Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc has published its audited financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2025, posting a pre-tax profit of N601 billion, down from N1 trillion in the same period of 2024.

Profit after tax came in at N449.01 billion, lower than the N905.57 billion recorded in H1 2024.

Despite the earnings decline, the Board approved an interim dividend of N1.00 per share, unchanged from the payout declared in the first half of 2024.

GTCO said the interim dividend will be paid to shareholders whose names appear in the Register of Members as of October 7, 2025.

Despite the profit decline, gross earnings remained above the N1 trillion threshold, underscoring the Group’s resilience.

The strong top-line performance was driven by a 71 per cent year-on-year rise in interest income to N812.36 billion, which contributed 76 per cent of gross earnings in H1 2025, up from 44 per cent in the same period last year.

Income from investments in securities accounted for over 35 per cent of gross earnings, exceeding the 27 per cent contribution from loans and advances.

Interest income from loans and advances grew 22 per cent year-on-year to N299.63 billion.

Income from investments in securities expanded more rapidly, climbing over 44 per cent to N375 billion in H1 2025.

GTCO disclosed that interest income earned outside Nigeria contributed N256 billion to total interest income.

On the expense side, interest costs rose 43% year-on-year to N154 billion, outpacing the growth in interest income. Still, this represented just 18% of total interest income, reflecting a relatively strong margin.

Most of the expense came from interest paid on customer deposits, which climbed 44% to N147 billion in H1 2025.

As a result, net interest income surged to N632.24 billion, up 29% year-on-year.

Impairment charges on loans and advances inched higher to N54.97 billion in H1 2025, from N47.41 billion a year earlier.