Afribank Nigeria Plc has succeeded in growing its operating income in its first quarter results ended March 2011 by 60 per cent.

The income figure increased from N1.2 billion in 2010 to N1.9 billion in 2011 while its net fee and commission income also grew by 34 per cent from N1.8 billion to N2.4 billion within the same period.

The Bank’s asset in treasury bills and bonds also went up by 140 per cent from N61 billion in March 2010 to N146 billion in March 2011.

Afribank return to profitability and its strong prospects of a good financial year in 2011 have also increased the appetite of investors in the bank’s shares.

The Bank’s stock has consequently become the toast of investors at the nation’s capital market gaining 14 per cent in three days of trading despite the bearish trend in the capital market.

Afribank Nigeria Plc has released its full year accounts ended December 31, 2010 with a profit of N1.9 billion from a loss position of N230 billion in the corresponding period of 2009.

The Bank’s stock which was 1.24 kobo on Friday, June 24 2011when its results was announced moved up to N1.41 at the close of trading on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 with the stock being on demand.

Despite the challenging economic environment the Bank’s customer deposits grew by 13 per cent to N281.38 billion in the 2010 financial year from N 249.50 billion in 2009, a reflection of the growing public confidence on the bank..

Afribank was able to achieve growth in its indices through aggressive and focused business drive, operational restructuring, market penetration, restructuring of its subsidiaries and efficient utilization of resources.

The improved ratios of the Bank is an indication that the growth strategies initiated by the Nebolisa Arah-led Management and anchored on a two-year Action Plan is delivering on its promises.

The aim is to deliver results that show a continuous positive trend. We will continue to remain focused on efficiency and sound corporate governance in our operations as we implement the guided growth of our strategic turnaround plan, Mr. Nebolisa Arah, Afribank’s GMD confirmed.

The Bank had during the financial year achieved major business breakthroughs such as joining the big lenders club to MTN Nigeria and reactivated relationships with many multinationals such as Julius Berger, Reynold Construction Companies among others.

Afribank’s creative partnership approach to managing government accounts and agencies also yielded results with the bank now emerging as a leading collections bank for many government and private institutions.

The bank’s two-year strategy, now at consolidation stage, was formulated in December 2009 with an overall intent to ensure the business continuity of Afribank by leveraging competitively on value chain, service excellence, Group integration, product innovation and market intelligence, cost leadership and technology.