Business
FBNHoldings Wows the Market with 2023 H1 Earnings Blowout
FBNHoldings Wows the Market with 2023 H1 Earnings Blowout
FBNHoldings (FBNH), the parent company of Nigeria’s pioneer Bank, First Bank of Nigeria Limited published stellar results, confounding analysts, and exciting investors. Equally as amazing as the spectacular results, which saw earnings per share surge by 234% to N5.19 was the fact that the banking behemoth was able to eke out this profit in a financially hostile policy environment where bank earnings have been squeezed. The Bank’s holding company has also been a subject of shareholder squabbles, which ordinarily should be a distraction to the management and a drag on profitability. But in spite of these challenges, the outstanding results are a testimony to the depth of its management and its capacity to execute a robust strategy.
What is Unique About FirstBank? (Late Entrant to African Markets) As a late entrant into the scramble for market share in the Sub-Saharan African continent, it was able to play catch up with its peers in this respect. In the last few years, FirstBank has been able to expand its international footprints not only across Africa but also in Europe and Asia with branches in the major markets of the United Kingdom, China, and Ghana. The core element of the bank’s strategy has been to leverage its huge investment in its Internet banking platforms with a fast transition into the digital space. Whilst its reputation as an old staid and orthodox bank is being replaced as a nimble modernized institution with a readiness to compete aggressively with its younger peers, FirstBank has not lost its legacy as a strong and sound institution. Most of the performance ratios especially its cost-to-income ratio of 46.8% coming down from a high of 70% four years ago reveals that its cost reduction and resource optimization strategy is paying off. Leveraging Economies of Scale is a Core Strategy FirstBank with 595 branches has 13% of all branches of banks and 13% of all Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Nigeria. The bank has consistently leveraged economies of scale, years of existence, and reputation, resulting in aggressive customer acquisition.
With a customer base of over 42 million, FirstBank processes 12% of the Nigerian banking industry’s payment volume. The bank’s current deposit portfolio of N9 trillion is one of the best in the Nigerian banking industry. The group is also reaping the benefits of cross entities collaboration as well as increased earnings contribution from international subsidiaries (30.0% in FY’22 compared to 25.5% in FY’21). Every Dog Has its Day in the SunTranslation Gains Have Helped but Transaction Losses Could Hinder Growth Banks with long dollar positions will have initial translation gains, however, if subsequently, they begin to have non-performing dollar assets, the translation gains may end up as transaction losses down the road. Nigeria’s oldest bank, FirstBank recorded a revaluation loss of N98bn due to huge naira devaluation stoked by the Foreign Exchange policy changes. However, the impact on the bank’s profitability was cushioned by over a 1,000% surge in fair value gains. FBNH’s exposure to foreign currency risk was mitigated by a decline in foreign currency (FCY) loans from 51.2% in FY’22 to 50.4% in Q1’23.
Strategy Consistency is Impacting Share Price Appreciation The share price of FBNHoldings has increased by an average of 131% per annum in two years to N18.65, returning enormous value to shareholders. The valuation remains attractive with a price-earnings multiple of 2.55x and an estimated fair value of N19.25. Earnings per share (EPS) at N5.19 Vs N1.55 in H1’22. Are There Inherent Weaknesses? FirstBank is poised to keep creating value for shareholders with a reorganized balance sheet position and a refocused management team. Though the impact of FX unification remains a major concern to Nigerian banks’ profitability and liquidity, FBNHolding’s long position in dollar-denominated assets gives it an edge. We also anticipate an increase in trading activities by the bank in the event of a drop in the backlog of FX requests and an influx of new foreign transactions. This could potentially drive-up trading volumes, increase commissions earned on trades, as well as gains from FX sales. We expect the bank to deliver an impressive full-year 2023 result. A rising interest rate environment will boost net interest margin, and solid e-banking operations will support strong non-interest income growth. We also believe that the bank will be able to maintain a sound asset quality position within the regulatory threshold thanks to its effective operational and risk management system. FBN Holdings Plc (FBNH) remains a top player in the industry with a Strong franchise, reliable funding structure and brand recognition, robust customer base, unique ebusiness and agency capabilities, contributions from overseas subsidiaries, and a newly reorganized management team.
What Does the Future Hold Out for FBNHoldings? In an industry where competitive pressures and the intensity of rivalry increase, a consolidation is almost imminent. We expect that the field will narrow after a possible increase in the minimum capital requirements in the industry as impairment of profitability resulting from non-performing loans begins to hurt industry players. We also expect big and solid institutions like FBNHoldings to be in a position to gobble the smaller and less viable rivals. The name of the game in the next few years will be ‘’the survival of the fittest’’.
