Access Bank Plc has announced a drop by 78 per cent in its unclaimed dividend in the last one year.
This is coming on the heels of a declaration by the Securities and Exchange Commission, that the value of unclaimed dividends as of the end of 2012 was N60bn.
t its Annual General Meeting of the bank on Thursday, the bank said the value of the unclaimed dividend dropped by N2.46bn to N687.67m at the end of the 2012 financial year, from N3.148bn recorded in the 2011 financial year.
The bank, however, said the amount was held in the account of its registrar, United Securities Limited.
Also, shareholders of the bank approved a total dividend of N12.589bn for its 2012 financial year, compared to N8.944bn declared in 2011.
Specifically, Access bank declared a total dividend of 85 kobo per share, broken down into interim dividend of 25 kobo per share and a final dividend of 60 kobo per share.
The dividend is premised on a significant growth in the bank’s gross earnings, which rose by 53.6 per cent from N135.6bn in 2011 to N208.3bn in 2012.
The bank recorded profit before tax of N44.9bn, rising by 86.3 per cent from N24.1bn recorded in 2011, while its profit after tax appreciated by 150.9 per cent to N42.9bn from N17.1bn in 2011.
Access Bank recorded total deposit of N1.307tn, rising by 4.6 per cent from the N1.25tn recorded in 2011; loan portfolio grew by 5.5 per cent to N608.6bn in 2012, from N577bn in 2011; total assets stood at N1.745tn, rising by 7.1 per cent from N1.629tn recorded in 2011; while the shareholders’ fund appreciated by 25.5 per cent to N241bn from N192bn recorded in 2011.
Commenting on the result, the Chairman, Access Bank, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, said, “In 2012, your bank made clear progress on a number of strategic fronts towards ensuring sustainable growth in revenue, profitability and shareholder value.
“The successful acquisition of Intercontinental Bank in 2011 has enabled us to create one of Nigeria’s largest banking groups. It has also allowed us to achieve enhance scale in our customer base, branch resources and payment infrastructure.”
Also, the outgoing Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, assured shareholders that the bank had in place a strong succession plan, expressing confidence that the growth currently seen would be sustained and surpassed by the incoming executive.
Aig-Imoukhuede, who is to step down in the next few months, thanked the bank’s shareholders and other stakeholders for their support over the years, saying, “I am clear that the company I run today will be far greater in all parameters tomorrow.”