BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

Aso Savings and Loans Plc, a mortgage finance bank has said that it intends to raise N5billion from the capital market, as it declares a profit before tax of N1.9billion in its 2010/11 financial reports.

This was disclosed by the Chairman, Board of Directors, Abdul Mukhtar during the company’s 12th & 13th Annual General Meeting held simultaneously in Abuja which was attended by its shareholders was witnessed by representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria, representative of the Nigerian Stock exchange and representatives of other industry regulatory bodies.

According to Mukhtar, ASO Savings & Loans has published better than anticipated full year figures for its financial year 2010/11, reflecting an interesting parallel with many deposit money banks in the same time period; the results reflect a robust improvement upon an immediate preceding year largely characterized by substantial loan loss provisioning.

Explaining further, the Board Chairman disclosed that in 2010/11, “the bank achieved growth virtually in all indicators but most reassuringly in an emphatic return to profitability after a substantial loss in the previous year”, Mukhtar said.

In the 2010/11 operating results, the bank’s Profit Before Taxation (PBT) stood at N1.9billion and Profit After Taxation stood at N1.2billion,These results were over 160% and 137% higher respectively than in the 2009/2010. Gross earnings at just over N11.0 billion, translates to 9.9% improvement year-on-year (Y-o-y) and represents modest but marked growth after relatively flat performances in the previous year.

“Return on shareholders’ funds at 40% is substantial and a rough proxy measure of the bank’ significant viability compared with its estimated total cost of funds in the early to mid teens”, Mukhtar explained. He commended the management of the financial institution for stirring the organisation aright in the face of the significant operating and market challenges.

“Our management team has given real leadership to the company and has driven financial and operational success within a strong culture of team work and integrity. It is this team-work that has created the results that we have seen and will ensure our continued success in the future”, Mukhtar concluded

In his own statement, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of ASO Savings & Loans Plc, Hassan Musa Usman, expressed his joy at returning the bank to profitability in the last financial year, compared to the previous year.

Speaking to the shareholders and others at the AGM, Musa Usman said; “as an organisation, we have made considerable progress in 2010/11, delivering good growth in our core business, returning to profitability and reducing the risk in the business. The integration of a fully fledged Enterprise Risk Management Division has enabled the business make robust its lending strategy and ensure we have the right framework to support our business growth.

“The successful execution of our strategy demands us to focus on core markets, on customer engagement, on cost leadership, on capital efficiency and on a prudent risk and funding profile. These attributes should enable our organisation to deliver earnings growth and shareholder value whilst achieving our aim of becoming a leading financial service provider by year 2012”, Musa Usman emphasized.

The managing Director further revealed that in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s guidelines for Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMI) to have a minimum of N5billion capital, they are seeking to go beyond the CBN’s requirement, adding that they are planning to raise N5billion in the next few months and N10Billion by the end of June next year. “Our plan is to raise the capital through the combination of right and social private placements to select social investors”.

Speaking on behalf of the shareholders, Sunny Nwosu, Chairman, Shareholders Association of Nigeria, thanked the management of the company for been able to bring back the organisation to profitability in the face of the current harsh economic condition that the nation is grappling with.

Nwosu enjoined the management to be more focus especially in the area of risk management so that shareholders will be able to smile with some good dividends by the next AGM.