FCMB profits jump, receives part payment for 9Mobile loan

Tier two lender, FCMB has confirmed it has received a portion of its loan to telecommunications operator 9Mobile. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the bank Yemisi Edun disclosed this in an investor conference call held last week following the release its results for the nine months ended September 30, 2018.

Chief Financial Officer of FCMB, Yemisi Edun, who revealed this, said the bank has received its own share of the flow of payments. “We received three million dollars. Our exposure in 9mobile is about N4 billion.”

Speaking on the bank’s performance in the first nine months of 2018, she disclosed that profit before tax jumped sharply from N6.8 billion in 2017 to N14.7 billion in 2018. The massive increase was largely due to foreign exchange revaluation gains.

She also said foreign exchange revaluation gains rose sharply from N968 million in 2017 to N10.1 billion in 2018, adding that the rise was due to the bank’s adoption of the NIFEX rate.

According to her, operating expenses increased by 15% year on year, attributing the increase to AMCON charges booked, spending on brand awareness and increased investment in alternate channel development and brand awareness.

She however, said stated that the bank had booked all AMCON charges in the third quarter of 2018, and that going forward, its operating expenses would be much lower

Group Chief Executive Officer Ladi Balogun also stated that the group’s cost to income ratio should drop to the 50% level in the next few years. Three years from now we should be operating in the 50s, if all goes to plan, he said.

FCMB currently has a cost to income ratio stood at 56.6% as at the third quarter of 2018.

Balogun also disclosed that the bank could consider a tier two capital raise in 2019 if need be. The group would, however, continue to its policy of boosting capital base through its retained earnings.