Fidelity Bank Records 6.2% And 5.4% Drop in Profit and Earnings, Proposes 22K Dividend

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Fidelity Bank
Fidelity Bank

Fidelity Bank Plc has announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2020. The performance which capped a remarkable year showed strong growth in Core Operating Profits, Net Revenue, and other key financial indices.

Financial Review

  • Gross Earnings declined by -5.4% to N206bn from N218bn in the previous quarter.
  • Profit before tax declined by 7.6% to N28bn from N30.4BN in 2019FY due to an increase in the Bank’s loan provisions to shield it from any headwinds. A positive for the Bank especially in the current era of Covid-19 and its attendant effect on business risks.
  • Profit after tax declined by 6.2% to N26.650bn from N28.425bn
  • Customer Deposit  rose by 38.7% from N1,225.2BN to N1,699.0BN
  • Total Assets grew by 30.5% from N2,114.037TRN in 2019 FY to N2,758.148TRN.
  • Net Assets grew by 16.9% from N234bn to N274bn.

In respect of the 2020 financial year, the Board of Directors recommends a dividend of 22 kobo per Ordinary Share of 50 kobo each amounting to N6,371,768,852 for approval at the Annual General Meeting.

Fidelity Bank Records 6.2% And 5.4% Drop in Profit and Earnings, Proposes 22K Dividend

If approved, the dividend will be paid to Shareholders whose names appear on the Register of Members at the close of business on April 16, 2021. The proposed dividend is subject to Withholding Tax at the applicable tax rate, which will be deducted before payment.

Commenting on the performance, CEO, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, Fidelity Bank stated:

“We are pleased with our financial performance, which clearly showed the resilience of our business model as core operating profit increased by 50.9% to N44.9BN from N29.8BN in 2019FY.

We also saw a significant improvement in our efficiency indices as the cost-to-income ratio moderated downward to 65.1% from 73.4% in 2019FY. However, Profit Before Tax (PBT) dropped by 7.6% to N28.1BN as we proactively increased our provisions on risk assets to N16.9BN from a net write-back of N0.6BN in 2019FY,”

The CEO added that the bank

“Took a conservative stance in recognition of the impact of the global pandemic, which has redefined business risks and opportunities in the new normal”.

As seen in recent years, the Bank’s digital retail banking approach has continued to yield positive results. Though Digital Banking income dropped by 18.8% due to the revised banker’s tariff, it increased by 19.6% QoQ on account of increased customer adoption as more services were migrated to the Bank’s digital channels.

Onyeali-Ikpe is happy with the progress of its digital banking play stating that over 52.8% of customers are now enrolled on the Bank’s mobile/internet banking compared to 47.4% in 2019FY, while 88.4% of our customers’ transactions were done on the digital platform products and more than 81% of total transactions done on digital platforms.