Shareholders of United Capital Plc will soon smile to the bank as the as the Company increased its dividend payout by 114.29% for 2021 financial year.
Fondly called UCAP in the capital market, the only listed stockbroking firm on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange performed excellently well in its Audited Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Gross Earnings was up by 40% year-on-year to N18.07 billion; operating PBT grew by 53% year-on-year to N12.12 billion. Total assets grew by 104% year-on-year to N453.60 billion while Shareholders’ Funds rose by 25% year-on-year to N30.55 billion from N24.43 billion.
The company proposed mouthwatering dividend of N1.50 for every 50 kobo ordinary share; this translates to 114.29% growth in dividend payout when compared to the N0.70 dividend paid in 2020 year end.
In a press release by UCAP for its 2021 Audited Financial Statement, the breakdown of the Company’s performance can be found below:
Statement of Profit or Loss:
Year-on-Year Analysis reveals the following:
- Gross Earnings: N18.07 billion in FY 2021, compared to N12.87 billion in FY 2020. This translates to 40% growth year-on-year.
- Operating Income: N16.24 billion in FY 2021, compared to N12.49 billion in FY 2020. This translates to 30% growth year-on-year.
- Operating expenses: N5.94 billion in FY 2021, compared to N4.93 billion in FY 2020. This translates to 21% growth year-on-year.
- Operating Profit before Tax: N12.12 billion in FY 2021, compared to N7.95 billion in FY 2020. This translates to 53% growth year-on-year.
- Profit after Tax: N11.26 billion in FY 2021, compared to N7.81 billion in FY 2020. This translates to 44% growth year-on-year.
- Earnings per Share: N1.88, compared to N1.30 in FY 2020. This represents 44% growth year-on-year.
Statement of Financial Position:
- Total Assets: N453.60 billion, compared to N222.75 billion as at FY 2020 (104% year-on-year growth)
- Total Liabilities: N423.05 billion, compared to N198.32billion as at FY 2020 (113% year-on-year growth)
- Shareholders’ Fund: N30.55 billion, compared to N24.43 billion as at FY 2020 (25% year-onyear growth)
Comparing FY 2021 with FY 2020, the following are worthy of note:
- Gross Earnings: Total revenue grew by 40% year-on-year driven by growth in fee and commission income.
- Cost-to-Income ratio: Operating efficiency improved as cost-to-income ratio declined by 5.38 percentage points largely attributable to growth in revenue relative to operating expenses.
- PBT Margin: Profitability margin improved during the year under review as PBT margin increased by 5.38 percentage points from 61.73% in FY 2020 to 67.11% in FY 2021
- PAT Margin: PAT margin increased, gaining 1.65 percentage point to 62.32% in FY 2021 compared to 60.67% in FY 2020 as PAT increased by 44% year-on-year during the year under review.
- Total Assets: The Company’s total assets grew by 104% year-on-year on the account of 24% increase in cash and cash equivalents and 151% growth in financial asset investment.
- Total Liabilities: The total liabilities of the Company increased by 113% year-on-year largely driven by 182% year-on-year increase in manage funds during the year under review
- Shareholders’ Fund: United Capital’s Shareholders’ funds grew by 25% year-on-year driven by 33% growth in retained earnings
- Proposed Dividend: The Board of Directors proposed a dividend of N1.50 per share, amounting to a total of N9billion dividend to be paid to shareholders upon approval by members at the AGM. The dividend is payable to shareholders whose names appear on the Register of Members at the close of business on March 23, 2022.
Commenting on the Group’s performance, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Peter Ashade, stated thus:
“Our strong performance was driven by exponential growth in business activities across all the market segments that we serve as we successfully navigated a volatile operating environment to create best-in-class solutions for our clients.
United Capital is on a progressive path as witnessed in our strong earnings growth and superior value delivery to shareholders over the years, amongst other metrics that are reflective of high performing organisations.
All stakeholders can be assured of our commitment to sustain our organisational growth trajectory well into the foreseeable future as we navigate the tough operating terrain.
We will continue to pursue developmental activities and actively engage regulatory authorities, investors and relevant stakeholder groups towards deepening the capital market, strengthening the broader financial system and driving financial inclusion as a means of accelerating the economic development of our dear country and empowering its citizens”.
