By Uche Mbah
Fidelity Bank, one of the upwardly mobile middle level Banks in the Country, has consolidated on the gains of the previous Financial year by posting a profit after tax of N22.926 billion as against N17.768 billion in the previous Financial year amounting to an increase in N5.158 billion increase within the year under review. The Bank, which got listed on the floor of the Stock Exchange in May 2005, has declared a dividend of 11 kobo per ordinary share of 50k amounting to N3.186 billion. This was approved by shareholders at their 31st Annual General Meeting held in Lagos. This was reflected in the opinion of several share holders who spoke at the Annual General Meeting, AGM, commending on the basis that they have been able to keep growth above the heady inflation rate of 2018. The bank, according to their annual report, had been able to raise gross earning by 11.8% from 43.3 billion in 2018 to 48.8 billion in the period under review while profit surged by 34.0% from N5billion in Q1 2018 to N6.7 billion in 2019.
“We are delighted with our nine months financial performance which showed strong growth in key revenue lines and a corresponding decline in our operating expenses, despite the high inflationary environment. We remain focused on the execution of our medium-term strategic objectives and targets for the 2019 full year while we look forward to sustaining the momentum and delivering another strong set of audited results for half year 2019 (H1 2019FY)”, Nnamdi Okonkwo, the Bank CEO said. According to him, the bank’s grpowth earnings of 11 percent followed growth in fund and fee-based income. “We recorded double digit growth across key income lines: FX income (334.4 percent), digital banking income (34.6 percent), account maintenance charge (25.5 percent) and interest income on liquid assets (10.1 percent)” he said, adding that disciplined execution of the bank’s medium term strategy, which was based on optimal balance sheet management, strategic cost reduction and increased activity within the digital and retail banking environment was key. According to him, “43 percent of customers are now enrolled on the mobile/internet banking products and more than 81 percent of total transactions done on digital platforms, resulting in 25 percent in fee-based income, coming from digital banking. Savings deposits which now accounts for 24 percent of total deposits in the period increased by 6.2 percent to N242.1 billion indicating that the bank is on a steady march to achieving the 6th consecutive year of double-digit savings growth.”
