By Dipo Olowookere
The board of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has recommended the payment of an interim dividend of N1 for the first half of 2021, higher than the 40 kobo paid in the same period of 2020.
The proposal was contained in the financial statements of the lender released to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Monday.
The cash reward to shareholders is coming despite a decline in the company’s top-line and bottom-line of the results as the gross earnings shrank by 26.06 per cent to N93.6 billion from N126.6 billion in the first half of last year, with the net interest income contracting to N32.9 billion from N37.6 billion due to a decline in the interest income to N44.2 billion from N55.1 billion a year ago as a result of a significant loss in interest on investments (N9.6 billion versus N21.6 billion in HY 20). The increase in interest on loans and advances to customers to N34.2 billion from N32.6 billion could not help the situation.
Also, the interest expense went down to N11.4 billion from N17.6 billion on the back of a decline in interest on borrowed funds, savings accounts, current accounts, term deposits and interbank deposits.
A look at the non-interest revenue of the financial institution showed a decline of 34.24 per cent to N45.9 billion from N69.8 billion mainly because of lower trading revenue in H1 2021 (N5.5 billion versus N34.3 billion in H1 2020).
Stanbic IBTC recorded an increase in net fee and commission income at N41.3 billion compared with N35.1 billion a year ago as the fee and commission income in the period under review stood at N44.8 billion in contrast to N36.7 billion in the same period of last year, while the fee and commission expense was N3.5 billion compared with N1.6 billion in the first six months of last year.
In the first two quarters of this year, the operating expenses of the company stood at N55.4 billion as against N48.5 billion in HY 2020, with staff costs gulping N20.2 billion versus N19.9 billion, while other operating expenses took N35.2 billion, lower than N28.6 billion a year ago.
As at June 30, 2021, the profit before tax of Stanbic IBTC was N24.7 billion, 52.86 per cent lower than N52.4 billion of last year, while the profit after tax went down by 50.22 per cent to N22.5 billion from N45.2 billion, with the earnings per share (EPS) moderating to N1.92 from N4.19.
Stanbic IBTC stated in the results analysed by Business Post that its deposits from customers increased on a year-to-date basis to N958.4 billion from N819.9 billion in FY 2020, while loans and advances to customers rose to N759.6 billion from N625.1 billion.
As for the interim dividend, totalling N12.957 billion, the board said it would be paid on Wednesday, September 29, 2021, to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members as at close of trading on Monday, September 20, 2021, and who have completed the e-dividend registration and mandated the registrar to pay their dividends directly into their bank accounts.
