Shareholders of five listed banks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) are to enjoy a total dividend of N247.5billion in 2020.
The shareholders of these banks in 2019 accounts benefited N234billion as dividend to highlight importance of investing in fundamental stocks on the NSE.
Our correspondent gathered that Zenith Bank plc is the highest paying dividend bank in the country, followed by Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank).
Union Bank of Nigeria in 2019 joined the league of banks that pay shareholders dividend after writing off its retained earnings.
Despite economy headwinds, attributable to COVID-19, Nigerian Banks have proven to be strong in terms of profitability and giving back to shareholders in terms of dividend payout.
Specifically, shareholders of Zenith Bank approved the management N94.19billion total dividend payout in 2020 accounts as against N87.9billion declared in 2019 accounts.
The shareholders commended the board and management of the bank for the improved financial results and dividend payment, which translated to N3.00 per share. An interim dividend of N0.30 was paid last year while a final dividend of N2.70 was recommended and would be paid after the approval by the shareholders.
The shareholders were excited that despite a challenging macroeconomic environment exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank pulled through.
In the year under review, the management of GTBank declared a total dividend of N88.29billion from N82.41billion declared in 2019.
Our correspondent gathered that United Bank for Africa Plc announced a total dividend payout of N17.78billion in 2020 as against N34.2billion in 2019.
The Bank’s management proposed a final dividend of N0.35 kobo for every ordinary share of 50 kobo. The final dividend, which is subject to the affirmation of the shareholders at its Annual General Meeting, will bring the total dividend for the year to N0.52kobo as the bank had paid an interim dividend of N0.17 kobo earlier in the year.
Union Bank of Nigeria declared N0.25 for the second consecutive year, translating into N7.20 billion while Stanbic IBTC Holdings proposed a total dividend of N39.98billion in 2020 from N22.21billion declared as dividend to shareholders in 2019.
Commenting on the results, the bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Union Bank of Nigeria Mr Emeka Emuwa, said the company delivered a strong set of results in spite of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations and the wider economy.
Emuwa said the bank’s investments in technology and building a progressive work culture over the past eight years, enabled a swift response to the pandemic that allowed its workforce transition to remote working while maintaining the productivity required to deliver these strong set of results in 2020.
“The bank has delivered a strong set of results notwithstanding the impact of COVID-19 on our operations and the wider economy, enabling the Board of Directors to continue to return value to shareholders with a proposed dividend payment for the second year in a row.
“This demonstrates the strong foundations we have built, as we continue to deliver against our target of becoming a leading financial institution in Nigeria.”