SHAREHOLDERS of Fidelity Bank Plc. have commended the board, management and staff of the commercial lender for the N3.19 billion dividend, which was approved for 2017 financial year.
Speaking at the bank’s 30th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos on Friday, Murta Murta, a shareholder praised the management of Fidelity Bank for putting up impressive performance in 2017, despite the country’s fragile economic recovery.
“It is praiseworthy the bank recorded double digit growth in major revenue lines. It was able to remit huge TSA to the government during the year and still put up good performance,” he said.
Fidelity Bank is paying 11 kobo dividend per share to its shareholders for the 2017 financial year.
According to Dr Farouk Umar, President of Association for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders, the bank deserved commendation for declaring dividend despite the tough operating environment.
He noted that shareholders were afraid that the bank may not be able to pay dividend when Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that lenders with low Capital Adequacy Ratio (CaR) and high non-performing loan (NPL) would not be allowed to pay dividend, adding that it was delightful for Fidelity Bank to pay 11 kobo dividend.
Alao Thomas of Dynamic Shareholders Association also lauded the board and management of the bank for surpassing expectations in spite of stormy operating environment in 2017.
“The bank performance may not be the best yet, but it has done well,” he opined.
Responding to shareholders, Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo, Managing Director, Fidelity Bank, appreciated the shareholders for recognizing the efforts of the board, management and staff of the bank.
“Clearly, our success in 2017 financial year has set a strong pedestal for sustained growth in revenue. We are optimist about a favourable operating environment and we look forward to delivering decent set of numbers at the end of 2018 financial year,” he enthused.
Fidelity Bank gross revenue was up 18 per cent to N179.9 billion on the back of increased yield on earning assets to 15.4 per cent, resulting to 22.4 per cent rise in interest income to N150.7 billion and non-interest income appreciated in the year under review.
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The bank was able to cut its total expenses by N1.5 billion to N9.1 billion as post-tax profit increased 93.7 per cent to N18.8 billion in 2017.
The bank’s Chairman, Mr Ernest Ebi, said Fidelity Bank successfully came through the challenges of evolving economic conditions in Nigeria and the global generally as it improved in virtually all performance indices in 207.
He added that the bank is well positioned to successfully navigate the business environment in 2018.