Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) recorded a profit before tax of ₦603.03 billion for the first half of 2026, representing a marginal 0.35% increase from the ₦600.90 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2025.
The financial services group also declared an interim dividend of ₦1 per share, subject to the applicable qualification and payment dates.
GTCO’s gross earnings increased by 3.25% year-on-year to ₦1.11 trillion, supported by a 7.51% increase in interest income to ₦873.39 billion. However, interest expenses rose by 24.24% to ₦223.79 billion, limiting the growth in net interest income to 2.75%.
A major boost to earnings came from lower loan impairment charges, which fell by 65.94% to ₦18.72 billion. This helped net interest income after impairment rise by 9.29% to ₦630.88 billion.
However, weaker non-interest income and higher operating costs weighed on overall profitability. Net fee and commission income declined by 8.98%, while operating expenses increased by 7.31% to ₦277.39 billion.
Despite the marginal increase in profit before tax, profit after tax fell 7.76% to ₦414.19 billion, largely due to a 24.33% increase in income tax expense to ₦188.85 billion.
On the balance sheet, total assets grew 4.81% to ₦18.62 trillion, while customer deposits increased by 11.32% to ₦13.97 trillion. Customer loans, however, grew only marginally by 0.48% to ₦3.15 trillion.
GTCO also reported stronger asset quality, with the group’s Stage 3 loans at 4.6% and cost of risk improving to 0.6% from 2.2% in the comparable period.
The results highlight a period of modest headline profit growth for GTCO, with stronger interest income and lower impairment charges offset by higher funding costs, operating expenses and taxes.
