Abubakar Suleiman Purchases 50 Million Shares of Sterling Financial Holdings

Recently, Abubakar Suleiman, a Non-Executive Director of Sterling Financial Holdings firm Plc, purchased an extra 50 million shares in the firm valued at N168 million.

This is stated in a notice of Directors Dealings signed by Company Secretary Temitayo Adegoke and forwarded to the Nigerian Exchange Limited.

The purchase of 50 million shares equals 0.17% of the company's total outstanding shares.

Abubakar Suleiman's direct shareholding has grown from 262,668,608 units in June 2023 to 312,668,608 units, or 1.09%, as a result of the transaction.

The transaction was completed on the same day, according to the notification issued by Company Secretary Temitayo Adegoke on August 3, 2023. The 50 million SterlingNG shares were purchased for N3.36 per share.

The company announced its 2023 second-quarter results, revealing that pre-tax earnings increased by 44.40% year on year to N7.044 billion. This increased half-year pre-tax earnings to N11.46 billion, up from N8.62 billion at the same time the previous year.

Pre-tax profit increased significantly due to increases in net interest income, net fees and commission revenue, and net trading profits.

Although the bank's pre-tax earnings increased, the impairment charge on loans increased by 136%. This rise led directly to the 12.30% increase in credit loss expense on financial assets during the period.