For increasing shareholders value on investment through robust dividend payout and adherence to corporate governance principles, shareholders’ of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, on Tuesday, commended the company’s board on its 2015 performance, as they approved a dividend of N1.52kobo per share.
The company had earlier paid an interim dividend of N0.25 kobo, and a final dividend of N1.52 kobo yesterday, making a total dividend payout of N1.77 per share for the year 2015.
The shareholders, who spoke at the company’s 26th yearly general meeting in Lagos on Tuesday, applauded the management for the impressive performance and efficient running of the company, amid harsh economic environment.
Specifically, the General Secretary of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Adebayo Adeleke expressed satisfaction with the state of affairs in the bank, especially for abiding by strict corporate governance principles.
Adebayo attributed the improved performance recorded by the bank to non-exposure to public sector fund, as well as the bank diversification to retail banking.
“The bank is doing extremely well we have had course to look at their account with our own research desk in ISAN and we look at all the parameters, the bank is very healthy and i think it is attributable that over a very long period of time, they have stayed away from public sector fund so they have been able to survive.
“All these issues of returning single treasury account money bank to government did not have any serious impact on the account of GTB the public sector money they had was less than 2.3 per cent. They are actually taking banking as banking.
“We had told them that this is a high profile bank and why don’t you diversify to retail and now you can see that more than 10 per cent of their operations is coming from retail which shows that they are also expanding more and more retail outlets are being used. So when you look at their balance sheet, you look at their net loan provisioning, you look at all the parameter, GTB stand it all,” he added.
The National Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Boniface Okezie expressed satisfaction with the state of affairs in the bank especially for abiding by strict corporate governance principles.
He berated the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), especially the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) for its reforms programmes which failed to take into consideration the plight of shareholders and the harsh economic situation in the country.
According to him, AMCON reforms in the banking industry, rather than improve the lot of shareholders has become a ‘nightmare’ for investors in the financial services industry.
“We commend the management of the bank for their prudent management of the affairs of the banks, in spite of the reforms of AMCON, which has impacted negatively on the economy and which is causing untold hardship for shareholders.
The Chairman of the bank, Mrs Osaretin Demuren explained that the bank’s audited result for the full year ended December 31, 2015, showed gross earnings of N301.9billion an increase of 8.4 per cent from the N278.5 billion recorded in the same period of 2014.
The Group profit before tax stood at N120.7billion, an increase of N4.3billion or 3.7 per cent over the N116.4billion reported in December 2014.Its profit after tax also rose from N94.4 billion in 2014 to N99.4 billion during the period under review.
According to her, its balance sheet remained strong with 7.2 per cent growth in total assets, from N2.36trillion in 2014 to N2.52trillion in the year under review. Loans to customers grew by 7.5 per cent to close at N1.37trillion from N1.28trillion in 2014.
She pointed out that despite the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) by the FGN, customer deposits remained relatively stable with a marginal year-on-year decline of 0.49 per cent from N1.62trillion in 2014 to N1.61trillion in 2015.
“As a Bank, we will continue to actively partner with our customers and grow our business in a sustainable manner that is not only driven by profit objective, but with an increased focus on empowering our customers with a view to growing Nigerian economy. Also, we remain committed to maximising shareholders’ value and delivering superior and sustainable returns whilst actively expanding our franchise in select, high growth African markets where we believe we have a competitive advantage,” she added. Guardian
