Fidelity Bank Plc has declared a dividend of 20Kobo for its 2019 accounting year. This follows an impressive result posted by the bank at the end of its 2019 reporting year.
According to its audited financial result submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the bank posted 24 per cent increase in Profit After Tax (PAT) in the 2019 financial year, with its PAT increasing to N28.4billion in the year from N22.93billion reported in 2018. The bank’s Profit Before Tax (PBT) grew by 21 per cent to N30.35billion in 2019 from N25.09 billion reported in 2018.
Commenting on the result, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, the bank’s Chief Executive Officer, stated that “We closed the financial year with strong double-digit growth across key income and balance-sheet lines. This clearly showed that we sustained our performance trajectory and continued to increase our market share driven by significant traction in our chosen business segments”.
The bank’s Gross Earnings increased by 14 per cent to N215.5billion driven largely by a 15.8 per cent growth in interest and similar income which accounted for 84.6 per cent of total earnings. Non-interest income increased by N1.6billion to N33.2billion on account of double-digit growth across key sectors: Credit Related Fees (125.2 per cent), Trade Income (19.7per cent), Account Maintenance Fees (13.6per cent), and Digital Banking Income (13.3 per cent).
The bank’s Digital Banking continued to gain traction driven by its new initiatives in the retail lending segment and the enhancement of existing digital products. According to Okonkwo, “We now have 47.4 per cent of our customers enrolled on the mobile/internet banking products, 82 per cent of total transactions now done on digital platforms and 31.1 per cent of fee-based income now coming from our digital banking business.
The bank’s Net Interest Margin improved further to 6.2 per cent from 5.8 per cent in 2018 as the growth in its average yield on earning assets outpaced the increase in average funding cost. Okonkwo said “The improvement in the yield on earning assets to 13.6per cent in 2019 was driven by a 19.2 per cent growth in our interest income on loans and 6.8 per cent growth in interest income on liquid assets, which led to a 13.2per cent increase in net interest income (N9.7billion)”.