Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank Plc lost much speed on the earnings track in the first half, as costs grew and incomes declined. There is a mismatching growth in interest earnings and expenses, which has eroded margins.
The bank’s interim financial report for the half-year ended June 2022 shows that interest income rose by close to 31 percent year-on-year to N786 million. However, interest expenses grew more than twice as fast at over 64 percent to N184 million over the same period.
The cost encroachment squeezed profit margin and undermined profit capacity, reducing profit improvement to 7.7 percent to close at N330 million for the half-year. The indication so far is that an outstanding profit growth of close to 38 percent the bank recorded in 2021 to N542 million isn’t to be expected this year.
Last year saw a favourable combination of growing revenue and generally moderated costs for the bank, which boosted profit capacity. Gross earnings have decelerated from 35 percent growth year-on-year to N785 million at half year in 2021 to 15.7 percent increase to N909 million this year.
