United Capital Plc yesterday announced an impressive performance for the year ended December 31, 2016, recording a jump of 133 per cent in profit after tax(PAT). Amidst the challenging economic environment and bearish capital markets, United Capital Plc, which is an investment banking firm, recorded a PAT of N6 billion in 2016, up by 133 per cent from N2.57 billion in 2015.
In all, the company recorded gross earnings of N9 billion in 2016, showing an increase of 50 per cent from N6 billion posted in 2015. Investment income rose from N3 billion to N4 billion, while fee and commission income grew from N1.612 billion to N1.979 billion.
Despite high inflation in 2016, the management of the company was able to reduce its total expenses by 19 per cent from N3.238 billion to N2.634 billion. Consequently, profit before tax (PBT) grew by 95 per cent from N3.264 billion to N6.366 billion, while PAT soared from N2.57 billion to N6 billion.
Based on the performance, the directors have recorded a dividend of N3 billion, which translate to 50 kobo per share, up by 42 per cent from 35 kobo paid in 2015.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of United Capital Plc, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Sanni had said the company would continue to continue to pursue its clear and consistent strategy, which has delivered a strong performance for shareholders.
Sanni said: “We remain positive about our future opportunities within the Nigerian and African market, not-withstanding the challenging macro-economic environment.
As we commence 2016, we remain committed to achieving our goal of building Africa’s leading investment and financial services group and to work hard to accomplish our strategic objective set out in 2015 & 2016. Our priorities include: driving effectiveness and efficiency initiatives to improve productivity whilst optimising costs, further improving our brand awareness, corporate image and brand value to achieve market-wide recognition and appreciation of our corporate identity.”
A subsidiary of the company, United Capital Asset Management, recently launched two mutual funds- United Capital Nigerian Eurobond Fund and the United Capital Wealth for Women Fund aimed at meeting the diversified investment portfolio needs of indigenous and global clients. Both funds opened for subscription on January 25, and will close on March 3, 2017.
The United Capital Nigerian Eurobond Fund is an open-ended mutual fund that will be invested in Dollar denominated Eurobonds, floated by the Federal Government of Nigeria, Nigerian top tier banks and other corporate issuers whose securities are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
