By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Shareholders of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc will receive their first dividend in over a decade on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, the lender has confirmed.
On March 5, 2020, the financial institution announced a cash reward of 25 kobo for the 2019 fiscal year. It was the first since 2008.
In a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last Friday, Union Bank said the dividends will be paid electronically to shareholders on May 6, the same date for the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
According to the notice, the qualification date for the cash reward is April 24, 2020, while the register of shareholders will be closed from April 27 to 30, 2020.
Shareholders who are yet to complete the e-dividend registration have been urged to do the needful.
In the 2019 financial year, Union Bank increased its gross earnings by 14 percent to N159.9 billion from N140.1 billion in FY 2018.
Also, its interest income went up by 11 percent to N116.5 billion from N104.8 billion in FY2018, while the net interest income before impairment increased by one percent to N51.7 billion from N50.9 billion in FY2018.
In addition, the non-interest income rose by 23 percent to N43.3 billion from N35.3 billion in the previous year and this was influenced by growth in fees and commission income as well as recoveries.
Union Bank disclosed in the financial statements that its net operating income went up by 6 percent to N95.5 billion from N89.7 billion in FY2018, while operating expenses was trimmed to 0.4 percent to N70.8 billion from N71 billion in FY2018 as a result of the management’s cost optimisation programme.
In the year, its profit before tax went up by 33 percent to N24.7 billion from N18.7 billion in the previous fiscal year.
Dipo Olowookere 
Aduragbemi Omiyale