Notwithstanding the current macroeconomic challenges that further exacerbate access to affordable housing, the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) has committed to providing liquidity to the housing market.
The Managing Director/CEO, Kehinde Ogundimu, who pledged at the company’s yearly general meeting held in Lagos, said the company was able to grow its profit before tax by 4.6 per cent to N3.64 billion in 2023, up from N3.49 billion it recorded in 2022.
“Despite the challenging operating environment, NMRC weathered the headwinds in 2023 and fared better than in the prior year across many key performance indices, spurred by an increase in our refinanced loans portfolio, which grew by 461 per cent,” he said.
According to him, inflationary pressures caused operating expenses to be slightly elevated, closing at N2.27 billion and showing a marginal increase from the N2.03 billion recorded in the previous year, which was not enough to dampen its profitability figures in the year under review.
Ogundimu said the company also grew its gross earnings by 2.1 per cent from N10.1 billion in 2022 to N10.3 billion in 2023. Interest income rose by 7.16 per cent from N5.51 billion in 2022 to N5.91 billion in 2023. Similarly, the company’s earnings per share increased by 5.04 per cent from N1.59 billion in 2022 to N1.67 billion in 2023 as their mortgage refinance loan balance increased by 5 per cent from N24.02 billion in 2022 to N25.22 billion in 2023.
He further disclosed that the company grew its total equity by 10.5 per cent from N23.2 per cent in 2022 to N25.68 billion in 2023.
The company’s Chairman, Yemi Adeola, observed that the Bola Tinubu administration embarked on bold reforms, most notably the removal of subsidy on petrol and the elimination of the multiple exchange rates regime with the attendant consequences of high inflation and further weakening of the naira.
Adeola hoped that the reforms combined with other fiscal measures would benefit the country in the long term. “The Nigerian economy is projected by the International Monetary Fund to expand by 3.3 per cent in 2024 and the year with an average yearly inflation of 26.31 per cent. We will monitor the economy closely, and take a long-term strategy, purpose, and capital allocation while being cognisant of any short-term challenges,” he added.
