Investment Banking firm, United Capital Plc on Wednesday, July 13, reported a jump of 154 per cent in profit after tax (PAT) for the half year (H1) ended June 31, 2016.
The firm had in 2015 recorded an impressive performance and rewarded shareholders with a dividend of 35 kobo per share.
Also, going by the unaudited H1 results made available to stock market operators by the NSE yesterday, shareholders should expect better performance at the end of the current financial year.
According to the results, United Capital recorded gross revenue of N3.655 billion in 2016, up by 34 per cent from N2.750 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2015.
Investment income soared from N1.349 billion to N1.721 billion, while fees and commission income grew from N817 million to N980 million. Net operating income settled at N3.411 billion, up from N2.546 billion, while total revenue stood at N3.655 billion, compared with N2.750 billion in the corresponding period of 2015.
Despite the rise in inflation, the management of the United Capital maintained a commendable cost strategy that led to a reduction in total operating expenses from N1.128 billion to N1.074 billion.
Consequently, the company ended the year with a profit before tax of N2.065 billion, indicating a growth of 47 per cent. However, the company’s bottom-line was boosted by a N1.526 billion realised from the sale of investment in an associate company to hit N3.591 billion in 2016, up from N1.408 billion in 2015.
