The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), on Tuesday reported a 9.46% drop in total liabilities from N6.282tr in the year ended December 31, 2022, to N5.739tr last year. Total Assets for the period, however declined by a sharper N437.16bn or 28.88% to N1.076tr, from the previous N1.513tr indicating the need for a recapitalisation of the debt recovery agency which has for about a decade, under the Ahmed Kuru, its immediate past chief executive, veiled its financial health status.
A statement by Jude Nwauzor, Head Corporate Communications Department and spokesman, the drop in liabilities was primarily due to repayments of the N500bn Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) loan, just as it achieved 89% of its revenue target in the period under review with total recovery of N125.2bn.
The commission had in a December 14, 2024 statement pasted on its website given N1.8tr as total recovery, quoting its then Managing Director/CEO, Mr Ahmed Lawan Kuru, during the first interactive session with members of the 10th Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions chaired by Senator Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru, at the National Assembly Complex.
A breakdown of the recovery, Nwauzor said, showed that AMCON pooled N81.65bn in collections from various obligors, N17.8bn from share sales, and another N15.5bn from reinvestment income.
According to the breakdown, N6bn was received as proceeds from sale of properties, N3.8bn in dividend income, and N0.5bn in rental income, despite what he called the country’s challenging economic environment occasioned by the removal of subsidy and floatation of the Naira.
Commenting on its finances, the debt recovery agency said it achieved a remarkable triple-digit profit growth of 202% from N34.73bn in the previous year to N108.433bn in 2023.
Fair valuation gains on Eligible Bank Assets (EBAs), the statement added, increased to N40.9bn in 2023 from a loss of N187.9bn in 2022, just as its Equity Portfolio recorded 82% growth in 2023, amounting to N43bn when compared to N7.9bn in 2022.
The significant trading gains, it stressed, was due to an improved performance in the stock market.
- Alade, MD/CEO of AMCON
The executive management of the Corporation led by Mr Gbenga Alade, its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, the statement added further, assured that AMCON is strategically positioned to continue with the positive trajectory achieved in the year 2023, with special emphasis on improved recoveries and efficient realization of value from disposal of forfeited assets in furtherance of its mandate.
