Fidelity Bank Seeks Approval, Listing Of 3.2bn Shares On NGX

Fidelity Bank Plc said, it has through its stockbrokers, APT Securities & Funds Limited, submitted an application to Nigerian Exchange Limited for the approval and listing of a rights issue of 3.2 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N10 per share.

This was contained in the NGX’s weekly report. According to the report, the right issue is based on one new ordinary share for every 10 existing ordinary shares held as of the close of business on January 5, 2024. The right issue is expected to increase the Bank’s market capitalisation by N32 billion.
The Bank in its third quarter (Q3), 2023, reported pre-tax profits growth of 172.60 per cent year on year, reaching N34.658 billion. This took the nine-month pre-tax profit to N110.992 billion versus N37.792 billion in the same period last year.

Also, Fidelity Bank Plc recorded an impressive 204.4 per cent growth in profit before tax for the first half of 2023 to N76.3 billion.

The bank in H1, 2023 approved an interim dividend of 25 kobo per share making it the second consecutive year the bank would be paying interim dividends and another demonstration of its capacity to provide shareholders with sustainable value.

Speaking on this, the MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe noted that, “we are pleased to report on another period of quality growth across all financial and non-financial indices. Our performance during the first half of the year reflects the resilience of our bank and the fundamental strength of our business to deliver long-term sustainable value at a time that has been characterized by global economic headwinds. As a bank, we remain committed to our goal of helping individuals to grow, inspiring businesses to thrive and empowering economies to prosper.

“The Bank’s impressive H1 2023 results comes to join a string of recent achievements by Fidelity Bank. It would be recalled that the Bank’s stock was reclassified from small-price stock to medium-price stock by the NGX in July 2023 on the back of a consistent impressive performance.
“Similarly, the bank recently emerged the company with the highest earnings per share on the NGX based on half year financial figures for the second year running.”