Diamond Bank maintains stable growth in 2016 half-year performance

ITRealms:

Diamond Bank Plc has maintained stable growth in the half year (H1) 2016 performance scorecard, despite harsh macroeconomic outlook, reports ITRealms.

The Chief Executive Officer, Uzoma Dozie, said Thursday while formally releasing the bank’s H1 2016 performance scorecard at the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), said it demonstrated considerable growth in key financial parameters.

Just as industry analysts had forecasted sluggish growth due to the harsh macroeconomic outlook, but the interim report and accounts of the bank for the first six months of the year surpassed industry expectations as total comprehensive income rose by 13.3 per cent year on year to N16.3 billion as against N14.4 billion recorded in comparable period of 2015. Non-interest income surged by 33.4% to N26.5 billion, reflecting the successful efforts targeted at improving this income line and also the focused strategy of management, which were sharpened at improving digital functionality and widening financial inclusion.

Also Dozie said that the bank’s Profit Before Tax (PBT) remained modest and stable at N10.5 billion while Profit After Tax (PAT) stood at N9.1 billion, thus meeting shareholders’ expectation for the period under review and showcasing the strategic strength of the management creatively configured to surmount the turbulent macroeconomic environment and the tough regulatory framework facing the financial services sub-sector.

Diamond Bank, ITRealms gathered, improved on its credit creation by 28.6 per cent as loans and advances to customers grew from N763.6 billion in the same period last business year to N982.3 billion. Also, loans to other banks jumped by 30.7 per cent to N78.5 billion in H1 2016 from N60.1 billion in the corresponding period last year, while its retail customers grew to over 13 million with 7 million of these opening accounts in the last 2 years. Also, the Banks digital leadership in the financial services sub-sector gained ascendency as its Diamond Mobile Apps usage increased from 1.6 million to 5.1 million while volume increased from 1.3 billion to 5.5 billion year on year.

The Bank further said, it sustained a strong top line growth with the asset base surging to N1.970 trillion from N1.753 trillion in the same period last year, representing 12.4 per cent increase.

Dozie, pointed out that despite the economic headwind, the Bank would remain resilient and sustain the positive growth throughout H2.

According to him, the Bank’s strong liquidity and capital adequacy ratios plus its digital transformation have rightly positioned it to meet customer obligations and offer service deliveries that are beyond banking.

“With the domestic economy contracting, the Nigerian banking industry has faced a number of challenges over the last six months. Nevertheless, in the first half of 2016, we have remained resilient in weathering these headwinds and there are real bright spots in our income streams, as well as noteworthy cost reduction, which gives us confidence going into the second half of the year. Due to actions taken and an ongoing prudent approach, our regulatory capital remains strong. This position of strength helped offset the one-off impact of the recent devaluation of the naira, as acknowledged by Fitch Ratings when they affirmed our B rating with a stable outlook. Liquidity of the bank also remains high and is well above the guidance ratio stipulated by CBN,” he said.

Dozie equally noted that although year-on-year impairment charge grew by 45.6 per cent to N19.0 billion, reflecting the Bank’s continuation of prudent provisioning, which is aimed at strengthening performance in the years ahead; its operating costs and interest expense are shrunk by 10.7 per cent and 27.5 per cent, respectively compared to H1 2015, reflecting success of the cost control initiative and low cost deposit strategy.

Remmy Nweke/ED, Ops

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OLX, Diamond unveil ‘Do It For Me’ service

ITRealms:

Online classifieds leading site in Nigeria, OLX.com.ng has unveiled a premium product tagged ‘Do It For Me’ (DIFM) on Diamond Bank’s Tech Turks, reports ITRealms.

Speaking at the occasion, Diamond Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Uzoma Dozie, said DIFM helps users manage the posting and selling of items on the website.

“Users who have no time to post, meet with potential buyers or want their privacy protected can entrust the sale of their goods to the OLX Champs who are sales experts,” says Lola Masha, Country Manager, OLX Nigeria.

She explained that DIFM service comes in two forms, namely “Post It For Me (P.I.F.M)’ where the OLX sales champs manage the posting of items for users on the site and Sell It For Me (S.I.F.M), where the entire process is managed from posting the item to actively finding potential buyers until the item is sold.”

D.I.F.M, she equally said comes with a minimal fee for OLX users and the product is only available in Lagos but there are plans to extend in other parts of the country. Interested users can apply for it here.

Daan Sanders, CEO Middle East & Africa, OLX said during an interview on Tech Turks that “D.I.F.M is another innovative way our platform makes life easier and safer for our users”. 

Also, he said, their number one priority in Nigeria is trust, safety and with the help of OLX Champs people who are skeptical about using the platform could be rest assured that the OLX champs will manage the posting and sale of the item for them.

“We continuously reinvent the classifieds business model to fit the local market. The DIFM model is convenient, will keep our users safe and help buyers and sellers close deals quickly,” Sanders said.

ITRealms notes that OLX is the world's leading classifieds platform in growth markets and is available in more than 45 countries and over 50 languages. OLX connects local people to buy, sell or exchange used goods and services by making it fast and easy for anyone to post an ad through the mobile app. Every month, hundreds of millions of people in local markets around the world use OLX's online marketplace to find and sell a wide range of products, including vehicles, electronics, phones and much more.

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Pix: L-R: Daan Sanders, CEO Middle East & Africa, OLX, Lola Masha, Country Manager, OLX and Uzoma Dozie, CEO Diamond Bank at the launch of OLX Do it for me on Diamond's TV Tech Turks in Lagos, recently. 

Lord’s Chosen pastor killed, gunmen disappear with N3m church money

 ITRealms

The Lagos State Coordinator of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, Pastor Chukwuemeka Okpokpo, was on Monday shot dead by armed bandits at Apple Junction,Amuwo Odofin in the state, ITRealms reports.

The gunmen, according to information, used a motorcycle and trailed the deceased from a Diamond Bank branch, where he had withdrawn N3 million for the church.

ITRealms gathered that the gunmen fired sporadically into the air, sending other road users and passers-by scampering for safety. The reports added that Pastor Okpokpo had attempted to escape when it became obvious that he was the target. Eventually, he slowed down on reaching a bad spot on the road, and the criminal elements shot at the tyres of the Chosen vehicle he was driving, bringing the vehicle to a halt instantly.

The gunmen then walked to the vehicle and shot Pastor Okpokpo in the stomach. Acording to Vanguard report, the robbers had made sure that Okpokpo was no longer breathing before they took the nylon bag containing the money, went back to the motorbike and zoomed off.

When news of the tragedy filtered into the church, those who knew him wept uncontrollably, dispelling the report as rumour, while some said he was still in Ogun State, where he had gone to organize a crusade.

ITRealms learnt that a prayer session aimed at resurrecting him held between 12.30p.m.and 8p.m.Some of the church members were, however, of the view that the gunmen could have been hired assassins and not robbers.

However,the Lagos State Police Command stated that it had begun investigation into the murder, adding that it was too early to say if it was a case of robbery or assassination.A police source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “We are leaving all avenues open in our investigation.”

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE 

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