FCMB Shareholders Get N5bn Dividend

FCMB Group Plc has rewarded its shareholders with N5 billion as dividend on their investment for the financial year ended December 31, 2022, following shareholders’ approval at the group’s 10th annual general meeting(AGM) held physically and virtually recently in Lagos.

The shareholders also commended FCMB Group’s impressive performance in 2022, which saw a 61 per cent growth in Profit Before Tax (PBT) to N36.6 billion. They unanimously approved a dividend payout of 25 kobo per ordinary share for the year ended December 31, 2022, as against 20 kobo per share the previous year.

FCMB Group delivered double-digit growth across all business segments in 2022, with the banking group growing by 71.7 per cent, while the consumer finance, investment management and investment banking segments grew by 25.6 per cent, 45.7 per cent and 26.7 per cent, respectively.

The Group’s stellar financial results showed a 33.5 per cent growth in gross revenue to N283 billion from N212 billion the previous year. Customer deposits rose 25.1 per cent to N1.94 trillion in December 2022 from N1.55 trillion the previous year, while loans and advances witnessed a 12.4 per cent surge to N1.20 trillion as against N1.06 trillion in 2021.

Presenting the report for the year ended December 31, 2022, the chairman of FCMB Group, Mr. Ladi Jadesimi, said despite the challenges of the business environment, the Group demonstrated resilience and continued to move forward on the path of good governance by strengthening and improving its corporate governance structure.

He said, the group successfully aligned its long-term strategy with the highest international standards to increase the confidence of shareholders, investors and other stakeholders in an environment that is demanding even more transparency.

Jadesimi said: “as a Group, our purpose is to foster inclusive and sustainable growth in the communities we serve. Financial Institutions remain key to economic prosperity —supporting small businesses, revitalizing communities, fostering employability and building wealth for individuals and families’’.

Also speaking, group chief executive, FCMB Group Plc, Mr Ladi Balogun, said the group has remained focused on building a resilient and supportive organisation by leveraging the professionalism of its staff and the resilience of all its operating companies to deliver a strong operating performance.

During the year, he said: “ we continued to invest massively in new technologies and digital solutions to ensure convenience, speed and safety of transactions. This was evident in the traction recorded across our digital platforms. We onboarded an additional 1.5 million mobile users contributing to a 23 per cent growth in mobile-enabled transactions as we grew our digital customer base to 9.1 million as at December 2022.”

Balogun explained that the Asset management business segment of the group invested in an upgrade of its customer web portal as part of an effort to improve the user experience for customers. He added that, the group has also launched the Banking as a Service (BaaS) platform, which has recorded over 2,000,000 transactions totalling N80 billion. ‘We believe this platform will enable our other Group of companies to achieve greater economies of scale in the coming years,’ he said.

In his comments, chairman Emeritus of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu, applauded FCMB Group for standing the test of time.

He said: ‘’the appreciable growth recorded in key operating areas by FCMB Group and its subsidiaries show that the institution is moving in the right direction. Despite the difficult business terrain and economic situation, we are happy that FCMB has consistently lived up to expectations.”

He added that the improved dividend of 25k per share showed that the group is making progress, expressing optimism that the positive performance year in and out of the group will be sustained.

Another shareholder, Mrs. Oludewa Thorpe commended FCMB for rewarding shareholders and being responsive to the needs of customers, especially during the period of naira scarcity early this year.