NPF Microfinance Bank grows PAT by 14%, plans public offering
Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Micro Finance Bank.
NPF Microfinance Bank Plc has grown its Profit After Tax, (PAT) by 14 per cent from N554.9 million in 2016 to N631.89 million in its financial year ended December 31, 2017.
Besides, the bank intends to notify the capital market of its plan to do a public offer following due diligence on the financial landscape and bearing in mind the long tenor nature of capital market investment, while disclosing plans to navigate the effect of the challenging economy.
Speaking at the 24th yearly general meeting held in Kano, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NPF MfB, Akin Lawal, said that in spite of the recession that prevailed in the greater part of 2017, coupled with other unstable macroeconomic indices, the bank’s turnover improved by 25 per cent from N2.925 billion to N3.655 billion in the year under review.
The bank’s operating expense increased by 32 per cent from N1.898 billion in 2016 to N2.516 billion in 2017 due to increased inflationary costs, increased number of staff and branches and rising cost of asset maintenance due to usage.
Lawal, said that the bank’s profit before tax marginally increased from N803.4 million in 2016 to N819.8 million in 2017 as a result of the full cost of the 10 branches opened in 2016, adding that the management has put plans in place to curtail the rising costs and to optimise services.
The bank however, expended N187.9 billion on tax, a reduction of 24.39 per cent and N248.5 million.
Key extracts from the audited report showed that assets improved from N12.36 billion in 2016 to N15.95 billion in 2017, representing a 29.04 per cent, while shareholders fund increased from N4.463 billion in 2016 to N4.752 billion in 2017.
Presently, a unit of the bank’s share attracted earnings of 28 kobo in 2017, against 24 kobo in 2016, out of this, the board proposed an increased dividend of 17 kobo in the year when compared to 15 kobo it has paid in three successive years.
He said: “As we entered 2017 in the midst of worst depression in the last 24 years of existence, rising inflationary trend and worsening exchange rate exacerbated with oil price crisis, vandalisation of our economic mainstay- oil pipelines and loads of reported ethnic clashes across the federation, but our bank’s management ensured that the three-year strategic plan in operation was carefully reviewed to reflect economic realities and to ensure economic fundamentals of the bank.
“This we did with good dexterity, tenacity of purpose and adequate cost management policies which at the end have put smiles on all our faces today.
With the technical exit of the country from depression in the second quarter of 2017, the economic fundamentals of the bank steadily continue in a positive trend,” he said.
The Chairman, NPF MfB, Rtd DIG, Azubuko Udah, said that non-performing loan ratio reduced to 2.7 per cent in December 2017, from 3.2 per cent in December 2016, which is below the regulatory threshold of five per cent and the internal benchmark of three per cent.
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