FBN Holdings Plc, the parent company of FirstBank, has released its audited financial statements for the year ended December 2023.
The group reported a profit after tax of N310.4 billion, a significant increase from the N136.3 billion reported for the same period in 2022. This marks the highest profit ever declared by the financial services giant in its more than 130-year history.
Although the company published its interim full-year results in January, the release of the audited accounts was delayed for several weeks due to awaiting regulatory approvals from the Central Bank.
In recent weeks, the company has also undergone significant leadership changes, including the appointment of a new Managing Director and Chairman for its flagship bank, as well as new board members for both the holding company and the bank.
Key highlights of the result (YoY)
Commentary: A major contributor to the bank’s profit was a N680.6 billion gain in Net Gains from financial instruments.
This increase can be attributed to the surge in foreign currency balances and financial instruments, which followed the unification of the naira and its subsequent depreciation. This trend was observed across many banks in Nigeria.
Another notable observation is the bank’s updated majority ownership. Barbican Capital now holds 8.67% of the shares, while billionaire investor Femi Otedola owns 5.65%.
The bank also confirmed that these shareholdings have been verified by the Central Bank.