WATCH THE VIDEO HERE Nigerian financial services provider VFD Group Plc impressed its shareholders with an 84.45 per cent improvement in its gross earnings in the 2024 fiscal year after making strategic investments in financial services, fintech, asset management, real estate, logistics, and capital markets. In the financial statements released to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, the company recorded N83.21 billion as gross earnings in FY 2024, higher than the N45.11 billion achieved in FY 2023. It was observed that investment and similar income accounted for 85.54 per cent of the gross earnings with N71.17 billion versus N34.28 billion a year earlier, indicating a 107.62 per cent growth. VFD attributed this to incomes from divestments, interest income from treasury activities, loans, advances and placements, and dividend income. Further analysis of the results revealed that other income contributed 11.24 per cent to the gross earnings in the period under review with N9.35 billion compared with the N7.16 billion recorded in the preceding financial year. This was majorly impacted by income from logistics and hospitality businesses, fair value gain on Investment property, and foreign exchange gains. Business Post reports that the decision of the management to increase the staff strength to meet the increased level of business activities as well as salaries review to retain the staff raised the total expenses in the year by 49.49 per cent to N19.75 billion from N13.21 billion in the previous year. A look at this line item showed that personnel expenses gulp 23.24 per cent of the total expenses after taking N4.59 billion versus N3.39 billion in FY 2023. The organisation ended the year with a net profit of N10.41 billion compared with about N750 million in the preceding year after a payment of N2.05 billion as taxes versus N270.00 million a year earlier. “In 2024, the group demonstrated a robust financial performance, underscoring the effectiveness of our investment strategy and the resilience of our business model. “Strategic investments and divestments drove a significant increase in earnings and profitability during the year. “We reinforced financial resilience, expanded our investment portfolio, and strengthened our governance framework, all while embracing digital innovation,” the chief executive, Mr Nonso Okpala, stated. “Looking ahead to 2025, we are committed to capitalizing on emerging opportunities across Africa and the Western World, while consistently delivering long-term value for our shareholders, leveraging innovation, strategic partnerships, and disciplined execution to sustain our market leadership,” he added.