Culled from Financial Derivatives Company
NNPCL and Corruption’s Final Throes
By Pius Olasanmi
In the twilight of the Obasanjo administration, when Nigerians were still capable of being outraged, when Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of refineries was a buzzword that still held some mysticism to bamboozle citizens, during a conversation, a certain man said something profound. The man said, “As a businessman, if I were the owner of these refineries, knowing that they are three decades old, I would take the last money I have, hire bulldozers, raze them to the ground, and obtain loans to build new ones.”
When we pressed him further on why he would engage in such waste, he explained that repairing the refineries is the real waste. He explained that even if the TAM were honestly carried out, a thirty-year-old refinery would never compete favourably with a new one that would integrate contemporary technology. Operating at its best, such a refinery would never be comparatively more efficient. It is therefore pointless to have spent another one naira on the refineries at that point.
A few months later, I had a conversation with a then-lawmaker on an entirely different matter. I mentioned that the National Assembly has failed by not crafting legislation that would criminalise and punish public office holders who foist wrong decisions on the country. The logic: a public office holder need not steal to be punished, wrong decisions should attract penalties for an office holder who opts for the worst of all options when there are less injurious ones.
These established premises speak to the ongoing nauseating efforts at revisionism by those who wrecked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its previous iteration, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Notably, this campaign to rewrite history is traceable to Engineer Mele Kolo Kyari, the disgraced immediate past Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL and his hirelings. They have suffocated the news and the public opinion space with even more lies than they spun while in office.
The Saint Kyari campaign is anchored on convincing Nigerians that the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna Refineries were fully functional when he was booted out of office. So brazen is the campaign that one of its talking heads challenged the group chief executive officer (GCEO), Engr. Bayo Ojulari, to “inform Nigerians categorically what happened to the functioning refineries he inherited from his predecessor, Engr. Mele Kyari.” The effrontery.
We have not forgotten so soon the charade that followed the baffling claim that Nigeria has spent $2.8 billion on the repair of the refineries, while they are not churning out even a single litre of refined product among them. Saint Kyari and his goons played all manner of tricks, all of which embarrassed President Bola Tinubu, who had counted on ticking off the return to productivity of the refineries as part of his achievements, only to realise that he was deceived into celebrating phantoms. Tragic.
Lest we forget, 200 trucks were arranged as props in a well-directed video clip to celebrate the re-streaming of the Port Harcourt Refinery. The disappointment. Nigerians were to learn from several reports that the Port Harcourt refinery was not producing and was instead using old, stored petroleum products to load trucks. Worse still, the Kyari crew was passing off sanction-tainted Russian-sourced crude oil refined in Malta as locally refined products. More insult was piled on the assault on our collective sensibility with the lies that the Port Harcourt Refinery exported semi-finished products. Brazen.
Meanwhile, Kyari and his hirelings called those who pointed out or protested these glaring scams all manner of names. They hid behind industry technicalities and jargon to create the impression that those of us who knew Nigerians were being robbed did not understand what we were saying. The point remains that a $2.8 billion investment can potentially build a refinery with a capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day (bpd). Of course, the actual capacity of such a refinery will depend on various factors, including the complexity of the refinery, the technology used, and the location. That is the amount that Kyari’s regime at the NNPCL took and did not give Nigerians refined products.
Fast forward to Kyari’s sack and the appointment of Engineer Bayo Ojulari, who has demonstrated that things can indeed be done differently. Kyari’s exit was expectedly followed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) going after him and his associates. The extent of the theft is better understood against the backdrop of N80 billion being found in the bank account of one of his associates. They went on the run.
Perhaps because the EFCC was biding its time on securing international warrants for the arrests of these characters on the lam, they have become emboldened. They have decided to fight back and rewrite the story of their participation in the greatest fraud against Nigerians. Engineer Ojulari’s renewed mindset, which is entrenching a semblance of the transparency Nigerians demand, became their natural target. The demons that once roamed around the corporation came out with malevolence. They started spinning stories of corruption to tarnish the incumbent who refused to hide their crimes. The objective: bring Ojulari down. But alas, he is winning the war as it stands.
His innocence is proven, and it is glaring that those who want him out are mere charlatans who can no longer ply their corrupt wares because of the impact of the new reforms. Corruption in the NNPCL is in its final throes. The fake news being unleashed against the incumbent leadership is akin to corruption’s last kicks as reforms in the sector strangulate it and its practitioners. The reforms must take place in the NNPCL, whether the industry demons like it or not.
As a parting shot, Kyari and his associates would do well to prepare their defence. In addition to accounting for the $2.8 billion they laundered in the name of repairing the moribund refineries, they must also answer for the poor decision to fix that which is irretrievably broken. Awarding contracts for Turn Around Maintenance of 59-year-old refineries that a right-thinking person had suggested should be demolished almost twenty years ago, when they were only 30 years old, is criminal. Trying to deceive Nigerians that the fake repairs worked is treason.
