The Central Securities Clearing System Plc completed transactions worth N279.2bn in the three months ended March 31, 2014, a figure that represents a 1.9 per cent increase year-on-year.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, CSCS, Mr. Kyari Bukar, disclosed this at an investors’ forum organised by the company in Lagos on Wednesday.

The CSCS, which provides central securities depository and sub-registry services for the Nigerian capital markets, said it had recorded sustained growth over the years.

A review of the company’s financials from 2010 to 2014 by the MD showed that it had recorded significant growth across key metrics.

For instance, within the period, he said the revenue grew by 92 per cent, expenses declined by 7.6 per cent, shareholders’ funds rose by 75.3 per cent, while expense to revenue ratio dropped from 61.3 per cent to 29.5 per cent.

In terms of earnings and dividend per share, Bukar told investors that in the four years between 2010 and 2014, the CSCS’s earnings per share rose by 268 per cent from 25 kobo to 92 kobo in 2014, while dividend per share grew by 80 per cent from 15 kobo to 27 kobo in 2014. The company proposed a dividend payout of N1.35bn for 2014, translating into 27 kobo per share and subject to the approval of its shareholders at its Annual General Meeting.

The CSCS MD told investors at the event that the company had over the years continued to improve its processes to ensure better services and to mitigate risks.

He added the company had continued to engage its shareholders and engage in employee training and development, while playing a key role in the development of financial market infrastructure and the capital market as a whole.

According to him, the CSCS, which is a member of several associations including the West African Capital Market Integration Council and the World Forum of Central Securities Depositories, has also continued to expand its services.

For instance, this year, it introduced biometrics enrolment and verification system to mitigate incidence of identity theft.

The Chief Financial Officer, CSCS, Mr. Vincent Ukoh, who presented a five-year review of the company’s financial performance at the investors’ forum, noted that despite the economic challenges of 2014, the company achieved growth during the year.

He said, “Amidst the harsh economic challenges that impacted the market and CSCS business, your company’s operating income increased by 18.69 per cent, while the profit before tax and profit after tax increased by 19.39 per cent and 23.64 per cent respectively in comparison to 2013.”

Ukoh said the introduction of new rules regarding the trading and transfer of shares of unlisted public companies was expected to impact positively on the company’s bottom line.

In terms of the future, the CSCS MD said the company was considering the establishment of central counterparty, provision of platform for market makers to have access to securities lending agents for securities and cash, reduction of settlement cycle from T+3 to T + 2, and 100 per cent dematerialisation.

Punch