Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc recorded a profit after tax of N17.2bn for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, more than doubling the N7.5bn posted in the corresponding period of 2024.
The financial services firm’s performance was driven by an increase in interest income, which rose by 42 per cent from N55.3bn in Q1 2024 to N78.4bn in Q1 2025. Net interest income surged to N47.4bn, up from N27.2bn the previous year.
Operating income rose sharply to N64.3bn, compared to N42.9bn in the prior year, supported by higher net fees and commission income of N10.1bn, an increase from N7.1bn. Other operating income also increased to N3.9bn from N1.6bn.
Despite growth in revenues, Sterling Financial faced rising expenses, with total operating costs increasing by 32 per cent to N43.6bn in Q1 2025 from N33.0bn in Q1 2024. Personnel expenses accounted for N10.6bn of this figure, up from N6.6bn, while general and administrative expenses rose to N14.4bn from N11.1bn.
Credit loss expenses on financial assets increased slightly to N2.4bn from N1.8bn but did not materially affect the strong bottom-line growth.
The company’s earnings per share (basic and diluted) improved to 38 kobo, up from 26 kobo a year earlier.
On the balance sheet, Sterling Financial’s total assets grew modestly to N3.64 tn as of March 31, 2025, from N3.54 tn on December 31, 2024. Loans and advances to customers increased to N1.15tn, while customer deposits rose to N2.58tn.
Cash and balances with the Central Bank of Nigeria stood at N864bn, marginally lower than the N867bn recorded at the end of 2024.
The group’s equity base strengthened to N321.4bn as of March 31, 2025, up from N305.2bn at the end of the previous year.
Sterling Financial’s net cash outflow from operating activities was N157.4bn during the period, compared with a net inflow of N126.9bn in Q1 2024. The company attributed this to changes in operating assets and liabilities.
Investing activities saw a net cash outflow of N103.9bn, largely due to increased purchases of debt instruments and other investments.
The company’s net cash used in financing activities stood at N69.1bn for the quarter, mainly driven by repayments of borrowed funds.
Last year, The PUNCH reported that Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc had projected gross earnings of N121.81bn for the first quarter ending March 31, 2025.
