First Bank Nigeria Holdings Plc (FBNH) has maximized the value
of owners with its admission to the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) new
listing platform, the Premium Board and the associated Premium Board
Index (PBI).
The board aims at providing a platform for greater global visibility
for eligible African corporates to make it easier for them to attract
global capital flows and reduce the cost of funding.
FBNH got admission after going through the rigorous selection process of the NSE.
The bank is one of the few Nigeria banks with a solid track record of corporate governance.
“We are sincerely delighted to join the Premium Board today. We see
this event as allowing for corporate governance. For us it is a
significant event for our share holders,” said Bello Maccido, Group
Chief Executive Officer of the FBNH, while commenting on the bank’s
admission to the board.
“This will be having very strong impact on the shares of the bank,” said Maccido.
Despite the regulatory headwinds stoked by the stringent rules of the
regulators such as deposits regimes and foreign currency restrictions,
FBNH recorded an impressive result in the period under review.
FBNH’s interest income rose by 24.83 percent to N205.79 billion in
June 2015 as against N164.85 billion as at June 2014. Gross earnings
increased by 28.0 percent to N271.30 billion as at June 2015 compared
with N212.0 billion in June 2014.
Net interest income followed the same growth trajectory as it jumped
by 15.26 percent to N132.70 billion in June 2015 compared with N115.20
billion last year. Profit after tax (PAT) by 7.7 percent to N40.10
billion in June 2015 compared with N37.20 billion the previous year.
FBNH operating income increased by 22.80 percent to N193.90 billion in the review period from N157.80 billion last years.
Analysts say the admission of FBNH to the Premium Board will increase
investors’ appetite for its stock as cost of funds becomes cheaper. The
bank will also have its value magnified as firms on the board usually
outperform the NSE All Share Index.
“The four year regression analysis we did showed Premium Board
returned about 17.65 percent year on year (y/y), compared to 11 percent
of the All Share Index,” said Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer of
the NSE
“That is how other Premium Board over the world performs,” said Onyema.
The bank’s total assets of N4.41 trillion are 16.27 percent of the
N27.10 trillion of 14 lenders, based on data compiled by BusinessDay.
The aforementioned analysis makes FBNH the largest bank in Nigeria by assets.
BALA AUGIE
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