United Capital Pre-tax Profit Rises To N18.73bn In 9 Months

United Capital Plc grew profit before tax by 93 per cent year-on-year to N18.73 billion in its unaudited financial results for the period ended September 30, 2024.

The company’s third quarter (Q3) results released on the Nigerian Exchange Limited revealed that profit after tax rose by 89 per cent to N15.98 billion in nine months, 2024, compared to N8.47 billion in 2023, while earnings per share stood at N3.55, compared to N1.88 in nine months, 2023.

Gross earnings grew by 61 per cent year-on-year to N28.17 billion in September 2024 compared to N17.51 billion in September 2023 largely driven by growth in Fee and commission income, net trading income and other income.

Also, operating expenses increased by 35 per cent to N11.14 billion in 2024, as against N8.26 billion in 2023. United Capital’s total assets rose by 36 per cent year-to-date to N1.26 trillion in September 2024 compared to N931.95 billion in December 2023.

Shareholders’ funds grew by 27 per cent year-to-date to N115.03 billion in September 2024 compared to N90.71 billion in December 2023 majorly driven by 44 per cent year-to-date growth in fair value reserve.

Speaking on the Group’s performance, the Group chief executive officer of United Capital, Peter Ashade said, “the Group recorded an impressive performance in Q3, 2024 despite the challenging and uncertain business environment characterised by rising inflationary trend, volatile currency exchange rate amid the fast-changing macroeconomic landscape.”

He added that “our performance is a testament to the resilience of our business model, strong risk management culture and effective execution of our well-crafted strategies.

“The group delivered gross earnings of N28.17 billion with 61 per cent year-on-year growth, profit before tax of N18.73 billion on the back of a strong year-on-year growth of 93 per cent, and shareholders’ value improved by 27 per cent from N90.71 billion to N115.03 billion. In September, we successfully led the historic issuance of Nigeria’s first-ever Domestic FGN US Dollar Bond, raising over $900 million and achieving an outstanding 180 per cent subscription rate.”

He also said, “through our focused business development initiative, we launched UCee Microfinance Bank making the business our seventh subsidiary.”

Ashade stated that, “as we proceed into the last quarter of the year, we are determined to sustain this performance with focus on delivering superior value to our shareholders. We remain committed to our vision of being the leading investment and finance hub across Africa, deploying innovation and technology to exceed client expectations.”