Wema Bank set to delight shareholders with improved dividend

THERE are indications that shareholders of Wema Bank Plc are in line to receive bumper dividend payments for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Available records at the Nigeria Exchange Limited show that the bank impressively built on its third-quarter financial result and accounts during the fourth quarter of 2021.

Wema Bank recorded an increase of 135.8 per cent in profit before tax (PBT) to close the third quarter of 2021 at N7.2 billion. The bank also recorded a Year-on-Year growth of 9.1 per cent in gross earnings to N63.billion in nine months in 2021 from N57.8 billion during the same period in 2020.

However, feelers from the Nigeria Exchange show that the bank’s full-year profit for 2021 has almost doubled the N6 billion profit before tax it recorded in 2020.

This has fueled optimism that the bank would not only pay dividends for the third consecutive year, but a bigger dividend payout might also be in the pipeline.

Explaining the facts behind the figures following the release of the bank’s 2021 Q3 result, the bank’s Chief Finance Officer, Tunde Mabawonku, said, “The key measure of success for us is growth in customer numbers and customer activity, and we are glad that we are reporting strong growth here.

“Deposit liabilities grew by 9.3 per cent to N879.8 billion in nine months 2021 from N804.9 billion in FY 2020 while total assets increased by 10.7 per cent to N1.08 trillion in nine months 2021 from N979.5 billion in FY 2020. We have also unveiled our new mission and vision statements which align with our strategy for the year.”

Mr Mabawonku further buttressed that the bank is “sure to close the year with an even stronger performance, while we continue to focus on our digital business which is a key boost for customer acquisition, consumer lending, and transaction volumes while not neglecting our corporate commercial play.”

The bank will soon release its audited financial statement for 2021.

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