United Capital Plc, a fast-growing banking and investment services business managed by renowned investment banker Peter Ashade, reported a profit of N11.26 billion ($27.02 million) at the end of 2021, attributable to robust growth across all income and revenue streams.
During the period, managed funds and investment securities increased from N116.02 billion ($278.34 million) and N145.15 billion ($348.22 million) to N327.25 billion ($785.1 million) and N363.65 billion ($872.41 million), respectively, as a result of the fast-paced flux of capital and funds from institutional entities and retail investors.
United Capital is a Lagos-based financial and investment services firm that provides financial products and services to enterprises, governments, high-net-worth individuals and institutional and retail investors across Africa, under the leadership of Ashade.
The company reported a 44-percent rise in profit from N7.81 billion ($18.74 million) in 2020 to N11.26 billion ($27.02 million), driven by a combination of effective cost-cutting strategies and an increase in gross earnings from N12.87 billion ($30.88 million) to N18.06 billion ($43.32 million).
The company’s robust gain in gross earnings was backed up by an excellent improvement in its earnings line, which included increases in investment income, fee and commission revenue, and net trading income.
“Our strong performance was driven by 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,” Ashade, CEO of United Capital, said.
As of press time on Feb. 21, United Capital shares were valued at N12 ($0.0288) per share, 9.6-percent more than their starting price on Fri., Feb. 19. Its market capitalization is N72 billion ($172.8 million) at the current pricing.
Chika Mordi, the chairman of the board of the fast-growing financial services firm, declared a dividend of N1.5 ($0.00359) per share as a result of the strong financial performance.
“We are proposing N1.5 ($0.00359) dividend for every ordinary share, up by 114 percent over the N0.7 ($0.00167) dividend paid last year. This affirms our commitment to wealth creation for our shareholders,” he said.
Based on the current price of United Capital shares on the Nigerian exchange, the announced N9-billion ($21.6 million) dividend results in a 12.5-percent dividend yield.
