Wema Bank’s earnings increase by 51% to N95.354 billion as loans grow.

Wema Bank Plc reported gross earnings of N95.345 billion for the third quarter that ended on September 30, 2022, up 51.17 percent from the N63.077 billion reported at the same time the previous year.

The bank’s unaudited financial statements for the third quarter of 2022 show that an increase in loans and advances supported in a difficult macroeconomic climate is the cause of the improvement in gross earnings.

As a result of significant loan growth and a better return environment, interest revenue increased by 55.14 percent year over year to N79.973 billion from N51.550 billion in 2021.

Similar to this, interest revenue from loans and advances increased by 40.23% from N44.387 billion in 2021 to N62.245 billion in 2022. For the time period, the income from loans and advances contributed 77.83% of the interest income.

On the strength of an increase in credit-related fees and income, electronic banking income, and trade transaction income, among other things, net fee and commission income increased to N12.015 billion in the third quarter of 2022 from N8.722 billion in the previous quarter.

Additionally, fees for electronic goods increased by 44.55 percent, from N1.764 billion in Q3 2021 to N2.550 billion in Q3 2022.

While interest expenses increased by 79.65 percent to N41.501 billion in 2022 from N23.100 billion in 2021, the bank’s profit before tax saw a significant increase of 31.2 percent, from N7.208 billion in 2021 to N9.457 billion in 2022.

Ademola Adebise, the bank’s managing director and chief executive officer, commented on the outcome and credited the excellent performance to the rising and expanding sources of revenue from both fee-based transaction lines and interest from effective lending activities.

“Our rising trend across the board is due to our strong fundamentals, high efficiency in managing risks, and expanding income streams from multiple business lines. At the end of the fiscal year, we hope to further thrill our shareholders by paying out an exceptional dividend yield, he stated.

The bank’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Tunde Mabawonku, also commented on the outcome, describing it as evidence of the bank’s tenacity in the face of a challenging climate marked by high operating costs and inflation.

“We are developing methods and structures that will reliably provide results through effective internal control procedures, efficient customer service, and customized goods and services,” he stated.