30 BUSINESS DAY Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong> Live @ The Stock Exchange Top Gainers/Losers as at Thursday 22 <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong> <strong>2018</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ket Statistics as at Thursday 22 <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong> GAINERS Company Opening Closing Change MOBIL N176.3 N184 7.7 GLAXOSMITH N22.05 N24.3 2.25 NB N126 N127.9 1.9 CADBURY N12.65 N13.25 0.6 PZ N22.4 N<strong>23</strong> 0.6 LOSERS Company Opening Closing Change ACCESS N11.75 N11.1 -0.65 DANGSUGAR N20.8 N20.5 -0.3 AFRIPRUD N4.32 N4.12 -0.2 HONYFLOUR N2.5 N2.38 -0.12 CILEASING N2 N1.9 -0.1 ASI (Points) 41,633.79 DEALS (Numbers) 5,039.00 VOLUME (Numbers) 542,347,061.00 VALUE (N billion) 7.347 MARKET CAP (N Trn 15.040 Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Plc surprised investors with a record 362percent growth in its full year 2017 profit before tax (PBT) which in naira terms stood at N88.309billion. Ecobank audited results for the full year ended December 31, 2017 released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) show gross earnings increased by 15percent to N763.6 billion. The pan African bank’s operating profit before impairment losses increased by 14percent to N214.3billion. The bank’s share price declined by 90kobo (4.77percent) to close Thursday at N17.95. Further details of the result show it total assets also increased by 10percent to N6.864trillion; loans and advances to customers rose by 1percent to N2.863trillion; deposits from customers went up by 13percent to N4.652trillion; while total equity increased by 24percent to N664.7 billion. “Our 2017 financial performance was an encouraging improvement on 2016. Our customers showed their confidence in the firm’s value proposition by giving us more of their deposits, which grew by 13”, said Ade Ayeyemi, Group Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank. “Also, our actions to improve the firm’s efficiency were productive as will be our progressive moves to Ecobank throws surprises with 362% pretax profit growth Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu right-size and simplify our businesses, which have been designed to allow us to serve our customers better and create more sustainable value generation. We have reduced our efficiency ratio to 61.8percent which evidences the effectiveness of these actions and we will continue to drive this ratio down”, Ayeyemi added. “2017 also marked 2 years into our 5-year ‘Roadmap to Leadership’ and digitisation strategy through which we have made real strides in fixing the foundations on which our businesses can grow. Among other things, we have reorganised our businesses, overhauled our risk management, improved our controls and systems, adopted technology to drive efficiency, and we are addressing capital allocation. In <strong>2018</strong> and beyond our focus will be on one thing: relentless execution. We will use all our resources to support our mission to serve our customers better, run our businesses more efficiently, and generate returns that meet and exceed the cost of equity,” Ecobank group CEO said. L-R: Bola Adeeko, head, Shared Services Division, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Charl Bruyns, group head of Investor Services & Financial Institutions, Transactional Products & Services, Standard Bank Group; Oscar N. Onyema, chief executive officer, NSE; Hasan Khan, group head of Transactional Products & Services, Standard Bank Group; Akeem Oyewale, chief executive, Stanbic IBTC Nominees Limited and Babatunde Majiyagbe, executive director, Stanbic IBTC Nominees Limited during a Closing Gong Ceremony at the Exchange Yesterday. Crusadersterling Pensions delights customers with superior investment returns The CrusaderSterling Pensions Retiree fund achieved total annual returns of 21.69percent as at December 31, 2017. The highest for the year in the retiree segment of the market. The National Pension Commission (PENCOM) last December released the framework for the enhancement of the monthly pension payout to existing Retirees who chose Programmed Withdrawal (PW) offered by PFAs as against Annuity product offered by Insurance companies.The objective of the Framework is to provide modalities for the implementation of periodic pension enhancement for retirees on Programmed Withdrawal under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) by utilizing the surpluses generated from Return on Investment (ROI). It is this fund management superlative performance that has given advantage to over 2,000 retirees currently enjoying enhanced monthly pension payments under the CrusaderSterling Pension Management. Specifically, the CrusaderSterling Pensions RSA fund, had maintained a leading position over the last eight years. In 2017, the RSA Fund returned the industry highest at 19.82percent and a cumulative of 290.99percent from inception as at 26th February, <strong>2018</strong>, giving it a clear leading edge over other Pension fund managers. Next in terms of performance are Premium Pension Fund with a return of 280.10percent and ARM Pension fund with a return of 279.7percent from inception. Globally, Returns on Investments are often benchmarked against inflation within an economy. