Police community bank posts N803.4million profit before tax

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Micro Finance Bank has declared a profit before tax of N803.4million for the 2016 operational year, representing an increase of about 16.63 per cent above the N68.8million recorded in 2015.

The Managing Director of the bank, Akinwunmi Lawal, who dropped the hint during the 23rd annual general meeting of the bank in Enugu, said economic headwinds caused by the drop in oil prices and the inflationary rate among others that pushed Nigeria into recession, also took its toll on the operation of the bank, especially on savings.

He said there was price hike, increased maintenance cost due to aging facilities, and increased number of branches, increases in electricity bill, and diesel costs and high rates of macroeconomic indices among others, which affected operating cost.

He noted that despite the challenging social and economic environment in which it operated in the year under review, it however recorded marginal growth as gross earnings rose by 13.86 per cent from N2.5 billion in 2015 to N2.9billion in 2016, while total assets stood at N12.4 billion.

Lawal said return on asset, shareholder’s fund, and earnings per share were 4.48 per cent, 12.4 per cent, and 24 per cent respectively. He added that the bank’s share price did not witness any volatility, “instead, we are about to hit the initial listing price of N1.50, a feat no financial institution has met since the great depression of 2008.”

He said in a bid to increase customers and render services to young policemen/officers, the bank was “aggressively marketing the new recruits at the various police colleges and we are poised to deploy technology to serve them even if there is no physical brick and mortar branch in their locations.”

He continued: “It is also gratifying to note that the bank is continuously increasing her workforce despite the high staff turnover in the industry. In the course of the year under review, we recruited over 85 staff and this has a position effect in the economy. We will continue to ensure greater cost efficiency by leveraging on technology, and improving employee productivity, while growing customers to build a solid business model to ensure sustainable growth.”

Also speaking, the Chairman of the bank, Azubuko Joel Udah, said the lender would continue to improve on its processes to enable it manage risks effectively.

This, he added, would position the bank to take part in the various interventions of the federal government aimed at ensuring access to funds for micro, small and medium enterprises.