Posted by By Babjide Komolafe on
FIRST City Monument Bank Plc (FCMB) has announced a Profit Before Tax of N 7.569 billion and a dividend payout of N3.3 billion for the operating year ended April 2007.
*To pay N3.3bn dividend
LAGOS - FIRST City Monument Bank Plc (FCMB) has announced a Profit Before Tax of N 7.569 billion and a dividend payout of N3.3 billion for the operating year ended April 2007.
The bank's financial report approved by the Central Bank (CBN), for the year under review shows that it recorded over 100 per cent growth across all key parameters for the period. Gross Earnings recorded 126 per cent increase from N10.8 billion in 2006 to N24.678 billion in 2007.
Profit Before Tax grew from N3.6 billion to N7.569 billion (indicating about 108 percent growth rate) while Profit After Taxation went up by 109 per cent, from N2.833 billion to N5.948 billion within the same period.
The bank's total Balance Sheet size equally grew by 148 percent, rising from N106.673 billion to N262.841billion. Cash and short-term funds went up by 76 per cent to N25.3 billion, signalling a stronger liquidity position for the bank while total deposit appreciated by 167 per cent.
The bank is proposing a dividend pay out of N3.3 billion to shareholders for the period under review. This translates to 35kobo per share.
The bank's shareholders went home in 2006 with dividend in excess of N1.2 billion or 13kobo per share, in spite of the goodwill set-off of N3.8 billion.
Earnings per share at 63kobo is 56 per cent above 41kobo forecast for 2007 during the last public offer, while dividend per share at 35kobo is 75 per cent higher than the bank's forecast (20kobo) to the shareholders as contained in the 2004 offer document to subscribers.
This performance, according to the bank, was achieved through a combination of factors including consistent improvement in efficiency, improved asset quality, and the expansion of the business base of the bank. For instance, non-performing loan ratio dropped from 31.4 per cent to 3.2 percent due to significant recoveries of some of the loans inherited from some of its merger partners during consolidation.
Cost to income ratio was reduced from 67 percent in 2006 to 64 per cent in 2007. In effect, for every naira earned by the bank in 2007, 36kobo is retained as profit (an improvement of 3 kobo of every naira over the bank's performance in 2006).
In the last nine months, FCMB has attracted over $375 million in various forms of equity and debt funding from off-shore fund managers looking for safety and profitability for their funds. The latest of this was a N12.75 billion facility arranged by HSBC in July, 2007.