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), has further dropped to 15.37 percent in December 2017 from 15.90 per cent recorded in November of the same year. PENCOM investment regulations strictly prescribe asset classes that PFAs could invest, with the twin objective of achieving Safety & Security of Pension Funds. The onus of monitoring returns on investments resides more with the fund contributors than PENCOM, disappointedly, most contributors are passive and rarely follow up on performances of their PFAs & fund which is reflected through the fund prices. Access Bank Plc has released its audited results for the full year ended December 31, 2017 which shows resilient growth in total income.The Group reasserted its capacity to deliver steady earnings despite a tighter operating environment. In the audited financial results released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday, <strong>Mar</strong>ch 21, Access Bank Plc reported group earnings of N459.1billion, representing an increase of 20 percent over N381.3 billion recorded in the same period in 2016. Growth in gross earnings was boosted by a 29 percent increase in interest income to N319.9 billion in 2017, from N247.2 billion in Full Year (FY) 2016 whilst net interest income grew by 17 percent from N163.452 billion in FY 2017, from N139.148 Access Bank grows earnings by 20% to N459.1bn …proposes final dividend of 40 kobo billion in the comparative period of 2016. Similarly, Non-Interest Income grew 4 percent to N139.1billion, in FY 2017 from N133.4 billion in 2016, leading to an 11 percent increase in the Group’s operating income to N302.596 billion in FY 2017, from N272.605 billion in FY 2016. The growth in the Group’s earnings is underlined by an expansion in its core business, on the back of an enhanced asset book. Loans and advances grew 11 percent to N2.064 trillion in 2017, from N1.855 trillion in December 2016. Total assets grew 18 percent to N4.102 trillion in December 2017, from N3.484 trillion in the corresponding period in 2016. Additionally, the Group recorded an increase of 13 percent in Shareholder returns of N515 billion in December 2017, from N454 billion in the corresponding period in 2016. Although the Group posted significant growth in earnings, the adverse lingering effects of the macro on asset quality in the industry led to the Bank taking prudent provisions in the course of the year, thereby dampening profitability, as Profit before tax declined 11 percent to N80.1 billion in FY 2017 from N90.3 billion in FY 2016. Nonetheless, Access Bank’s fundamentals remain strong and the Group remains poised for sustainable growth in the coming periods. The Group proposes a final dividend of 40kobo per share to its shareholders, in addition to 25kobo interim dividend paid during the period, making a total of 65Kobo for the financial year. The dividend is subject to approval at the Annual General Meeting. “Our operating performance in 2017 was impacted by the residual effects of macro-economic conditions of 2016, characterised by slow economic expansion and adverse credit conditions, which resulted in making conservative provisions on our loan book. Despite the macro and regulatory headwinds, our underlying business remained strong as reflected in the gross earnings growth of 20 percent to N459 billion in 2017. We grew our loan book to position it for improved earnings, whilst driving deposit mobilization from targeted segments to diversify our funding base,” said Herbert Wigwe, Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc while commenting on the results. According to Wigwe, the year 2017 was pivotal for the bank, as it concluded its 2013-2017 corporate strategic plan. “Its successful implementation was hinged on discipline, hard work, and an unwavering commitment to our set objectives. I am particularly excited about the next phase of the Bank’s evolution centred on an integrated global franchise. The execution of the <strong>2018</strong>-2022 strategy commences with focus on deepening our retail offerings, underpinned by strong digital and payment solutions. Throughout the next phase, we will continue to invest in technology as we establish a universal payments gateway with an ecosystem of local and international partnerships,” he added. Access Bank’s capital and liquidity levels of 22.5 percent and 47.3 percent respectfully remained robust, well above the required regulatory minimum, providing a strong buffer against the macro challenges and room to expand its business.
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong> BUSINESS DAY 31
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