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Monthly report of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for August 2005, has placed Oceanic Bank above other banks in terms of total number of shares sold on the exchange
Monthly report of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for August 2005, has placed Oceanic Bank above other banks in terms of total number of shares sold on the exchange
The report, which showed Oceanic Bank as the most active stock in the market stated that the bank sold a total of 552.5 million shares for the month under review.
While First Bank which trailed Oceanic Bank on the activity chart sold 179.5 million shares, Hallmark Bank, IMB International and Union Bank also sold a total of 173.4 million shares, 148.3 million shares and 141.6 million shares respectively.
Explaining rationale behind the increase in the demand for the bank's stocks, some of the stockbrokers who commented on the stock said, investors, who bought into the bank through its Initial Public Offer (IPO), have gained significantly through capital appreciation. The stock, which was sold at N5.30 per share, during the IPO, stood at N6.63 kobo per share, a appreciation of over 100 kobo per share last Wednesday.
It would be recalled that the Chief Executive of the bank, Dr. Cecilia Ibru recently said the bank's capital base by 2006 would have increased to N53.3 billion.
While assuring investors of good returns on their investment, Cecilia Ibru said the bank in the next three years would surely be among the first five in the industry in terms of balance sheet size, capitalisation and profitability.
She assured that the bank would comply with regulators guidelines and rules and would evolve as opinion leader on economic and business issues. Above all, she said Oceanic Bank would be a customer service oriented bank.
Ultimately, she assured that the bank would enhance shareholders returns in terms of stocks appreciation and competitive dividend.
Within the first six months of its operations in the 2005 financial year, it earned N10.6 billion, as against N6.1 billion in the comparable period of 2004.
Its profits after tax, which was N1.5 billion in 2003, recorded a 100 per cent increase to N3.0 billion.
Its nine months results for the period ended June 30, 2005 also showed significant growth in its operations.
While its gross earnings increased by 63 per cent to N16.2 billion from N9.9 billion, its profit before tax grew by 72 per cent to N5.5 billion from N3.2 billion in the prior year.