Shareholders laud 205 per cent increase in Oceanic Bank’s dividends

31.12.2007

Shareholders of Oceanic Bank International Plc have continued to laud the board of the bank for proposing a dividend of N1.02 per share in the financial year ended September 30, 2007 compared to 42 kobo paid in the last financial year.

The bank, it would be recalled, had promised a dividend of 75 kobo in its last offer prospectus. Commenting on the proposed dividend, chairman of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Chief Boniface Okezie, described it as an excellent proposal which the shareholders will ratify at the bank’s forthcoming annual general meeting (AGM).

He praised the bank’s management for adequately rewarding the shareholders, while predicting upsurge in the bank’s share value on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

According to him, Oceanic Bank has joined the league of banks paying over 100 kobo dividend. A breakdown of Oceanic Bank’s recently approved results showed that the bank surpassed all the projections made in its 2007 public offer prospectus.

Comparative analysis of the projections and actual results indicated that while profit before taxation (PBT) was projected to hit N18.91 billion in the year, the bank recorded a profit before tax of N23 billion representing a difference of N5 billion.