United Capital Plc has raised N15 billion under the second tranche of its N20 billion commercial paper (CP) issuance programme. It had in April 2020 raised N5.3 billion under the debut Series 1 and 2.
The latest Series 3, a 270-day issuance, was issued at a yield of 1.26 per cent and had a subscription of some 112 per cent with firm commitments from a pool of institutional investors, particularly asset managers.
The debut Series 1 and 2 issuances, with tenors of 182 days and 270 days respectively, were also subscribed to by individual and institutional investors, with interest significantly tilted towards the 270-day offering.
Group Chief Executive Officer, United Capital Plc, Mr. Peter Ashade said the commercial paper issuance was in line with the company’s bid to diversify its funding sources, strengthen its capital base and intensify its strategic initiatives aimed at providing innovative financing solutions to its clients.
He noted that the latest issuance set another ground-breaking record in the Nigerian capital markets, being the lowest yield on record for a 270-day CP issuance by a non-bank issuer.
Key extracts of the nine-month report for the period ended September 30, 2020 showed that gross earnings rose by 33 per cent from N5.32 billion in third quarter 2019 to N7.07 billion in third quarter 2020. Net operating income grew by 58 per cent from N4.29 billion to N6.76 billion.
Profit before tax increased from N3.27 billion to N4.12 billion while profit after tax rose from N2.75 billion to N3.46 billion. Basic earnings per share increased to 58 kobo in third quarter 2020 compared with 46 kobo recorded in third quarter 2019.
The balance sheet of the finance and investment group also improved considerably with total assets rising by 41 per cent from N150.46 billion recorded by the year ended December 31, 2019 to N211.5 billion by the third quarter 2020. Total liabilities also rose by 46 per cent from N130.88 billion in December 2019 to N191.45 billion in third quarter 2020. Shareholders’ fund increased to N20.08 billion in third quarter 2020 as against N19.59 billion in December 2019.
Top-line growth was driven by appreciable growths across business segments including a 55 per cent increase in investment income, 62 per cent increase in fees and commission income and 61 per cent growth in net trading income.
