Nigeria's Sterling Bank
said on Wednesday it swung to a 3.94 billion naira pre-tax profit in the first
half of the year compared to a 7.04 billion naira pre-tax loss a year ago. Gross
earnings for the period, which ended June 30, dropped to 16.29 billion naira
from 18.47 billion in the same period of last year, it said in a filing to the
Nigerian Stock Exchange.
The bank said the profit
growth was achieved through management of its cost-to-income ratio, which fell
from 87 percent to 75 percent, and the writeback of credit provisions of 1.6
billion naira in the period.
Sterling Bank said it
expected the profit trend to continue in the second half of the year.
"We expect to see growth
in net loans and advances as well as a lifting of the pressure on interest
margins driven by events in the wider economy with a payoff on earnings and
shareholder returns," Executive Director Devendra Puri said.
Jos, the Plateau state capital, boiled yet again recently leaving in the wake of it hundreds of lives lost and properties worth billions of Naira destroyed. A good number of those who survived crisis have been economically displaced and may have to start life all over again.
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