Buoyed by yet another robust growth reported by the company across the key measurement parameters in the year ended December 31, 2021, the chief executive of investment banking group- United Capital Plc, Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Peter Ashade, says the organization remains focused on sustaining its growth trajectory into the foreseeable future.
According to the company’s result presented through the Nigerian Exchange Limited, gross earnings took a 40% leap from the level in 2020, after operating income climbed 30% higher, lifting operating profit before tax 53% up, following which net profit was 44% better. Year-on-year.
Based on the result, the directors have therefore proposed a N1.50 dividend from its earnings per share of N1.88, compared to 70 kobo paid from the previous year’s N1.33 EPS. This year’s dividend will be paid to shareholders whose names appear in the register of members as of close of business on March 8, 2022, payment will be made electronically on March 23, 2022.
The dividend proposed, according to Professor Chika Mordi, the board chairman, while also commenting on the scorecard, represents a 114% increase over the previous dividend, a situation he said “affirms our commitment to wealth creation for our shareholders.”
Details of the result showed that gross earnings stood at N18.065bn, from N12.873bn, with investment income contributing a princely N8.9bn, a slight increase from N8.261bn; while fee and commission income grew the most from N3.471bn to N6.159bn; and net trading income to N1.181bn from N753.226m; leaving a net operating income of N16.241bn, up from N12.486bn. There was a significant growth in other income from N397.972m to N1.585bn.
Total expenses grew from N4.926bn to N5.941bn, driven by the N3.603bn other operating expenses, up from N2.616bn; which brought operating profit before income tax to N12.124bn, after rising from N7.947bn; and profit before tax to N11.917bn, compared to N7.947bn in the corresponding period of 2020. Tax for the period also leaped from N136.492m to N658.863m, following which profit for the period stood at N11.258bn from N7.811bn.
There was a significant jump in the balance sheet, as total assets grew from N222.748bn in 2020 to N453.597bn, lifted by the N363.647bn investment in securities, up from N145.148bn. Total liabilities also improved to N423.051bn from N198.321bn, driven by the growth in managed funds from N116.019bn to N327.249bn; while other borrowed funds rose from N72.661bn to N79.691bn.
Continuing, Ashade linked the strong performance to the “exponential growth in business activities across all the market segments that we serve as we successfully navigated a volatile operating environment to create best-in-class solutions for our clients.
“We will continue to pursue developmental activities and actively engage regulatory authorities, investors, and relevant stakeholder groups towards deepening the capital market,” he added.
