WASHINGTON: Courteville Business Solutions Plc has announced a 16 per cent rise in its top line to N1.29 billion for the third quarter ended September 30, 2015 as against N1.11 billion in 2014.
The company said in a statement that it delivered the nine month performance amidst a difficult business environment marked by rising costs, and shrinking margins.
“Courteville, like other businesses in the real sector, has been confronting the challenges of a volatile exchange rate, high borrowing cost, and general uncertainty over economic policies to be implemented by the administration, “the statement added.
Analysis of the company’s accounts showed a steep climb of 207 per cent in interest payable and charges to N117.48 million, demonstrating the exorbitant borrowing costs, as well as its growing reliance on bank funding to finance its operations and expansion.
Its profit after tax declined 18 per cent to N299.78 million, which translated to earnings per share of 7.17 kobo per share, a 31.7 per cent slide.
Commenting on the results, the company’s Group Managing Director, Mr. Adebola Akindele, said: “Across all our businesses, Courteville handled an appreciably higher volume of transactions in the third quarter. Since our businesses are fee- and commission-based, it reflected in the company’s revenue. However, this did not flow down to the bottom line due to factors beyond our control.
“Against our best efforts, the cost of doing business has ballooned as a result of the slide in the value of the naira, the scarcity of FX to pay for the foreign-sourced inputs that are key components of our operations, and unfavourable interest rates. The FX regime has also constrained our ability to send working capital to our foreign operations in Jamaica and Zimbabwe, major planks in our diversification strategy that are potential earners of significant revenues once they take off fully.”
Notwithstanding the headwinds in recent quarters, he expressed his optimism on the economy’s outlook.
He said: “Courteville operates in an economy that is undergoing a difficult transition. But this storm will pass. Our position is that things can only improve from this point forward. The naira appears to have found its floor, and the oil price looks to have hit its support level. Our sense is that the government has taken most of the hard decisions. From what we have seen of the ministerial nominees, President Buhari has chosen a tested-and-tried team that should deliver.
“For businesses like ours, adjustments to the new normal are being made. We are in the process of preparing our corporate budget for 2016, and this new reality has been factored into our scenario planning. Our board is confident that the repositioning we have embarked on would bear good fruit in 2016.”
Courteville is the franchise owner of the AutoReg platform, which handles the documentation and administration of 8 out of every 10 vehicles on Nigerian roads. In addition, the company operates NAPAMS, the online drug registration and monitoring portal used by NAFDAC, and the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database that has been adopted by the Nigerian Insurance Association for hosting valid insurance policies in the country. Courteville is an avid supporter of entrepreneurship as a key to Nigeria’s economic development.
Courteville was recently selected as a mentoring organization for an elite selection of startup founders enrolled at the Pan African University’s Enterprise Development Center under the Ecobank New Venture Initiative.
