Nigeria’s Sterling Bank First-Quarter Profit Rises 17 Pct

LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria's Sterling Bank said on Tuesday its first-quarter pretax profit rose to 3.54 billion naira ($21.8 million), up 17.3 percent from 3.02 billion Naira a year earlier.

Gross earnings at the mid-tier bank climbed to 24.62 billion Naira during the three months to March 31, as against 19.84 billion Naira in the same period of last year, it said in a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

($1 = 162.27 Naira)