Olasanmi is a public affairs analyst writing from Lagos.
GRANDIS 5STAR LUXURY APARTMENT & SUITES SET TO REDEFINE LIVING IN VICTORIA ISLAND
Set to Rise elegantly against the Lagos skyline, is the Grandis 5Star Luxury Apartment & Suites. According to Adejuwon Ademola, The General Manager of the Development company, it is more than just a residential building
“it’s a lifestyle statement. Standing 17 floors high in the heart of Victoria Island, this revolutionary masterpiece of modern architecture will offer a panoramic 360° view of Eko Atlantic, Victoria Island, and Ikoyi, transforming every apartment into an exclusive penthouse experience for the world’s most discerning elite.”
Developed by Dumarco Construction Limited, a globally acclaimed company with decades of delivering complex, high-value projects in the highly regulated petroleum, oil, and gas industries, Grandis 5Star brings unmatched international safety standards, uncompromising quality, and timeless elegance into Nigeria’s luxury property market.
> “When you live in Grandis, you’re not just buying a home—you’re investing in peace of mind, world-class safety, and an effortless luxury experience that will remain pristine for decades,” says Adejuwon A. Ademola, General Manager of Dumarco Construction Limited.
The Gold Standard in Safety and Quality
Dumarco’s roots in the oil and gas sector mean the company operates to some of the strictest safety protocols in the world. Every stage—from conceptualization, design, construction, to long-term maintenance—follows internationally accepted procedures and quality assurance measures. Cutting corners is simply not in Dumarco’s vocabulary.
> “In the oil and gas industry, there’s no room for compromise. We’ve brought that same discipline and zero-tolerance for mediocrity into property development,” says Ademola. “That’s why Grandis will be one of the safest and most enduring residential developments in Nigeria.”
To ensure transparency and prevent (project complacency), Dumarco deliberately separates the developer, contractor, and consultant roles, engaging only the most competent professionals in each respective field. Dumarco’s project team includes globally recognized contractors such as Julius Berger, Cappa & D’Alberto, and Elalan, Migliore Construczione & Tecniche (MC&T) and their partners VENCO IMTIAZ CONTRACTING COMPANY (VICC) based in Dubai, UAE, Business Contracting Limited, alongside leading consultants like Morgan Omanitan & Abe, LAMBERT, and James Cubitt.
Grandis – Investments, appreciation, returns and profitability
Our selection process for the location of the project alone was pains-taking and completely thorough scientific process. Top professional companies were employed to conduct a scientific data acquisition and analytical survey of the entire Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki and Eko Atlantic before a project site is selected. Analyzing and acquiring areas developmental charts and trends, studying and gathering historical and present sale prices, rental charge and occupancy rates over a 50 year period from every individual street before the selection of the location of any of our developments especially true for the Grandis Project
He adds,
“Our clients and residents can be rest assured that the location of Grandis has been scientifically proven through all existing data to provide our clients with a 100% occupancy rate, highest developmental location, highest rental income and investment returns. ”
The Grandis Experience
Located minutes away from international corporate headquarters, embassies, and landmarks such as Eko Hotel, Radisson Blu, and the Radisson Red, Grandis offers unmatched convenience for professionals, diplomats, and high-net-worth individuals. Every residence is designed for both indulgence and efficiency, with high-grade finishes, smart-home systems, and private amenities that ensure seamless living.
From sunrise over the Atlantic to the glittering Lagos night skyline, residents will enjoy uninterrupted luxury, supported by discreet and highly trained staff, advanced security systems, and a design that prioritizes comfort and privacy.
> “We designed Grandis for people who want everything—security, elegance, convenience, and the assurance that their home will look as spectacular in 20 years as it does on day one,” Ademola notes.
A Legacy That Lasts
With its combination of visionary architecture, peerless safety, and meticulous maintenance planning, Grandis is built to remain iconic for generations. Thanks to Dumarco’s meticulous approach, the building’s service charges are expected to remain low while its value and appeal continue to appreciate over time.
In a market often marred by shortcuts and substandard practices, Mr Ademola says
Grandis stands as a beacon of what luxury living should be—safe, spectacular, and built to last.
“Grandis 5Star Luxury Apartment & Suites — Where safety meets sophistication, and every detail is designed for a life well-lived.”
He added
Website -www.dumarcoltd.com
Project website – www.26idowutaylor.com
Email [email protected]
Tel / WhatsApp +234 9077777883
GM – Adejuwon A. Ademola
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