IEI-Anchor Pension has received the approval of its shareholders to increase the company’s share capital from N2.222bn to N3bn.

This, according to the company, is aimed at accommodating the increasing strategic partners’ interests that can help to expand the company’s operations.

A statement from the company on Monday quoted its Managing Director, Mr. Solomon Okoli, as saying the plan was to make the company one of the tier one PFAs in Nigeria – with a minimum of N100bn worth of assets under management.

Okoli, who said IEI Anchor Pension grew its shareholders’ funds from N150m in 2005 to N1.240bn in 2013, explained that the company had been repositioned for better performance as reflected in its the half-year results.

According to the statement, Okoli, who spoke at the company’s first Annual General Meeting in Abuja, believes that the company has overcome its startup challenges and is set for sustainable growth.

He told the shareholders that the company had extended its operations to 30 states, providing services to over 75,000 customers and managing a couple of states’ staff pension.

On the cost of the expansion, he said, “Our expansion may not be profitable immediately, but as we scale up over time, we will get through this and we are already seeing this in 2014. We are already seeing a lot of improvements.”

On the company’s performance in 2013, the Chairman, IEI Anchor-Pension, Mr. Jonathan Zwingina, was quoted as saying asset under management rose by 23.22 per cent in 2013 to N32.3bn, while the company’s customer base increased to 63,574 in 2013 from 53,161 in 2012.

He added that despite the decline in revenue in the year, the company recorded a modest profit after tax of N12.8m.

According to Zwingina, although the figure is lower than the N54m declared for 2012, the company is on track for the third consecutive year of profitability.

He said, “We continue to deliver above industry average return on investment for our account holders and provide a conducive environment for our employees to advance their careers. We are committed to profitable growth without losing sight of our responsibility to our customers.”

He added that the board remained “reasonably optimistic” about the prospects of the company and that the Nigerian pension industry and was determined to take bold steps to realise the aspirations of stakeholders in the coming years.

Punch