NOVA Merchant Bank records N510.58m profit in first year

NOVA Merchant Bank Limited, a newly licensed merchant bank, broke even in its first year of operations with a profit of N510.58 million.

Key extract of the audited report and accounts of NOVA Merchant Bank for the eight-month period ended December 31, 2017 showed that the wholesale and investment banking firm recorded gross earnings of N1.22 billion and profit of N510.58 million. Total assets stood at N17.99 billion while shareholders’ funds totalled N16.51 billion. With a marked and strategic approach towards cost-savings and maximization, the merchant bank’s operating expenses stood at N743.39 million.

The results set NOVA Merchant Bank, which commenced operations in 2017, on a strong start with many analysts expecting the uptrend to continue in 2018 as the wholesale bank continues to expand its products and services.

Chairman, NOVA Merchant Bank, Mr. Phillips Oduoza, attributed the performance of the merchant bank to the dedication of its staff and the exquisite resources deployed by the bank noting that the bank had assembled a team of professionals and has been building state of the art technology to drive innovative products and services in realization of its vision of being Africa’s preferred financial solutions provider.

According to him, it is expected that the size of the bank’s balance sheet will provide a strong foundation to support the growth of its business and rapidly growing client base.

He added that the results showed impressive work based on the strong foundation which the company laid at the beginning of its operations.

Managing Director, NOVA Merchant Bank, Chinedu Ikwudinma, said the 2017 performance was achieved by the commitment to the bank’s core values of uniqueness, passion, leadership, integrity, fairness and teamwork.

“NOVA is positioned to bring transformative advantage to our customers in keeping with our vision ‘To be Africa’s preferred financial solutions provider’. We are deploying the systems, services and personnel to make this happen and are excited about the future we envision for ourselves and our clients,” Ikwudinma said.

He pointed out that NOVA Merchant Bank will focus on wholesale banking by offering trade services, project financing, cash management, corporate solutions, advisory services and a wide range of investment banking services including mergers and acquisition, advisory services, securities and trading, wealth and asset management as well as debt and equity capital management.