Four months into the New Year, 3 of the 5 Nigerian Banks that issued profit warnings for Full Year 2015 have yet to report their earnings the year.
The Five Nigerian banks that issued profit warnings are — First Bank, which is Nigeria’s largest bank by assets, Diamond, FCMB, Ecobank and Skye Bank.
Only two of them — FCMB and Ecobank — have reported 2015 results despite the Nigeria Stock Exchange’s (NSE) requirement that they do so before the end of the first quarter.
From their results Ecobank’s full-year profit after tax was down 73 % to $107.5m.
FCMBs profit after tax also fell 78.4 % to N4.7 billion from N22.1 billion in 2014.
All five Bank stocks are down sharply in the past year.
FCMB stock has lost -68%, FBNH (-65%), Diamond Bank (-69%), Skye Bank (-61 %), and Ecobank (-24.9%).
It is yet to be seen if the selloff in the shares of the banks has compensated enough for the possible coming disaster that the firms will report in their FY 2015 results or if they still have room to fall further.
The selloff means all five banks are now worth less than $2.5 bn combined.
FBNH has a market capitalization of N119.17 bn, FCMB (N20.4 bn), Diamond Bank (N32.6 bn), Skye Bank (N13.3 bn), and Ecobank (N269.87 bn) for a total of N455.3 bn ($2.2 bn).
THE DOWNWARD TRENDS WITHIN THE FIVE BANKS NAMELY: FIRST BANK, PLC; ECOBANK, PLC; DIAMOND BANK, PLC; FCMB, PLC AND FINALLY, SKYE BANK, PLC SHOULD BE TAKEN AS CHALLENGES TO THESE BANKS. THE BANK SHOULD COME OUT BOLDLY TO MAKE SOME ADEQUATE ADJUSTMENTS TO BOTH THEIR SHORT AND LONG TERM STRATEGIES. THERE ARE GOOD AND OUTSTANDING BANKS IN NIGERIA , WHO ARE FACED WITH THE SAME OBSTACLES THAT THESE BANKS ARE FACED WITH BUT LEARN TO QUICKLY ADJUST THEIR PROJECTIONS AND MOVE FORWARD TO THE REALIZATION OF THEIR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. BANKING INSTITUTIONS, WORLD WIDE, ARE FACED WITH ALL SUCH OF COMPETITIONS AND THOSE WHO HAVE STRONG RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, ARE ABLE TO FACE THE REALITY IN THE INDUSTRY. INCIDENTALLY, THE FIVE BANKS WHOSE 2015 ANNUAL REPORTS MIGHT PROVED TO BE UNFAVORABLE, SHOULD CONSIDER SEEKING NEW MOVES THAT WILL ENHANCE THEIR OUTLOOK FOR THE YEAR 2016. THERE ARE AMPLE TIME FOR CONSIDERABLE IMPROVEMENTS AS THERE ARE NEW MARKETS TO BE DEVELOPED AND RESEARCHED. UNDOUBTEDLY, THE OPPORTUNITIES SHOULD BE HARNESSED, DEVELOPED AND PROMOTED TO THE BENEFIT OF THESE AND OTHER PROGRESSIVE BANKS IN THE COUNTRY.