Fidelity Bank Rewards Shareholders with N4.1b dividend
Fidelity Bank Plc has rewarded its shareholders with N4.056 billion as dividend on their investment for the financial year ended December 31, 2016 upon approval at the bank’s 29th annual general meeting held in Lagos.
The board of the bank proposed a dividend of N4.056 billion for 28.975 billion shares outstanding, representing 14 kobo per ordinary share which was unanimously approved by the shareholders at the meeting.
The shareholders who embraced e-Dividend payment received direct credit of the dividend to their bank accounts immediately after the annual general meeting.
Mr Ernest Ebi, chairman of the bank, attributed the financial performance of Fidelity Bank in 2016 to the slowdown in business activities occasioned by lower government revenues as a result of depressed oil prices, lower interest rate regime, rising inflation rate, lower consumer disposable income, tougher operating environment and the impact of the current devaluation on asset quality.
Ebi said the bank reported a 3.5 per cent increase in gross revenue to N152 billion from N147 billion in 2015, adding”Despite the drop in profitability, we remain strong boasting of a capital adequacy ratio of 17.2 per cent in 2016, which stood above the regulatory minimum of 15 per cent, which implies that as the business environment opens up in 2017 financial year, Fidelity Bank will have adequate capital to latch on to the opportunities”.
Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, Managing Director of the bank, said the success story of Fidelity Bank Plc was anchored on improved service quality, innovative products and services tailored to meet the varying needs of the bank’s customers.
“The strides achieved in our innovative pursuits strengthened the income stream of your bank”, he said.
He said Fidelity Bank continued to improve the earnings capacity of the different segments of its business as gross earnings increased by 3.5 per cent, net interest income increased by 1.6 per cent and fee-based income increased by 9.6 per cent while expense growth at 4.7 per cent was significantly below the average inflation rate of 15.7 per cent in 2016.
The retail and electronic banking strategy of Fidelity Bank continued to deliver impressive results as savings deposit grew by 30.1 per cent to N155 billion while instant banking and online banking products grew by over 200 per cent leading to a 41.3 per cent growth in e-banking revenue.
Okonkwo, however, attributed the growth in e-banking revenue to the upgrade of the bank core banking system which provided a superior architecture that enhanced operational efficiency and deepened electronic banking capabilities.
The shareholders of the bank commended the board on the performance during the year 2016 and them to improve on it.
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