BUSINESS Shareholders endorse GTB’s N1.70 kobo dividend

Shareholders of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc yesterday unanimously approved the company’s final dividend of N1.70 for every share of 50 kobo for the financial year ended December 31, 2013.

The National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu, who commended the bank for the dividend payout, said the shareholders were appreciative of the efforts which the staff and management put in place to drive the bank for increased return on investment.

In the same vein, President of Shareholders United Front, Mr. Gbenga Idowu, also applauded the performance of the bank, adding that the current leadership has proven that is capable of driving the bank to great heights.

Speaking at the bank’s 24th Annual General Meeting, the chairman of the Bank, Mr. Egbert Imomoh, told shareholders that the bank was able to increase its African foot print and expand into Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda via the purchase of a 70 per cent equity stake in Fina Bank. He noted that this increased the number of countries where the bank has business operations to ten.

“The contributions of our subsidiaries to the group’s bottom line remained strong during review period and has continued to play an important part in our quest to emerge as the foremost and dominant bank in Africa in the medium term,” he said.

Imomoh noted that the bank will continue to focus on improving its customer experiences and seek innovative ways of growing its business.

“We are poised to take advantage of all the opportunities that would arise during the course of the year and are committed to maintain our position as the bank of choice for discerning customers in all economies we operate in,” he said.

A review of the results shows a strong and considerable performance across all financial indices and also affirms the bank’s position as one of the most profitable financial services provider in Nigeria.

In terms of value creation, GTBank maintained its top position in the industry with pre-tax Return of Equity (ROE) of 34.9 per cent and pre-tax Return on Asset (ROA) of 5.6 per cent.

A cursory look showed a 28.6 per cent growth in loan book from N783.91 billion in 2012 to N1.01 trillion in 2013 while customer’s deposits grew by 24.3 per cent from N1.15 trillion in 2012 to N1.43 trillion in 2013.

Consequently, the group closed the 2013 financial year with a balance sheet size in excess of N2 trillion while shareholders’ equity increased by 17.9 per cent from N281.83 billion in 2012 to N332.35 billion in the period under review.