Africa Prudential Plc has recorded 32 per cent revenue drop from N870m recorded in the first half of 2019 to N590m in the same period of 2020.
In the unaudited financial statement released on Thursday through the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the company’s gross earnings declined by seven per cent from N2.01bn filed in the corresponding period of 2019 to N1.87bn in the first half of 2020.
Profit Before Tax increased by one per cent to N1.22bn from N1.21bn achieved in the first half of 2019.
This improvement trickled down to Profit After Tax as the company reported five per cent increase in PAT from N1.03bn in H1 2019 to N1.08bn in H1 2020.
The company’s interest income rose by 12 per cent year-on-year to N1.28bn from N1.14bn attained in H1 2019.
Total assets rose by 23 per cent year-on-year from N18.65bn in H1 2019 to N22.89bn. While total liabilities also increased by 44 per cent to N14.97bn from N10.37bn.
Shareholders’ fund declined by four per cent from N8.28bn to N7.92bn during the period under review. Earnings per share improved to 54 kobo from 51 kobo recorded in the same period of 2019.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Africa Prudential, Mr. Obong Idiong, said, “With the continued prevalence of COVID-19 in Q2, the global economy has been drastically affected as evident in the revision of the world economy growth rate projection from -3.0 per cent to -4.9 per cent. Nigeria is not exempted, with the finance minister predicting a shrink in Gross Domestic Products by 8.9 per cent and possible recession in 2020.
“Our Q1 results showed the impact of the pandemic on our business. However, we have been able to put in place structures to help us maximise the current business cycle.
“Through this structure, we were able to achieve an impressive quarter-on-quarter results, increasing gross earnings by 52 per cent and PAT by 144 per cent. We were also able to deliver an improved result year-on-year, growing interest income and PAT by 12 per cent and five per cent respectively.”
According to him, as the company continues to observe measures to ensure the safety of staff and customers, it enhanced its virtual channels to meet customers’ needs, while reducing the need for physical visits significantly.
He added, “As seen in our financials, we recorded some significant improvement in the growth of non-traditional sources of income, as revenue from digital consultancy rose by 94 per cent year-on-year.
“At Africa Prudential, we are driven by the desire to continuously leverage technology to re-define value creation and provide exceptional experience to clients across our various touch points, while generating superior value for our investors.”
