Fidelity Bank Earns N51 bn, MD Warns Of New Realities

By Fola James

Fidelity Bank Plc gross earnings for the first quarter of the year stood at  N51.2 billion, 5.7 percent more than the previous year record of N48.4 billion, the bank has said.

This was disclosed at its 32^nd Annual General Meeting, AGM in Lagos, where the bank also reassured that it will continue to take measures that will ensure the safety of customers, staff and other stakeholders during this period.

The assurance came on the crest of uncertainty in the banking sector this year due to COVID 19 pandemic.

The management of some DMBs have directed mass staff lay-offs to cut operational costs, even though the Central Bank of Nigeria., CBN at the week end ordered a temporarily halt.

Profit before Tax (PBT) stood at N6.6 billion representing a marginal drop from N6.7billion recorded in the first quarter of 2019, while shareholders’ funds on the other hand grew by 3.6 percent from N234billion in 2019 to N242billion in the first quarter of 2020, the bank said in a statement.

Speaking on the issues, the managing director of the bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo stated that the lender has proved through resilience that it can adapt to change.

Okonwko said “We place a high premium on risk management and will continue to review our risk acceptance criteria in reaction to new market realities.”

Also speaking in the same vein, Chairman, Board of Directors of the bank, Ernest Ebi said the bank “remains committed to building a sustainable business, even in the midst of the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Ebi, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), revealed that the Board, in line with its oversight responsibilities, has been meeting virtually, to strategize on new opportunity areas to cushion the impact of the pandemic and to sustain the growth trajectory of the bank in recent years.

The meeting which was held by proxy, in compliance with the Corporate Affairs Commission’s (CAC) issued guidelines on holding AGMs within the period, had in attendance very few shareholders, on account of social distancing and restriction of movement in Lagos as a result of COVID-19 preventive and precautionary measures.

Others joined remotely via live streaming, the bank said.

The shareholders who spoke on the occasion, gave kudos to the Board and management for the 2019 performance which saw the bank delivering double-digit growth across key performance indices. Gross Earnings grew by 14. percent to N215.5 billion, driven by a 15.8 percent growth in interest and similar income. The bank’s Profit Before Tax (PBT) rose by 21percent from N25.1 billion in 2018 to N30.4 billion in 2019.

The shareholders unanimously endorsed the payment of a cash dividend of 20 kobo per share, which translates to N5.793 billion for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Boniface Okezie, National Coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria applauded the dividend growth from 11kobo paid in 2018 to 20 kobo in 2019.

“From all the indices, this is a superlative performance. The achievement of over N30 billion in profits is indeed worthy of commendation”, Okezie said.

Meanwhile, analysts insist that the bank has been silent on whether the it is also considering sacking some of its work force as the sector grapples with the economic realities.