Nigeria’s most innovative financial institution, Wema Bank Plc, held its 2022 Annual General Meeting yesterday May 31st, 2023 amidst encomiums over the sterling performance of the bank and the huge dividend payout.
Specifically, shareholders of the bank commended the board and management for delivering a good result in the financial year.
A shareholder, Mr. Badmos commended the bank for proposing to pay 30kobo dividend per unit of ordinary share, saying it is the biggest in the history of the bank.
He charged the new management to sustain the tempo of excellent corporate performance so that shareholders could continue to get value from their investments.
Speaking on the occasion, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Moruf Oseni, said the present management which he leads is poised to making the bank the best financial house digitally.
Oseni said his management team is determined to scale up the bank, stressing that they would take it to its rightful place in the industry. According to him, the welfare of staff members would also be accorded top priority as a way of motivating them to contribute more in terms of their output.
In its audited financial results for the period ended December 31, 2022, the bank recorded gross earnings of N131.08 billion year on year, representing an increase of 42.3 percent over the N92.14 percent posted in 2021.
The results, which showed positive fundamentals across board, revealed a growth of 44.7 percent year on year in interest income to N106.07 billion from N73.30 billion. Non-interest income shot up to N25.01 billion to N18.83 percent, an increase of 32.8 percent.
Similarly, the bank’s profit before tax grew to an all-time high of N14.74 billion year on year as against N12.38 billion the previous year, an increase of 19 percent.
According to the bank, shareholders will receive a dividend of 30 Kobo per ordinary share in what is the biggest dividend payout till date. The bank grew its deposit year by year by 26 percent as at full year 2022 to N1,165.93 billion from N927.47 billion in 2021. Its stock of loans and advances also grew from N418.86 billion in 2021 to N521.43 billion, showing a rise of 24 percent.
The impressive results showed that total assets hit N1,433.79 billion as against N1,164.52 trillion, a growth of 23 percent. Shareholders’ funds also moved up to N82.62 billion from N70.36 billion in 2021, an increase of 17 percent.
