FBN Holdings Posts N83bn Profit, Gives Dividend, Bonus
Goddy Egene and Eromosele Abiodun
FBN Holdings Plc has recorded profit after tax of N82.8 billion for the year ended December 31, 2014, showing an increase of 17.3 per cent above N70.6 billion recorded in 2013.
Based on the performance, the directors recommended a cash dividend of 10 kobo per share and a bonus of one new share for every 10 shares already held.
The company grew its gross earnings by 21.3 per cent from N396.2 billion to N480.6 billion, while net interest income went up by six per cent from N230.1 billion to N243.9 billion in 2014. Profit before tax stood of N92.9 billion, up 1.7 per cent from N91.3 billion in 2013, while profit after tax rose by 17.3 per cent from N70.6 billion to N82.8 billion. A cash dividend of 10 kobo per 50 kobo share and a scrip of one for 10 were recommended amounting to a total distribution of N1.05 per share compare to N1.10 in 2013.
FBN Holdings total assets grew by 12.2 per cent from N3.9 trillion to N4.3 trillion, with loans and advances jumped by 23.2 per cent from N1.8 trillion to N2.2 trillion.
Commenting on the results, the Group CEO, FBN Holdings, Bello Maccido said,“The group recorded a strong financial performance in 2014 in spite of the highly challenging operating environment particularly for our flagship business, First Bank of Nigeria. As such, the performance by the Banking Group is a testament to the underlying strength of our commercial banking business which is built on an extensive retail network and a robust information technology platform. Notwithstanding the tough operating environment, the group showed commendable growth across all the key performance indicators buoyed by the complementary performance of our non-bank subsidiaries with gross earnings growing by 21.3
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per cent to N480.6 billion and profit before tax at N92.9 billion.”
According to him, “We remain focused on diversifying our revenue streams through the extraction of value from our recent bank acquisitions, consolidating our position in the investment banking space, especially with the acquisition of Kakawa, and expanding our insurance business scope.”