Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc recorded a 7.8 percent decline in profit after tax to N414.19 billion in the first half of 2026 as a sharp increase in income-tax expenses offset growth in interest earnings and a significant reduction in loan impairment charges.
The financial services group reported profit after tax of N414.19 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared with N449.01 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
Profit before tax, however, remained broadly stable, rising marginally by 0.35 percent to N603.03 billion from N600.90 billion.
The divergence between pre-tax and after-tax earnings was largely driven by a higher tax charge.
GTCO’s income-tax expense increased 24.3 percent to N188.85 billion during the period from N151.89 billion a year earlier, absorbing a larger portion of earnings before tax.
The results show that underlying interest earnings remained positive despite higher funding costs.
Total interest income increased 7.5 percent to N873.39 billion from N812.36 billion in the first half of 2025.
Interest income calculated using the effective interest method rose to N854.46 billion from N798.43 billion, while income from financial assets measured at fair value through profit or loss increased to N18.93 billion from N13.93 billion.
The improvement was partly offset by a 24.2 percent increase in interest expense to N223.79 billion from N180.12 billion.
Consequently, net interest income increased at a slower 2.7 percent to N649.60 billion from N632.24 billion.
GTCO recorded a substantial improvement in loan impairment charges during the period.
Charges associated with loans declined by approximately 65.9 percent to N18.72 billion from N54.97 billion a year earlier.
The reduction helped lift net interest income after loan impairment charges to N630.88 billion, up 9.3 percent from N577.27 billion in the comparable period.
Non-interest income presented a more mixed picture.
Fee and commission income declined to N142.44 billion from N151.46 billion, while fee and commission expenses increased to N19.41 billion from N16.29 billion.
As a result, net fee and commission income fell 9 percent to N123.03 billion from N135.17 billion.
Trading activities performed more strongly.
Net trading gains on financial instruments measured at fair value through profit or loss increased to N47.30 billion from N37.92 billion.
Other income, however, declined to N44.35 billion from N70.92 billion.
Operating costs also remained under pressure.
Personnel expenses increased to N56.97 billion from N54.40 billion, while depreciation and amortisation climbed sharply to N54.31 billion from N38.29 billion.
Other operating expenses were relatively stable at N166.11 billion compared with N165.80 billion a year earlier.
GTCO’s balance sheet expanded during the first six months of the year.
Total assets increased 4.8 percent to N18.62 trillion at the end of June from N17.76 trillion in December 2025.
Customer deposits were one of the strongest areas of balance-sheet growth, rising 11.3 percent to N13.97 trillion from N12.55 trillion.
The increase of approximately N1.42 trillion indicates continued growth in the deposit base during the first half of the year.
Loans to customers, by contrast, remained almost unchanged.
Gross loans and advances to customers stood at N3.15 trillion at the end of June, representing growth of just 0.5 percent from N3.13 trillion in December.
The difference between deposit and loan growth indicates that the Group’s expanding funding base was not matched by a comparable expansion of customer lending during the period.
GTCO instead recorded substantial changes across its investment portfolio.
Financial assets held at amortised cost increased to N3.32 trillion from N2.15 trillion, an increase of approximately N1.17 trillion.
Financial assets measured at fair value through profit or loss also rose sharply, including investment securities in that category which increased to N446.56 billion from N13.61 billion.
Financial assets measured through other comprehensive income declined to N2.99 trillion from N3.38 trillion.
Cash and bank balances fell to N4.74 trillion from N5.46 trillion at the end of 2025.
On the liability side, total liabilities increased to N15.30 trillion from N14.35 trillion, largely reflecting the expansion in customer deposits.
Other borrowed funds declined substantially to N15.61 billion from N82.24 billion, while deposits from banks fell to N226.16 billion from N327.03 billion.
Total shareholders’ equity declined 2.8 percent to N3.32 trillion from N3.41 trillion in December.
Retained earnings stood at N1.62 trillion compared with N1.72 trillion at the end of 2025, while regulatory risk reserves increased to N85.42 billion from N74.88 billion.
The first-half numbers therefore show a GTCO business that continued to expand its balance sheet and deposit franchise while maintaining broadly stable pre-tax profitability.
However, higher taxation, rising interest costs and weaker fee income weighed on the amount ultimately attributable as profit after tax.
With customer deposits approaching N14 trillion but loans remaining around N3.15 trillion, the composition and deployment of GTCO’s growing funding base will remain an important indicator of its earnings trajectory in the second half of 2026.
