Nova Merchant Bank shareholders have approved N800 million dividend payout for the full financial year ended December 31, 2020.
The shareholders gave the approval during the bank’s fourth Annual General Meeting held recently in Lagos.
They also commended the board and management of the bank for its impressive performance over the years.
Speaking during the programme, Phillips Oduoza, chairman, NOVA Merchant Bank, noted that the bank reported significant improvement in all its key financial parameters in the year under consideration.
He said the bank has continued its growth trajectory notwithstanding the current challenging macro-economic environment.
Specifically, the bank declared a profit after tax of N3.49 billion in 2020, an increase of 112 per cent compared to N1.65 billion recorded in December 2019.
Its gross earnings also rose significantly by 130 per cent while profit before tax increased by 135 per cent from N1.5 billion in 2019 to N3.52 billion in the year under consideration.
Oduoza explained that in the face of the challenges in the macro-economic landscape, the bank was able to turn in very impressive results in the period under consideration.
He said: “On behalf of the board and the shareholders, I will like to express my gratitude to the management and staff for sustaining the Bank’s growth trajectory and delivering sterling results in such difficult times.”
Nath Ude, bank’s managing director/CEO, said the bank took advantage of the opportunities presented by the challenging environment.
“The bank was able to provide seamless services to our customers during the lockdown period while maintaining the necessary Covid-19 protocols. The accelerated adoption of digital channels by customers further demonstrates the appropriateness of our business model and digital banking focus.
To this end, we will ensure we remain ahead of changing trends to deliver value to all our stakeholders. We will continue to explore opportunities to partner with fintechs to further deepen our capabilities in this area,” he stated.
Ude explained that going forward, NOVA will focus on entrenching the right structures and creating an agile and solution-minded team capable of driving the vision and mission of the group.
