Key extracts of management accounts for the 12-month period ended
Gross earnings rose from N8.74 billion in 2018 to N14.71 billion in 2019. Gross profit increased from N6.82 billion to N11.8 billion. Profit before tax jumped from N897.70 million to N2.10 billion.
After taxes, net profit leapt to N1.79 billion in 2019 as against N834.4 million in 2018. Earnings per share thus increased by 114.1 per cent from 2.83 kobo in 2018 to 6.06 kobo in 2019.
Underlying performance ratios indicated that the company's overall performance was driven by both increased market share and increasingly efficient operating system.
Gross profit margin improved from 78 per cent in 2018 to 80.2 per cent in 2019. Pre-tax profit margin, which measures the average unit of profit per unit of sale, increased by four percentage points from 10.3 per cent in 2018 to 14.3 per cent in 2019.
Net profit margin, which shows the net value creation for shareholders, improved from 9.5 per cent to 12.2 per cent.
The performance in 2019 placed the company ahead of its projections, raising optimism that it could surpass its five year medium-term forecasts.
At an interactive session with the investing public at the NSE, directors of
According to the five-year financial forecast, total income is expected to be about N81.17 billion while profit after tax is projected at N11.09 billion for the five-year period.
Gross income is expected to rise to N15.73 billion, N19.27 billion and N23.51 billion in 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively. Profit before tax is projected to rise to N3.01 billion, N4.03 billion and N5.47 billion in 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively.
After taxes, net profit is expected to rise to N2.11 billion in 2020 and rise consecutively to N2.82 billion and N3.83 billion in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Under the plan, the balance sheet of the bank is expected to increase consecutively over the years. Total assets is projected at N182.6 billion, N220.02 billion and N262.80 billion in 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Deposit is projected to rise consecutively to N142.81 billion, N177.09 billion and N216.05 billion in 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively. Shareholders' fund is also projected to increase to N35.23 billion by 2022.
Managing Director,
He said the bank has been positioned to sustain its growth trajectory, pointing out that the bank has the necessary resources to achieve its growth targets.
Usman said the bank's growth strategy of focussing on the real sector, though painstaking, will ensure sustainable growth and better returns over the years.
According to him,
'We shall continue to internally develop new customers, new markets and new product for both our physical and virtual channels.
We remain committed to continuous up-scaling of our governance mechanism to meet the highest operating standards. Cost efficiency is at the heart of our value creation model. We shall strive to be a low cost operator,' Usman said.
He noted that while the bank would continue to expand its operations across the country by opening more branches, it will significantly leverage on technology to reach the nooks and crannies of the country and bring the semi-banked and unbanked population into the formal economy.
The bank is owned by some 27,000 shareholders including the
In 2016, it obtained the national banking licence from the CBN and started to rapidly spread its network across the country.
© Pakistan Press International, source