He said: “DBA Lite is a product of the erstwhile Diamond bank via the Diamond Business Account (DBA) and that was one of the best products in the market but after the merger, we renamed it as DBA but this innovation; DBA Lite is targeted for the youths who are start-ups, established or growing. This innovation will bring access to digital loans for the youths because that is what we want to do with thi
Etuokwu noted that the digital loan would be in the form of N50,000 to N5 million, adding that entrepreneurs can only access the loan once they meet the requirements.
According to him, Access Bank accounts for over 50 per cent of digital loans in the industry because it is gives such loans at an average of N18,000-N20,000 daily.
“Last year, four million people accessed N100 billion and we are targeting more in 2021. We are growing and we will keep growing because our digital loans are not for the youths only but for small business owners, employees and the rest of them and I am assuring you that we will do double digit this year as that is the plan.
“As we speak, we are averaging N12 billion to N13 billion every month and so we should be somewhere around N60 billion to N70 billion and clearly, we will do more than we did last year,” he said.
Giving more insights into the product, Etuokwu noted that the features of the product includes less documentation, affordability, convenience, access to market, access to finance, access to business loans and access to payment acceptance services.
BUA Cement Plc has revised the closure, qualification and payment dates for the dividend recommended for the year ended December 31, 2020. In a notification to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, the cement manufacturing firm changed the qualification date from July 9 to June 18. The closure date would now be between June 21 and 25, from July 12 and 16, 2021 initially proposed. The payment would be made on July 8 from July 23. 2021.
The company had recommended a dividend of 2.067 per share for the 2020 financial year following its impressive performance.
BUA Cement, which is Nigeria’s second largest cement company, reported a revenue of N209 billion for the year ended December 31, 2020, indicating an increase of 19 per cent above N175.518 billion recorded in 2019. Cost of sales was impacted by the general rise in the cost of doing business to be at N114 billion, compared with N93.1 billion in 2019. Selling and distribution expenses equally pointed north, rising from N11.845 billion to N12.706 billion in 2020.
Administrative expenses reduced from N10.516 billion to N9.472 billion. Also, BUA Cement Plc’s excellent cost management led to a decline of 33 per cent in net financing cost to N3.438 billion in 2020, from N5.192 billion in 2019. As a result, profit before tax (PBT) grew to N79.066 billion in 2020, up from N66.273 billion, while profit after tax (PAT) rose from N60.61 billion to N70.518 billion in 2020
Commenting on the results, the Managing Director, BUA Cement Plc, Yusuf Binji, had said the exceptional performance was a reflection of the continued value and strength of the BUA Cement brand and product offerings as well as a nod to the excellent implementation of the company’s Business Continuity Plan which ensured that the company was able to withstand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic throughout 2020.
Binji had said that despite the prevailing economic conditions in 2020, BUA Cement remained quite optimistic about the future because it afforded it not only with the opportunity to further evolve its business model but also provided an opportunity for accelerated development.
According to him, BUA Cement in 2020 entered strategic alliances for the supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) at its Kalambaina Plant, Sokoto State, and for the management of its mining operations.
“These were deliberate and strategic choices other cost management efforts that expected to ensure that BUA Cement will continue to combine development and innovation into its offerings and activities to drive efficiency, reduce operating costs and maximize profits,” he said.
