NOVA Merchant Bank Limited says it has started to reap the benefits of its investments in its operations, technology and people, judging by the profit after tax for the year ended December 31, 2018, which increased by a significant 125% from N510.6m achieved in 2017 to N1.15bn.
This, the bank said in a statement was achieved from gross earnings which rose to N1.88bn, a 54.10% growth, when compared to the N1.22bn reported in 2017.
The bank further grew the total assets by 38.89% from N18bn to N25bn between 2017 and 2018, even as there was remarkable growth in customer acquisition and in line with its objective to be the employer of choice, promoted about a third of its workforce.
The performance, which it explained, marks a very successful year for the newly licensed merchant bank which recently deployed a state of the art and fully digital core banking application, demonstrates a growth trajectory which it expects to accelerate as it scales its business and grows its client base.
Such stellar results, according to Anya Duroha, bank’s MD/CEO, “are a culmination of the hard work, commitment, resilience, discipline and resourcefulness of all our employees. We have been able to drive strong customer acquisition and deploy leading edge technology whilst optimising our costs. We will continue to focus on growing our business, providing solutions tailored to our clients’ needs, building a high performance culture, motivating our employees and creating sustainable value for our shareholders”.
Also commenting, Phillips Oduoza, the chairman, said NOVA has “been able to build a strong foundation for the success of the bank and approach the future with confidence and optimism in our business model, value proposition, clients and employees. We remain committed to the implementation of our over-arching philosophy of ‘New Thinking, New Opportunities’ to create value for all our stakeholders.”
The bank promised to continue striving to deliver profitable, responsible and sustainable growth. It remains dedicated to its core values of Uniqueness, Passion, Leadership, Integrity, Fairness and Teamwork (UPLIFT), believing that such ethos will enable it to surpass the expectations of its clients and stakeholders.