NSIA Records 10th Consecutive Positive Earnings As Total Assets Hit N1.02trn

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), manager of Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund, recorded its 10th year of continuous positive earnings as total assets rose 10.5 per cent to N1.02trn in 2022 up from the N919.73 billion recorded in 2021.

The NSIA, in its audited results for the 2022 financial year, said the firm’s financial performance underscores the resilience of its investment strategy, and the quality of its earnings.

Highlights of NSIA’s activities and performance during the period under review showed that in spite of the challenging macroeconomic environment across markets,its non-volatile revenue such as interest income, revenue from infrastructure business, and management fees earned from fiduciary activities, grew  34.5 per cent or N15.7 billion, year-over-year.

On the flipside, the agency’s total comprehensive income declined 34 per cent to N96 billion in 2022, compared to 147 billion recorded in 2021. The decline was largely attributed to strong macroeconomic headwinds marked by unprecedented shocks, such as the COVID-19 lockdown in China, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, food and energy crises, supply-chain disruptions, soaring inflation, and monetary policy tightening, which precipitously impacted the financial markets.

Although the Group’s earnings are lower than that of 2021, the NSIA Group said it remains confident in its investment strategy and will continue to explore opportunities to mitigate risks and achieve its investment objectives.

The agency also pointed out that its well-diversified portfolio continues to provide the resilience to withstand market challenges as evidenced by the results.

Managing director and chief executive officer, NSIA,   Aminu Umar-Sadiq, said the strong performance recorded despite the challenges in the operating environment, underscores the robustness of the agency’s diversified portfolio, and the excellent commitment of the team

Looking to the future, he said, the NSIA is resolute in its commitment to delivering increased investments in critical sectors of the economy, driving growth across its funds, and attracting third-party capital into Nigeria’s infrastructure sector.

“In 2023, we will be resourcing our various platforms targeted at emerging sectors – renewable energy, sustainability, innovation, and healthcare – which will ensure the Authority achieves its dual objectives of delivering financial returns and impactful social outcomes,” he said.

He said, “Against market expectations and internal forecast, NSIA closed the 2022 financial year with a respectable performance. This result underscores the robustness of our diversified portfolio, and the excellent commitment of the team…”

Adding further, he remarked “As we look to the future, NSIA is resolute in its commitment to delivering increased investments in critical sectors of the economy, driving growth across its funds, and attracting third-party capital into Nigeria’s infrastructure sector. In 2023, we will be resourcing our various platforms targeted at emerging sectors – renewable energy, sustainability, innovation, and healthcare – which will ensure the Authority achieves its dual objectives of delivering financial returns and impactful social outcomes.”The 2022 fiscal year was marked by unprecedented shocks, such as the COVID-19 lockdown in China, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, food and energy crises, supply-chain disruptions, soaring inflation, and monetary policy tightening, which precipitously impacted the financial markets

Like other emerging and frontier markets, the Nigerian economy faced multi-dimensional challenges during the year. From surging inflation primarily driven by food prices to declining oil output and weakening currency, the prospect for growth diminished as the year wound down.

The earnings of the NSIA Group at the end of 2022 was N96.96 billion, which is 34% less than the N146.98 billion recorded in 2021. This decline was primarily attributable to the performance of our Future Generations and Stabilization portfolios that are invested in emerging and developed financial market instruments.

NSIA’s a well-diversified portfolio continues to provide the resilience to withstand market challenges as evidenced by the results.

Although the Group’s earnings are lower than that of 2021, the NSIA Group said it remains confident in its investment strategy and will continue to explore opportunities to mitigate risks and achieve its investment objectives.

Nigeria Infrastructure Fund (NIF) In 2022, NSIA reached a significant milestone in implementing its infrastructure strategy by delivering key projects. These projects cut across our core sectors of focus and the implementation of specialised federal government initiatives.