Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The market diversification and cost-optimization initiatives of United Capital Plc are already yielding results as the revenue generated in the third quarter of 2020 increased by 44.0 per cent to N7.1 billion from N5.3 billion recorded in the same period of 2019.
The significant rise in the gross earnings was on the back of a strong year-on-year increase of 55 per cent in investment income, 62 per cent increase in fees and commission income, and 61 per cent growth in net trading income.
In the period under review, the company recorded a net operating income of N6.8 billion compared with N4.3 billion in Q3 2019 and operating expenses of N3.0 billion versus N2.1 billion in Q3 2019.
Also, the pre-tax profit rose to N4.1 billion from N3.3 billion, while the post-tax profit jumped to N3.5 billion from N2.8 billion, with Earnings Per Share (EPS) moving up to 58 kobo from 46 kobo.
The Group CEO of United Capital, Mr Peter Ashade, while commenting on the results, noted that, “Our operating environment remains tough amid the lingering COVID-19 situation and negative macroeconomic impacts as seen in the continued depreciation of the exchange rate, consistent uptick in headline inflation rate among other macroeconomic indicators.
“As stated during the release of our H1-2020 results, our business has not been immune to these challenges. Notwithstanding, the group has remained nimble.
“We continued to implement our business growth and continuity plans premised on a solid risk assessment framework to ensure we remained focused on providing best-in-class solutions to all client segments.
“These contributed to the impressive growth across our businesses leading to 33 per cent growth in revenue and 26 per cent increase in both PBT and PAT during the nine-month period.
“In Q2, the group successfully issued N10 billion Series 1 Bond under the N30 billion Medium-Term Debt Program –the first to be issued by an investment banking firm in Nigeria -which was oversubscribed by about 24 per cent.
“We have begun yielding the fruit of that strategic decision.”
“Going into the last quarter of the year, we are encouraged by the increasing market confidence in our brand even in the wake of the most globally devastating pandemic of the last century. We know the operating environment is turbulent, but we are committed to deliver superior returns to our shareholders, as we drive growth and profitability across all our businesses.”
He further said, “In line with our initial strategy for the 2020 business year, we shall continue to push further our market diversification and cost-optimization initiatives as well as implement phased automation of our business processes whilst upholding our commitment to ensuring a significant improvement in our value delivery to all our stakeholders.”
