After what industry followers see as a technical delay in releasing its results at the Exchange, newly published has indicated that Diamond Bank Plc achieved nine per cent increase in gross earnings from N187.3billion in 2016 to N203.3billion in 2017.
The bank’s audited result for the year ended December 31, 2017, showed nine per cent increase in turnover to N203.3billion from N187.3billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2016.
Even though the bank’s profit before tax year-on-year dipped from N3.2billion in 2016 to N2.1billion during the period under review due to high operating expenses (OPEX), analysts say the recent closure of international outlets with high OPEX will shrink costs sooner.
Additional details show that Diamond Bank’s net fees and commission were down by 1.3 per cent year-on-year. Impairment charges also trended downwards 0.3 per cent year-on-year to N56.8billion following continued efforts to improve the quality of the loan book, particularly in the Oil and Gas mid-stream sector.
Even though the operating costs of the Bank rose by 6.2 per cent due to foreign exchange rate impact following the devaluation of the naira during the year, Chief Executive Officer, Uzoma Dozie, said Diamond Bank made good progress in executing its technology-led retail banking strategy in 2017.
According to him, “We increased our market share and drove scale through a combination of technology and expansion of our services across additional platforms. For instance, we made additional inroads to the unbanked and under-banked populations with the support of our international partners. In addition, the rapid roll-out of products and services for entrepreneurs, and small and medium business owners gained significant traction and is a trend that is set to continue.
“At a macro level, the economic environment improved, albeit marginally. Against this backdrop and Nigeria’s broader positive fundamentals, we disposed of some non-core assets to optimise the use of our resources and focus on the significant potential of our domestic market. By taking this action, Diamond Bank is better positioned to accelerate its growth, productivity and profitability in the short to medium term,” he added.
Dozie averred that “to restore its technology-led retail banking strategy, Diamond Bank successfully delivered new initiatives, by building additional ecosystems and the expansion of customer services across different platforms including the DreamVille platform”.
Business Hilights gathered that the DreamVille platform remains the very first Nigerian gamification portal for banking aimed at improving financial literacy and participation amongst youths.
