Fidelity Bank earns N146.9bn, to pay N4.6bn dividend

Fidelity Bank Plc has reported gross earnings N146.9 billion for the year ended December 31, 2015, an increase of 7.9 per cent from N136.1 billion recorded in the 2014 financial year (FY).
Following this, the bank has promised shareholders N4.6 billion as dividend payment, amounting to 16 kobo per share dividend, thus maintaining a tradition of consistent dividend pay-out for the past six years.
The audited financial statements made available at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), showed that the bank posted 0.8 per cent increase in profit after tax from N13.8 billion in 2014 to N13.9 billion during the review period despite the nation’s harsh operating environment characterised by regulatory and economic headwinds.
Whereas total equity increased by 6.0 per cent to N183.5 billion from N173.1 billion in 2014, net operating income stood at N83.9 billion, a moderate 12.5 percent rise from N74.6 billion in 2014.
Commenting on the result, Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo, said the bank’s 2015 full year performance reflects the disciplined execution of the management’s medium term strategy and the resilience of evolving business models despite the extremely challenging business environment in 2015.
He explained that the bank improved the earning capacity of its balance sheet even in the face of decline in fee income precipitated by a N10.0 billion reduction in its foreign exchange income. “We continued to increase yields on earning assets faster than the growth in funding costs which improved our Net Interest Margin (NIM) to 6.9 per cent in 2015.” Vanguard