Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc reported a 2.32 per cent decline in profit before tax to N879.90bn for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, from N900.80bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, as rising funding costs weighed on earnings.
According to the group’s unaudited financial results filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Tuesday, October 27, gross earnings rose by 3.27 per cent to N1.63tn, driven by higher interest income despite a sharp increase in interest expenses.
GTCO’s profit after tax fell by 12.16 per cent to N614.57bn from N699.64bn in the corresponding period of 2025, while earnings per share declined by 19.94 per cent to N16.58 from N20.71.
GTCO’s profit before tax declined despite an increase in interest income and a significant reduction in loan impairment charges during the nine-month period, as higher funding costs weighed on earnings.
Interest income rose by 4.96 per cent to N1.29tn, but interest expenses increased at a faster pace, climbing by 27.73 per cent to N356bn from N278.73bn. This reduced net interest income by 1.71 per cent to N935.88bn.
However, loan impairment charges fell by 58.41 per cent to N29.02bn from N69.79bn, providing some relief to the group’s earnings.
Consequently, net interest income after impairment increased by 2.78 per cent to N906.86bn, despite the decline in net interest income before impairment.
Net fee and commission income remained largely unchanged at N182.42bn, representing a marginal 0.44 per cent decline from the corresponding period of 2025.
Net trading gains rose by 3.14 per cent to N79.63bn, while other income fell by 12.89 per cent to N74.78bn.
The figures indicate that lower credit impairment charges helped offset the impact of rising funding costs, while non-interest income offered limited additional support. Consequently, GTCO’s higher gross earnings did not translate into growth in profit before tax.
Rising operating expenses further pressured GTCO’s profitability, with depreciation and amortisation expenses increasing by 40.98 per cent to N82.46bn.
Other operating expenses increased by 6.49 per cent to N228.83bn, while personnel expenses fell by 3.38 per cent to N88.51bn.
Combined depreciation and amortisation, personnel and other operating expenses rose by approximately 9.5 per cent to N399.80bn from N364.98bn in the corresponding period of 2025.
Income tax expense also climbed by approximately 31.9 per cent to N265.32bn from N201.16bn, pushing the effective tax rate to about 30.2 per cent from 22.3 per cent.
In the third quarter, GTCO’s profit before tax declined by 7.68 per cent to N276.86bn from N299.90bn, while profit after tax fell by 20.05 per cent to N200.39bn.
