Jaiz Bank Plc, has posted profit before tax (PBT) of N894.01 million in 2017 financial year thus representing a 161 per cent surge when with N343.02 million recorded in 2016.

Its Managing Director/CEO, Hassan Usman said at the annual general meeting of the bank, in Abuja on Friday that the bank’s profit before tax (PBT) increased by 161 per cent from N343.02 million in 2016 to N894.01 million in 2017.

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of bank for the year ended December 31, 2017 showed that pre-tax profit-margin-which measures the underlining profitability of the company- doubled from 5.5 per cent in 2016 to 11 per cent in 2017. The pre-tax profit margin denotes the efficiency of the core operational and administrative cost management, and it is usually taken as a more definitive index of performance than top-line margins.

According to the report, the gross earnings rose by 40 per cent from N6.18 billion in 2016 to N8.10 billion in 2017.

Gross profit grew by 34 per cent to N6.705 billion in 2017 as against N5.003 billion in 2016. Profit before tax jumped by 160.6 per cent from N343.02 million in 2016 to N894.01 million in 2017.

The report also revealed that its balance sheet grew by 32 per cent from N66 billion in December 2016 to N87 billion in December 2017.

An increase also emerged in income-generating assets by more than 36 per cent from N35 billion in December 2016 to N48 billion in December 2017, just as customer deposits grew by about 35 per cent from N50 billion as at December 2016 to N68 billion in December 2017.

Speaking at the AGM, the CEO said 2018 is the year, the bank needs to demonstrate that it has the capacity to grow safely and sustainably.

He said: “We are using a number of measures to spark progress in that regard, some of which include the automation of our retail financing business, focus on unreserved markets and the financially excluded, institutional alliances, nimble workforce and effective performance tracking amongst others.”