By Ghazali Ibrahim
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) has announced a profit before tax of ₦900.8 billion for the third quarter of 2025, demonstrating what market watchers describe as the institution’s ability to deliver resilient earnings even without the one-off fair value windfalls that boosted results in the previous year.
The latest unaudited financial statements released to the Nigerian Exchange Group and the London Stock Exchange show that despite the absence of the ₦523.2 billion fair value gains recorded in Q3 2024, GTCO managed to narrow the year-on-year dip in profit before tax to 26% supported by strong growth in core earnings. Interest income grew by 25.6% while fee income rose 16.8%, underscoring steady customer activity and a strengthened digital and payments ecosystem.
The Group also reported significant expansion in its financial base. Total assets climbed to ₦16.7 trillion, while shareholders’ funds closed at ₦3.3 trillion. Loan book growth reached 16.5%, rising from ₦2.79 trillion at year-end 2024 to ₦3.24 trillion in September 2025. Deposits surged by 16% to ₦12.06 trillion within the same period.
GTCO’s asset quality continued to improve, with IFRS 9 Stage 3 loans reducing to 3.3% at the bank level and 4.4% Group-wide. Its Capital Adequacy Ratio remained solid at 36.5%, while Cost of Risk moderated sharply to 2.2% from 4.9% in December 2024.
Group Chief Executive Officer, Segun Agbaje, said the latest performance reflects the strength of the company’s diversified structure and its disciplined approach to growth.
“Our third quarter performance underscores the consistency and resilience of our business model, as well as the continued strength of our diversified financial services ecosystem,” Agbaje said.
He added that continued investment in digital platforms is deepening engagement and driving integration across all business segments.
“With a clear growth trajectory and strong organizational alignment, we are well-positioned to sustain performance momentum and deliver another year of industry-leading results.”
Analysts note that GTCO still ranks among the most profitable financial institutions in Nigeria, boasting a pre-tax return on equity of 39.5% and return on assets of 7.6%, one of the strongest in the industry. Its cost-to-income ratio of 28.8% also highlights efficiency uncommon in the sector.
