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Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), africa’s leading infrastructure multilateral development finance institution maintained its strong financial and operational performance as the company recorded a net profit of $100.3 million in full year 2017.
Andrew Alli, ceo of AFC said 2017 has seen a robust performance in the face of challenging conditions, despite a year marked by fiscal challenges, fewer bankable projects, and a market-wide reduction in terms of investment as AFC delivered strong underlying results.
“It has been a great privilege to lead a team that is driven by this purpose. In its first decade, AFC has grown profit from $4.4 million to $100.3 million an approximately 20-fold increase, paid aggregate dividends of $304.4 million to its shareholders and elevated the Corporation to the second-best rated lending institution in Africa,” ceo of AFC.
In 2017, the company recorded a 21 percent year on year growth to $4.2billion in total assets, while net interest income increase by 21 percent to $142.7 million.
Also, commission, dividend and other income increased by 36 percent to $29.7 million however the company also recorded an all-time low cost to income ratio of 19 percent while its liquidity position stood at $1.5 billion in 2017.
The finance corporation, the first African multilateral finance institution to issue a Sukuk bond, which is the highest rated by an African supranational entity, raising $500m 7-year Eurobond that was 5 times oversubscribed furthermore recorded a total income of $109.2 million as the company operations also expands.
“Operationally, AFC also maintained its momentum, welcoming Kenya, Zambia and Benin as new member states, pioneering innovative funding instruments such as our oversubscribed Sukuk, and continuing to enable numerous successful infrastructure projects that will transform the economies we invest in,” ceo of AFC said.
AFC, who is also the first multilateral institution investor in January 2018 also recorded three new member states in 2017 making a total of with 18 Member States as Malawi is also set to join in 2018.
Malawi’s accession also supports AFC’s membership expansion strategy into Southern Africa, which signed its letter of adherence on 8th March 2018. Other member states include: Benin, Cape Verde; Chad; Côte d’Ivoire; Djibouti; Gabon;
Gambia; Ghana; Guinea-Bissau; Guinea-Conakry; Kenya; Liberia; Nigeria; Rwanda; Uganda; Sierra Leone and Zambia.
The company recorded some significant transactions in 2017 which include the Anergi transaction, a joint venture with Harith General Partners creating a power company with a 1,786MW gross energy generation capacity that will supply reliable energy to about 30 million people in 5 countries.
AFC also Led an international consortium to invest $205 million in Bel-Air bauxite mining in Guinea-Conakry, one of the largest foreign investments in the country since the 2014 Ebola crisis.
The company recorded additional Equity investors in 2017, while also inaugurating two ports built in record time by Gabon Special Economic Zone, an AFC investee company while the mineral and general-purpose port at Owendo will enable the diversification of the Gabonese economy.
“With the balance sheet and track record in place to deliver infrastructure financing that will help Africa to fulfil its potential, AFC is well placed for its next decade of growth, to the benefit for all its stakeholders,” ceo of AFC concluded.
DIPO OLADEHINDE
