Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc spent N19.44 billion on salaries for outsourced contract staff in the first six months of 2026.
The amount was disclosed under outsourcing services in GTCO’s other operating expenses with the company stating that the expenditure relates to salaries paid to outsourced contract staff.
The N19.44 billion spent on outsourced workers was separate from N56.97 billion recorded as personnel expenses for employees during the same period.
GTCO’s personnel expenses increased by 4.7 percent from N54.40 billion in the first half of 2025 to N56.97 billion in the corresponding period of 2026.
A breakdown showed that wages and salaries accounted for N53.95 billion, up 5.1 percent from N51.32 billion a year earlier.
Contributions to defined contribution pension plans stood at N3.02 billion, slightly below the N3.08 billion recorded in the first half of 2025.
The Group’s outsourcing bill, however, declined marginally from N19.73 billion in the first half of 2025 to N19.44 billion in the period under review.
Taken together, personnel expenses and outsourced contract-staff costs amounted to approximately N76.41 billion during the six-month period, compared with N74.13 billion a year earlier.
The N76.41 billion figure should not be interpreted as GTCO’s reported personnel expense because the company accounts for outsourced services separately under other operating expenses.
GTCO’s workforce expanded modestly during the period.
The average number of people employed by the Group increased to 5,966 from 5,866 in the first half of 2025, representing an increase of 100 employees, or 1.7 percent.
Of the 5,966 average employees, 5,637 were classified as non-management staff, 327 as management employees and two as executive directors.
The previous year’s workforce comprised 5,567 non-management employees, 297 management staff and two executive directors.
The numbers indicate that personnel expenditure grew faster than the Group’s average employee headcount during the period.
Based purely on reported personnel expenses divided by the average employee count, GTCO incurred approximately N9.55 million in personnel costs per average employee over the six-month period, compared with about N9.27 million in the corresponding period of 2025.
The calculation is an average across the Group rather than an indication of individual employee salaries and includes pension contributions in addition to wages and salaries.
GTCO’s employee remuneration disclosure also showed a significant number of employees occupying higher earnings bands.
A total of 904 employees, excluding directors, were in the remuneration category above N11.8 million, compared with 873 in the first half of 2025.
Another 1,018 employees were within the N7.8 million to N8.6 million remuneration band, up from 911 a year earlier.
Meanwhile, 347 employees were within the N8.6 million to N11.8 million range, compared with 303 in the corresponding period.
At the lower end, 975 employees were within the N720,001 to N1.4 million remuneration range, compared with 967 previously.
The accounts state that the employee remuneration bands exclude pension contributions and certain benefits.
Beyond workforce expenditure, GTCO reported total other operating expenses of N166.11 billion for the first half of 2026, broadly unchanged from N165.80 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
The largest component was N55.86 billion in Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria expenses, followed by N31.10 billion in technological and service-related expenses and N19.44 billion in outsourcing services.
Deposit insurance premiums amounted to N18.00 billion, while repairs and maintenance cost N10.82 billion and occupancy costs stood at N9.01 billion.
The Group also spent N6.97 billion on advertising, promotion and corporate gifts, N2.35 billion on professional and consulting services and N2.13 billion on business travel.
GTCO reported gross earnings of N1.11 trillion for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared with N1.07 trillion a year earlier.
Profit before tax increased marginally to N603.03 billion from N600.90 billion, while profit after tax declined to N414.19 billion from N449.01 billion following an increase in income-tax expenses.