FSDH Holding has posted N5.8bn profit before tax for the year ended December 31, 2019.
The firm disclosed this in a recent statement during its first Annual General Meeting under its new financial holding structure as it closed with total assets of N125bn.
Gross earnings grew marginally to N25.6bn, which was 10 per cent above the N23.25bn reported in 2018.
Based on the performance, shareholders at the meeting approved a dividend of 50 kobo per share for the financial year.
The new structure had birthed FSDH Holding Company Limited in 2019, a non-operating financial holding company regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria and now parent company to diverse financial institutions with footprints in banking, asset management, stockbroking & financial advisory, and pension fund administration sectors of the economy.
In his address, the Chairman of FSDH Holding Company Limited, Hakeem Belo-Osagie, said the group set out with the ambitious vision of becoming Africa’s leading financial asset aggregator with a smart Pan-African footprint, and a mission to improve outcomes for customers and subsidiaries while delivering value for shareholders.
He attributed the slowdown in the Nigerian and global economies to the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that the restriction of economic activities and social distancing policies combined with the oil price crash, will lead to diminishing growth for the Nigerian economy.
Citing FSDH’s projections, he said the economic growth might decline by 5.9 per cent in 2020 if the pandemic is not contained and the federal government-CBN-led stimulus measures are not fully implemented.
Belo-Osagie pointed out that low investor confidence as a result of dollar shortage, and the volatility of equity markets all reinforce the need for the company’s restructuring.
In line with the overall restructuring, the chairman specified that the employment of Funso Doherty as the new chief executive officer of its pensions business, Pensions Alliance Limited, and the appointment of Tolu Osinibi to lead its FSDH Capital Limited subsidiary were strategic hires made early in the current financial year.
