IZB APPROVES K125M SHAREHOLDERS’ DIVIDEND

THE Board of the Indo Zambia Bank (IZB) has approved a K125 million dividend payment for all its shareholders for the year ended 2023, the highest bonus ever paid by the financial institution.

Of this amount, a K50 million sum of dividend has been paid to the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

IZB Board Chairman, Michael Gondwe, said this when the bank announced its results for the financial year ended December 31, 2024 in Lusaka yesterday.

“Consequently, the shareholders have approved the board’s recommendation to pay the bank’s shareholders the highest ever dividend in the sum of K125 million in dividends for 2023, paid in 2024 as the bank celebrates its 40 years of existence,” Dr Gondwe said.

He mentioned comprehensive set of metrics which painted a vivid picture of the Bank’s outstanding performance throughout the financial year of 2023 such as its total revenue crossing the K2.0 billion mark.

Dr Gondwe noted the bank’s operating profit of K1.00 billion in 2023 against K826.14 million in 2022, with a growth rate of 21.05 percent.

“The bank’s balance sheet shows that total assets grew by 20.65 percent, increasing to K 16.99 billion as at December 2023 from K14.09 billion as at December 2022, thereby surpassing the budget total assets of K14.01 billion,” he said.

Receiving the dividend, IDC Chief Executive Officer, Cornwell Muleya said it marked a significant 25 percent increase from the previous year’s dividend of K40, 000, 000.

Mr Muleya said such an achievement spoke volumes about the dedication, hard work, and strategic acumen of the bank’s board and management. He urged IZB to help in making a concerted effort to elevate intra-group trading within the IDC group.

“By working together more closely and strategically, we can unlock even greater potential and open new avenues of growth and prosperity for all involved,” Mr Muleya said.

Earlier, IZB Managing Director, Kowdichar Shashidhar, said 2023 proved immensely successful for the bank.