By Adedapo Adesanya
On Tuesday, May 18, 2021, the shareholders of Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc gather for the company’s 27th Annual General Meeting (AGM).
At the meeting scheduled to hold at the Radisson Blu Hotel on Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, at 10:00 am, the shareholders would be required to authorise the board to pay a dividend of N1.17 per share.
If approved, the bank accounts of the qualified investors would be credited on the same day, according to a notice sent to the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange and seen by Business Post.
The qualification date for the dividend has been set for Monday, May 10, 2021, while the company will close its register on Tuesday, May 11.
In the audited financial results of the firm released recently, the group saw its profit after tax grow year-on-year by 41.4 per cent to N6.9 billion in the year 2020.
The Nigerian securities depository company improved its profit before tax by 22.3 per cent year-on-year to N7.4 billion from the N6.0 billion recorded in 2019, while the total income went up by 31.3 per cent year-on-year to N12.1 billion compared to N9.2 billion in 2019, with investment income growing by 61.4 per cent to N7.4 billion from N4.6 per cent in the preceding year.
The company also recorded an operating expense of N4.7 billion compared to N3.2 billion, this indicated a year-on-year growth of 46.0 per cent partly, reflecting investments in technology and human capital.
Return on Average Equity (ROAE) grew by 20.3 per cent compared to 15.3 per cent in 2019 while Earnings Per Share (EPS) grew to N1.39 from 98 Kobo in 2019, indicating a 41.8 per cent year-on-year growth.
The group delivered a 20.3 per cent return on average equity for the 2020 financial year, compared to 15.3 per cent in 2019.
Also, total assets grew to N41.4 billion compared to N36.6 billion as of 2019, showing that there was a 13.1 per cent year-on-year growth.
Property, Plant and Equipment (plus intangibles) grew 25.0 per cent in the year under review to N1.4 billion, reflecting continued investments in infrastructure to enhance operational efficiency and resilience.
Equally, shareholders’ funds rose to N35.5 billion, up 7.9 per cent between the period under review, reflecting strong capacity for organic capital growth.
Mr Oscar Onyema, the Chairman, Board of Directors of CSCS, said of the result that, “it is exciting to report these stellar results,” considering the business environment in the year under review.
