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Fidelity Bank grows profit by 131.5% in FY 2023
…declares a final dividend of 60kobo per share
Leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has released its 2023 full year Audited Financial Statements, reporting a 131.5% growth in Profit Before Tax to N 124,26 billion.
According to the results, which was issued to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) today, the bank grew Gross Earnings by 64.9% YoY to N555.83 billion, driven by 81.6% growth in Net interest income which increased from N152.7billion to N277.37 billion. This led to a Profit After Tax of N99.45 billion representing a 112.9% annual growth.
Commenting on the Bank’s commendable performance, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe,OON, MD/CEO of Fidelity Bank Plc said, “We closed the financial year with strong double-digit growth across key income and balance-sheet lines. Our performance in 2023 is an attestation of our capacity to deliver superior returns to shareholders despite the difficulties in our operating environment. Profit before tax grew by 131.5% to N124.3bn from N53.7bn in 2022FY, leading to an increase in Return on Average Equity (RoAE) of 26.5% from 15.6% in 2022FY.”
A review of the financial performance showed that the bank grew Net interest income by 81.6% to N277.4bn driven by a 55.5% increase in interest income, thus reflecting a steady rise in asset yield throughout the year. The average funding cost dropped by 20bps to 4.4% due to increased low-cost funds that grew from 83.6% in 2022FY to 97.4% in 2023. The combination of higher asset yield and lower funding cost led to an increase in Net Interest Margin (NIM) of 8.1% from 6.3% in 2022FY.
Similarly, Total Customer Deposits crossed the N4tn mark as deposits grew by 55.6% from N2.6tn in 2022FY. The increase was driven by 81.1% growth in low-cost funds.
Despite the challenging operating environment, the bank reaffirmed its devotion to helping individuals grow, inspiring businesses to thrive and empowering economies to prosper by increasing Net Loans & Advances to N3.1tn from N2.1tn in 2022FY.
Despite the growth in its loan portfolio, Regulatory Ratios were maintained well above the required thresholds, with liquidity ratio at 45.3% from 39.6% in 2022FY and capital adequacy ratio (CAR) at 16.2% compared to the minimum requirement of 15.0%.
“We recognize the changing dynamics in the Nigerian banking space and the need to monitor and proactively manage evolving risks. The proposed final dividend of 60 kobo per share reflects our commitment to strong value creation and returns to our shareholders”, explained Onyeali-Ikpe.
Fidelity Bank has consistently paid dividend since 2006. With the proposed final dividend of 60 kobo per share, Fidelity Bank would be paying investors a total dividend of 85 kobo per share for the reporting period, a 70.0% increase compared to the 50 kobo per share paid to its shareholders in the previous year.
Ranked as one of the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged customer commercial bank with over 8.3 million customers serviced across its 251 business offices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom as well as on digital banking channels.
The bank has won multiple local and international awards including the Export Finance Bank of the Year at the 2023 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, the Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023 and Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking and Finance Awards; Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2023; and Best Domestic Private Bank in Nigeria by the Euromoney Global Private Banking Awards 2023.
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‘Establishment of criminality’ did not allow INEC server work – Peter Obi
Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi, said it was the ‘establishment of criminality’ that made the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, servers not work during the last presidential election.
Obi, who insisted that the people must one day make it to work, explained that Amazon testified there were no glitches recorded globally on the day of the presidential election.
The former Anambra State governor made the statement on Friday in Canada while addressing the issues about the last general election, including IREV servers.
DAILY POST reports that the LP presidential candidate was in Canada for a “thank you” tour to appreciate Nigerians living in the country for their support offered him during the 2023 campaign/ general elections.
He said: “Where did we go wrong in the last election? We didn’t go wrong anywhere. We did the right things. But as I can always tell people: when you bring a change, you fight all those who live off the old order. They don’t go away; they gang up. And don’t think it’s a straight race to remove an establishment. It’s a long-distance journey anywhere in the world. Go and check anywhere, whether you are looking at what happened in India, with Mandela in South Africa, or America. No change has happened overnight, it takes time. I urge all of you, if you really want change, we have just begun. We just have to continue from where we are.
“Yes, there might be one or two things we will correct, those things we will correct. I assure you we are correcting them without naming them.
It’s not going to be easy.
“The INEC server was the same as the establishment. The server would not work because it was the establishment that made it so it wouldn’t work. It’s ours to continue to say that it would work. But there was no glitch. Amazon came and said there was no glitch. Amazon glitch is noticed globally – it’s recorded globally. And at that period, we brought down an Amazon person who said this is the number of glitches we have had since inception. And there was none that it reported that day. We know it didn’t occur. It was the glitch of the establishment criminality that was in the system. And we must one day make it work.”
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Special agro-industrial project will create jobs for 200,000 persons in Anambra – AFDB
Dr Chuma Ezedinma, Agricultural Economist at African Development Bank (AFDB), says the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone programme (SAPZ), will create jobs for no fewer than 200,000 residents in Anambra.
Ezedinma spoke with newsmen on the sidelines of a meeting tagged “Preparation Mission for the Development of the second phase of SPAZ programme” on Saturday in Anambra.
The meeting on the SPAZ-2 programme had officials from the Federal Ministries of Finance, Agriculture and Food Safety, AFDB, and the Anambra State Government.
According to him, AFDB is very much interested in what is happening in the state because Anambra’s presentation on the SPAZ project is the best seen so far, and shows the state’s readiness to run.
“From what we have seen, about 450 hectres of land will be dedicated to the industrial site.
“We are looking at approximately 5,000 farm families per zone. Multiply it by three zones, you have 15,000 farm families in the state.
“If you also add other secondary jobs that will be created in the park itself, you will see that we are creating real massive employment for more than 200,000 people over the next five years.
“The state government had already committed resources to put infrastructure in place and there is also a private sector interest to deliver this programme within a very short time,” he said.
Also speaking, Dr Louis Enaberue from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, commended Anambra State Government for its preparedness for the phase two of the SAPZ programme.
“What we saw in Anambra’s presentation shows they are ready for the phase two of SPAZ and I hope and pray they meet the grade.
“The state government is expected to pay 50 per cent counterpart fund, provide the land and other infrastructure for the project, and they are already working towards achieving them,” he said.
Similarly, Dr Forster Ihejiofor, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, said that the state’s Investment Promotion and Protection Agency, and the Ministry of Industry were working tirelessly to ensure that the SPAZ project was ready to go in Anambra.
“Clearly, we are ready because this project will transform agriculture in the state as it will increase farmers’ incomes, foster job creation and enhance food security in the state and country at large,” Ihejiofor said.
The delegation visited the three proposed sites for the SPAZ-2 project in Ayamelum, Ogboji in Orumba South and Ufuma in Orumba North Local Government Areas of the state.
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