFA franc and cedi, which together accounts for more than 85 percent of Group-wide revenues, against the dollar.
Its Net interest income was $1.1 billion, increasing by $36 million, or three percent, reflecting growth in investment securities and lower average yield on interest-bearing liabilities. Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer, NSE! Oscar N. Onyema, lauded the strategy Ecobank had put in place to achieve its specific and broad objectives,According to him, the performance of the Bank in key financial indicators in its first quarter 2016 despite the operating environment shows it is on the path to deliver superior returns to its shareholders.
