eTranzact International Plc’ innovative products and aggressive market penetration across the spectrum is responsible for leading provider of mobile banking and payments services stellar performance last year as the company seeks to take advantage of rising number of smartphone users in African’s largest economy.
For the year ended December 2015, eTranzact’s net income increased by 72.09 percent to N704.47 million from N407.56 million as at December 2014.
Sales were up by 22.09 percent to N8.67 billion as the company’s aggressive expansion bolsters the top lines.
The firm which facilitates mobile banking services of 11 banks through its mobile switching platform is pivotal and instrumental to the adoption of mobile money in Nigeria.
In 2015, the company and Bizi Mobile launched a project to improve and empower Kano State ecommerce business with a view to providing an avenue for active participation of the private sector in economic development, job creation and alleviate poverty in northern Nigeria largest city.
That same year, eTranzact, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain announced an agreement to make international remittances services available to millions of consumers in Nigeria.
According to the World Bank Migration and Remittances Brief, Nigeria is the largest remittance market in Africa and the fifth largest in the world, attracting $21billion in remittances in 2014, which contributed four per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Data from the National population Commission (NPC) shows Nigeria youth population will hit N73.1 million by 2020, this means mobile telecommunication companies have a large market to tap into.
Africa’s biggest economy had about 149 million active mobile-phone lines as of end January, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The firm which has been recording double digit growth in earnings since 2013, recorded a 60.33 percent increase in gross profit to N2.47 billion; this means the company is efficient in managing direct costs attributable to projects.
Also, its gross profit margins moved to 26.86 percent in December 2015 from 21.72 percent as at December 2014.Cost of sales ratio fell to 70.35 percent to 78.35 percent in the period under review as against 78.35 percent as at December 2014.
The cost analysis means the company is spending less to produce each unit of product.
eTranzact’s was able to translate top line upward trajectory to bottom line growth as net margin, a measure of profitability and efficiency, jumped to 8.11 percent in December 2015 from 5.74 percent as at December 2014.
Additionally, Earnings per share (EPS) increased to 17k per share in December 2015 from 10k as at December 2014.
The strong margins make the company’s shares attractive to investors who crave for firms that maximize owner’s value.
The company has utilized the resources of shareholders in generating higher profit as return on equity (ROE) rose to 20.28 percent in December 2015 compared with 13.65 percent as at December 2014.
Its share price closed at N3.23 on the floor of the exchange while market capitalization was N13.56 billion.
BALA AUGIE
