Shareholders of FCMB Group Plc today at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) approved a dividend of N1.98 billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2017.
The investors, who commended the Board and management of the bank for innovatively repositioning the lender at the leading edge of the nation’s financial market, also thumped up the board for consistent dividend payment and adding value to investors’ funds on sustainable basis.
Speaking at the meeting, the National Coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Boniface Okezie, lauded the profitability over the bank and urged the company’s management to work very hard to sustain the trend.
The investment analyst assured the Board and management of the shareholders’ cooperation and advised the management to continue to adherence to regulatory guidelines on banking operations at all times.
The former National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu, expressed shareholders’ grouse with the levy being imposed on banks by the Asset Management Corporation (AMCON), saying that the N5.66 billion AMCON levy paid by the company in 2017 is unacceptable to the shareholders.
The company’s Chairman, Oladipupo Jadesimi, told the shareholders that the Board would continue to shore up the bank’s capital base through profit retention in preparation for the growth opportunities expected as the economy recovers.
Jadesimi thanked the shareholders for their continuous support, saying “although, we met a number of challenges as a Group in 2017, I am pleased to say that we were able to surmount them, thanks to the commitment of all the personnel of our Group companies.”
Similarly, the FCMB Group’s Chief Executive, Ladi Balogun, said the group’s performance was an improvement over the previous year in spite of the reduction in headline numbers.
Balogun listed the key drivers of the group’s performance as, increase in income from non-banking activities, lower impairment charges from the bank and its subsidiaries and improved operating efficiencies through more pervasive use of technology.
He assured that the company’s successful acquisition of majority (88.2 per cent) stake in Legacy Pension Managers would go a long way in helping to achieve further diversification and earnings within the FCMB Group.
He projected: “We see significant growth opportunities in the Pension management industry and will support and facilitate strategic growth initiatives that will position Legacy in the top-tier of its industry over the next few years.”
The 2017 Accounts and Reports showed that the bank posted gross earnings of N169.88 billion during the review period as against N176. 35 billion achieved in the previous year.
Profit before tax (PBT) stood at N11.46 billion compared with N16.25 billion in 2016, while profit after tax (PAT) closed lower at N9.41 billion in contrast with N14.34 billion in the previous year.
