Arnold Parker
A leading financial services company in Ghana, afb Ghana Plc, has recorded significant improvement in its profit before tax for the 2016 financial year.
Managing Director Arnold Parker, who disclosed this recently in Accra when his outfit took its turn at the ‘Facts Behind The Figures’ session at the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), said profit before tax increased by GH¢7 million, with a 30 percent growth in the loan book, representing over 300 percent increase for the business.
Mr Parker further indicated that afb Ghana was sold to Letshego Holdings Limited, a Botswana based financial services group with presence in 10 other African countries during the period.
He added that Letshego has a strategic intent to become Africa’s leading inclusive finance group.
“The transaction has been approved by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and is currently pending the approval of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).”
Head of Finance and Administration at afb Ghana, Ibrahim Obosu, speaking at the event, stated that the steady improvement in revenue was supported by the introduction of new innovative products, expansion of branch network and the rigorous measures put in place to control expenses.
Interest income for 2016 increased by 16 percent, with provision decreasing by 14 percent year-on-year.
Afb Ghana’s operating income shot up by 45 percent, as compared to the previous year.
This obviously accounted for the strong performance of the company.
“We are confident about 2017 and the business prospects for the remaining financial year. We will continue to focus on balance sheet growth and profitability in 2017, with special attention on the introduction of more innovative products and technologically driven sales channels on the market.”
It would be recalled that afb Ghana listed on the Ghana Alternative Market (GAX) in 2015 to restructure its balance sheet.
As a non-bank financial institution providing innovative financial services products to both public and private sector salaried workers through its 25 branches nationwide, afb Ghana is one of the largest payroll lenders in Ghana, with a portfolio of over 80,000 customers.