• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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NMRC’s profit before tax rises 11.1% to ₦3.39bn amid economic headwinds

NMRC’s profit before tax rises 11.1% to ₦3.39bn amid economic headwinds

The Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) says that, despite the challenges in the economy, its profit before tax rose by 11.1 percent to ₦3.39billion in 2021, up from ₦3.04 billion it recorded in 2020.

The company revealed that it delivered a good performance in 2021 as reflected in the financials presented to its shareholders by the management at their 8th Annual General Meeting held in Lagos.

A close look at its financials sighted by BusinessDay at the weekend, shows that the company’s earnings per share also increased by 11.1 percent, from ₦1.40 in 2020 to ₦1.56 in 2021 while cost-to-income (efficiency) ratio improved from 38.2 percent in 2020 to 34.5 percent in 2021.

Within the period under review, NMRC also increased its top line and decreased the bottom line, leading to 7.9 percent increase in its gross earnings to ₦9.91 billion, up from ₦9.18 billion recorded in 2020. The increase, according to the company, was due to the increase in investments yield.

While the company’s Net Interest Income increased by 2.4 percent from ₦4.91 billion in 2020 to ₦5.02 billion in 2021, its total expenses decreased by 5.6 percent from ₦1.88 billion in 2020 to ₦1.78 billion in 2021.

The company recorded an impressive capital adequacy ratio which, in the period under review, improved from 80percent in 2020 to 84 percent in 2021, far more than the regulatory requirement of 10 percent.

Kehinde Ogundimu, the managing director and chief executive officer of the company, commended both the staff and board of the company for the impressive financial performance achieved under dire economic situation.

He described 2021 as another challenging year, noting that while COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out globally, some countries dealt with very significant outbreaks and many more operated under various restrictions at different points.

Earlier, Adeyemi Candide-Johnson, chairman of the company, had noted the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on businesses, adding that the accommodative programmes implemented by fiscal and monetary authorities to combat the negative impact of the pandemic had the unintended consequence of triggering unprecedented inflationary pressure.

Read also: Abbey Mortgage Bank records 142% growth in gross earnings

In spite of this, he said, “NMRC took major steps forward in deepening the mortgage finance sector and expanding its refinancing business with the provision of liquidity to four new institutions in line with the recent regulatory approval to refinance non-member banks.

The chairman assured that despite expectations for muted global growth in 2022, NMRC was well positioned to grow and strengthen its existing business relationships, establish and nurture new ones, diversify product offerings, and further improve its operational efficiency.

Ogundimu added that the company was also able to carry out market development as they have done for several years ago. “We again collaborated with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to empower unemployed youths with technical skills in masonry, plumbing, carpentry, tiling, and electrical works as part of our 2021 Corporate Social Responsibility Programme,” he said.

He noted that the exercise marked the sixth batch of trainees delivered by NMRC’s annual skills acquisition programme, explaining that the vocational and entrepreneurship training was designed to achieve the dual purpose of enhancing the livelihoods of the youth while tackling the skills gap in the housing construction Industry in Nigeria.