Safetrust Declares N150.6m Profit Before Tax

Fadekemi Ajakaiye

Safetrust Mortage Bank Limited has declared an impressive N150.6m profit before tax (PBT) for the financial year ended 2015 representing an increase of 41.8 percent on the figure for the previous financial year on the account audited by Messrs KPMG. The declaration was made by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Akin O. Opeodu in an address issued at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Mortgage Bank held at Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos on the 7th day of June, 2016.

Also declared by Opeodu was gross earnings of N1.8billion and total assets which stood at N9billion the while the shareholders’ funds stood at N2.8billion representing 1.52 percent growth over the previous financial year’s figure of N2.75billion. Following the impressive performance, the shareholders are to be rewarded with a good chunk of the profit, N84,337,500 as dividend at 5k per share.

Regarding the business outlook in the country, Opeodu said that, “we are continuously optimistic on the outlook of the 2016 financial year. Whilst business and customer confidence remain fragile, the level of activity and Government’s commitment to improving the real sector gives a base for the growth of the Nigerian economy”. But he warned that the country needed “to brace up for likely shocks by developing the appropriate resilience to such risks”.

The Chairman also advised that, “to ensure a sustained economic uplift, the 2016 FGN Budget must be fully implemented”, positing that “lower interest rate regime should be put in place to support economic activities, reform our Governance structure, improve on the efficiencies of our labour market and simplify our process for doing business.”

To brace up for better performance in 2016, he stressed that Safetrust had taken steps to diversify the revenue base while leveraging inherent opportunities in the outlook for continuous revenue growth. He maintained that the Mortgage Bank would also continue to strengthen its risk management capabilities to ensure effective mitigation of existing risk factors in their domestic operations.

Safetrust is managed by a 9-man Board of Directors that also has Mr. Yinka Adeola as Managing Director whose voluntary retirement was announced by the Chairman at the AGM while Mr. Akintayo Oloko, an Executive Director of the Bank was appointed by the Board as the new Managing Director.