By Dipo Olowookere
Leading Pan-African Investment Banking Group, United Capital Plc, on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, released its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2018.
In the financial documents, the firm recorded a 4 percent growth in its gross earnings for the period under review.
United Capital said it generated Gross Earnings of N2.2 billion during the period from N2.1 billion in the corresponding period of last year.
This was despite the uncertain macroeconomic environment and lower interest rates on treasury assets.
Also, the profit before tax appreciated by 7 percent from N1.39 billion in Q1 2017 to N1.49 billion in Q1 2018, while the profit after tax went up by 6.8 percent to N1.25 billion in Q1 2018 from N1.17 billion in Q1 2017.
Furthermore, the firm spent N700 million on operating expenses in the period under review compared with N718 million in Q12017.
As at March 31, 2018, the total assets of United Capital stood at N140.4 billion compared with N136.6 billion as at FY 2017.
In addition, the funds under management stood at N74 billion in the period review versus N70 billion as at FY 2017, while the shareholders’ funds were N15.8 billion in contrast to N16.8 billion as at FY 2017.
The group’s sustained growth in revenue and profitability is in correlation with the firm’s strategic and efficient management of investment activities across all businesses, better pricing of earning assets, gains from its equity portfolio as well as effective cost management.
Commenting on the results, the Group CEO, Oluwatoyin Sanni, stated that, “As a company, we understand the importance of starting a new financial year on a positive note.
“At the beginning of the year, we outlined our business objectives and developed a strategy to achieve those goals from the onset. While the market may have sustained challenges beyond our control, we took this as an opportunity to expand our business/product offerings and encouraged innovation in-house to gain market share across our diversified business lines.
“The sustained growth is a testament to the hard work, dedication and precision United Capital offers its customers across Africa.”
