Skye bank revs up retained earnings to scale up investments

POISED to play and dominate the tier one retail banking space, Skye Bank Plc has announced a profit before tax of N6.2 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015, representing an increase of 82 per cent over the N3.4 billion recorded during the same period in 2013.
    
Similarly, the bank’s profit after tax grew to N5 billion during the review period compared to N2.7 billion achieved during the corresponding period in 2013, showing a rise of 85 per cent. 
   
According to the unaudited result for the year under review submitted on the floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange yesterday, the bank also recorded strong growth in all the performance indicators, showing significant appropriation to retained earnings, demonstrating its ambition and readiness to play and dominate the tier one retail banking space.
   
The figure reflected the bank’s inclination towards fee based transactions. Its fee and commission income which was N6.2 billion in 2013, increased to N10.2 billion in the first quarter of 2014, representing a growth of 64.5 per cent.
     
Its headline and bottom-line profits in the period under review were tempered by impairment charges, regulatory payments and higher operating cost, including cost of acquisition of Mainstreet Bank among others. These muscled-down the profit before tax of 46.7 per cent from N19.65 billion to N9.74 billion.
   
The expanded business activities of the bank also manifested in a big rise in its gross earnings which rose to N42.3 billion from N34.3 billion in 2013, appreciating by 23 per cent. The shareholders’ fund also rose to N137.3 billion from N132 billion.
    
Retained earnings, which are indicator of a bank’s plans for growth in the future, was grown by 70.6 per cent from N19.73 billion in the 2013 financial year to N33.7 billion in 2014. The figures helped swell the bank’s total equity level to N132.26 billion from N121.4 billion, nine per cent rise.
    
The IFRS compliant result showed the bank’s total assets hitting N1.43 billion as against N1.42 billion during the same period in 2013. Similarly, its total liabilities, including total deposits, stood at N1.3 trillion as against N1.2 trillion in the preceding year.
  
The result also showed operating income was up marginally to N69.33 billion from N68.5 billion indicating increased efficiency in cost management.