Business Briefs
By Sebastine Obasi, Dike Onwuamaeze, and Kazeem Akintunde
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Reward for Growth
For its impressive performance, Intercontinental Bank has won the growth Award of Postilion, a United States based provider of integrated solutions for self-service banking and payment processing. The bank got this recognition due to its record of the highest percentage growth in transaction volumes over the past year.
Other Nigerian banks that won awards from Postilion are United Bank for Africa which received the "Award for Adoption," for its adoption of electronic fund transfer, while Bank PHB, got "Award for Achievement," for showing the greatest improvement in ranking based on transaction volumes in the past year. "The Award for Operations" went to Guaranty Trust Bank, for its consistency in operations management. First Bank got the "Award for Innovation."
Positilion is a provider of world-class e-payment. It has offices in five continents, serving customers in more than 50 countries. Its client base ranges from small banks sometimes running a single ATM to the largest independent operator of ATMs in the United States of America, driving more than 25,000 ATMs.
On Strategic Expansion
For First Bank of Nigeria PLC, FBN, 2008 was a good financial year. During the financial year which ended on March 31, the bank’s gross earnings grew by 64.7 percent from N79.30 billion in 2007 to N130.60 billion in 2008. The bank’s total balance sheet plus contingent liabilities also rose by 52.3 percent from its N895.62 billion showing in the preceding year to N1.36 trillion in the period under review.
It also recorded 72.1 percent increase in profit before taxation from N22.10 billion achieved in 2007 to N38.02 billion in 2008. Based on these achievements the bank announced the payment of N1.20 dividend per share against the N1 it paid in the preceding year. This represents a total dividend payment of N23.87 billion to its shareholders.
Umaru Abdul Mutallab, chairman of FBN board, said he was delighted that the bank was able to record such achievement in spite of the tough competitive operating environment during the year.
Jacob Ajekigbe, managing director of FBN, said that the bank recorded the success due to its increased lending to the private sector, successful public offer, good performances posted by its subsidiaries and the strategic expansion of the bank’s branch network. FBN’s branch network increased by 45 outlets to 453 at the end of March 2008. Said he: "With competition imperatives and the market’s buyer values clearly indicating that business locations will be material to winning the battle for larger portions of the customers’ wallets, the subtle shift in focus to branches which became discernible a couple of years back, has blossomed into an all-out contest for real estate locations close to customers."
He also disclosed that the bank introduced additional 141 ATMs as part of its objectives of enhancing customer’s convenience and effective electronic payment system.
The group’s total balance sheet plus contingent liabilities increased by 65.8 percent from N1.26 trillion in 2007 to N2.08 trillion in 2008. The group’s shareholders’ fund also grew by 325.3 percent to close at N355.63 billion compared with N83.63 billion in the previous year. First Bank group’s gross earnings also rose by 70.4 percent to N155.29 billion against the N91.16 billion in the preceding year.
Payment Made Easy
The Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue, BIR, is set to revolutionlise the mode of payment to the state government. Last week, Babatunde Raji Fashola the state governor, launched a new electronic device known as Lagos State Revenue Network and e-pay.
The device, a smart card could store, retrieve, manipulate, transmit or receive information electronically in a digital form. The new device is a broadband network infrastructure and connectivity solutions using stable and highly available Wide Area Network, WAN, VSAT, microwave and fibre optics.
Babatunde Fowler, chairman of BIR, said that the card would facilitate the introduction of e-payment, as Lagosians would now be able to make all payments required of them to the state such as water rates, traffic fines and court fines. Each resident of the state, he said, could apply for the card, which can then be loaded with funds at any bank and used to make payment to the state government as and when necessary. He also said that the card has the potential of being used as a state identity card, driver’s licence and tax card.
Aside from e-pay, the new ICT network will also enable surveillance cameras that will transmit live pictures, which will be installed in strategic locations in the state for effective traffic and security control. Governor Fashola had a year ago, assembled a team of experts to look into how information technology could be used to make the functions of government more modern, efficient and cost effective. "We have to adopt modern methods to deliver cost-effective services to our people," Fashola said.
Good Year for Ekocorp
By Emmanuel Uffot
Ekocorp PLC has announced a turn over of N532.7million for its 2007 financial year. The amount which represents an increase of 16.4 percent from N457.6million recorded in 2006 was brought to the purview of its teeming shareholders at the company’s 15th annual general meeting held recently in Lagos.
According to Sonny Kuku, chairman of Ekocorp, the company’s operating profit also grew from N83 million in 2006 to N87 million in 2007. Specifically, profit after tax appreciated by 10 percent as it hit N72.157 million during the year under review from the previous year’s figure of N65.610 million. Following the improved result, Ekocorp board has proposed N58, 290,136 for payment of a recommended dividend of 15 kobo per share for 2007. The sum represents an increase of 16.7 percent from the 2006 figure of N49, 962,974.
Kuku also intimated shareholders that the healthcare institution would soon go to the capital market to source for funds to enable it to accomplish some of its major projects like the development of an international hospital on Victoria Island, Lagos, construction of Eko Hospital in Abuja and creation of new sub-specialties and products.
In order to reposition the healthcare group, the board okayed the appointment of Alexandar Ifi as the new chief executive officer. She is to serve as head of administration. Joseph Sanusi, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has also joined the board of the company.
EKOCORP PLC formerly EKO Hospital, was incorporated in 1994. It started as Mercy Specialist Hospital in 1977 before becoming EKO hospital in 1982. The hospital became a public liability Company in 1991.
CHI Secure Water
CHI Limited, one of the leading confectionery and food drinks manufacturers, will on Tuesday, September 16, introduce its brand of packaged mineral water into the market. The product named CHI Secure Water will be launched at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos.
According Vincent Beri, chief operating officer of the company, the product was test launched in February this year to gauge the level of acceptance and response which was found to be overwhelming. Beri stressed that the desire of people for clean water informed the company’s venture into the production of pure natural mineral water.
Beri also pointed out that CHI Limited had always placed premium on research since its priority is to give the best to its millions of consumers. The product comes in Aseptic Tetra Pak with zero bacteria in one litre pack.
CHI Limited is the manufacturer of Hollandia brand of milk, yoghurt and caprisone juice.
Confronting the Odds
Cecilia Ibru, managing director of Oceanic Bank International PLC, has urged Nigerian women to strive to break the barrier impeding their growth so that they could fully utilise their God given potentials for their benefits in the society. Ibru’s position was conveyed in her paper on "Gender Diversity" at the African regional diversity conference held in Abuja.
She decried the prevalent artificial and organisational barriers placed on the path of career women which she noted, prevented most of them from achieving their best. She lamented that the existence of a ceiling for women has accounted for the lopsidedness in the number of women and men occupying top positions in organisations and institutions.
According to the chief executive, women who pursue a career that is regarded as reserved for men get to a point where they seem unable to progress beyond.
She said there must be a conscious effort to hire more women at every level to facilitate the access of women to management positions stressing that this had become imperative given the success of some women like herself, Ndi Okereke-Onyuike of the NSE, Kuforiji Olubi, former chairman of old UBA and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who have risen to the pinnacles of their careers.
Ibru is the only woman heading a bank in Nigeria after the landmark consolidation exercise that pegged the number of banks to 25 from more than 80.
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