GTBank declares N82.4b dividend as pre-tax profit hits N232b

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GTBank declares N82.4b dividend as pre-tax profit hits N232b
March 3, 2020
 
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•MD, GTBANK, Segun Agbaje

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NIGERIA’S largest financial institution, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc on Monday announced a dividend recommendation of N82.4 billion for the 2019 business year as the bank’s pre-tax profit rose to N231.71 billion.

The board of the bank indicated that shareholders will receive a final dividend per share of N2.50 in addition to interim dividend of 30 kobo paid earlier, bringing the total dividend per share for the 2019 business year to N2.80. The bank had distributed N80.94 billion as cash dividend for the 2018 business year, representing a dividend per share of N2.75.

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2019 showed modest growths across key performance indices. Gross earnings rose from N434.7 billion in 2018 to N435.31 billion in 2019. Profit before tax increased by 7.5 per cent from N215.6 billion to N231.7 billion. After taxes, net profit improved from N184.71 billion to N196.87 billion. Earnings per share thus increased from N6.54 in 2018 to N6.96 in 2019.

The balance sheet also indicated improvements in banking and market share. Loans grew by 19 per cent from N1.26 trillion in 2018 to N1.50 trillion in 2019. Customers’ deposits increased by 11.4 per cent to N2.53 trillion in 2019 as against N2.27 trillion in 2018. Total assets and shareholders’ funds stood at N3.76 trillion and N687.3 billion. Full impact capital adequacy ratio (CAR) remained strong at 22.5 per cent.

The proportion of non-performing loan to gross loans improved to 6.5 per cent in 2019 as against 7.3 per cent 2018, implying improvement in the bank’s asset quality. Cost of risk (COR) remained flat at 0.3 per cent. Complementing the improvement noted in non-performing loans, the bank maintained adequate loan loss coverage of 126.6 per cent for lifetime credit impaired loans compared to 105.1 per cent in 2018.

Managing Director, GTBank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said GTB exists to provide excellent service to its customers and generate the returns that shareholders expect.

He said the bank’s strong financial performance in 2019 demonstrates that it is delivering on customers and shareholders’ expectations.

“We achieved healthy growth across all our major businesses despite varying degrees of uncertainty and volatility, and we are making progress in positioning our business for long-term growth in the face of a rapidly changing competitive landscape,” Agbaje said.

According to him, underpinning the bank’s strong financial performance is its commitment to being there for its customers when it matters most.

“That is why, powered by the fundamental strength of our brand, and guided by our strategy of putting our customers at the centre of everything we do, we will continue to design and deliver financial services that not only solves our customers’ real pain points but also leaves them better after every interaction,” Agbaje said.

He pointed out that the bank continues to be best-in-class in the Nigerian banking industry in terms of financial ratios with post-tax return on equity (ROAE) of 31.2 per cent, post-tax return on assets (ROAA) of 5.6 per cent and cost to income ratio of 36.1 per cent.

According to him, these ratios reflect the experienced management, and efficient balance sheet structure coupled with operational efficiency of the bank.

He noted that in recognition of the bank’s world class corporate governance standards, excellent service delivery and innovation, it has been a recipient of numerous awards over the years including Best Bank in Africa and Best Bank in Nigeria, by the Euromoney Magazine and Best Banking Group and Best Retail Bank Nigeria from World Finance Magazine, all in 2019.