By Michael Eboh
Wema Bank Plc has announced a profit after tax of N1.0 billion in its half-year unaudited financial statement, for the period ended, June 30, 2010, this was in comparison to a loss after tax of N47.58 billion for the similar period in 2009.

The bank’s gross earnings appreciated by 11.01 per cent to N16.22 billion in the period under review, compared to N14.61 billion in 2009, while its operating income stood at N4.94 billion, dropping by 38.1 per cent from N7.98 billion recorded in 2009.

The improvement in its financial performance was as a result of the absence of any provisioning for exceptional items, such as bad debts. This is in comparison to an exceptional item of N47.23 billion recorded in its 2009 financial statement.

The bank recorded a profit before tax of N1.21 billion compared to a profit before tax and exceptional items of N47.81 billion in 2009, it posted a profit after tax and exceptional item of N1.02 billion compared to N47.88 billion in 2009, while it recorded a profit after tax and minority interest of N1 billion compared to N47.58 million in 2009.