FCMB Group Plc, the holding company of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, FCMB Capital Markets Limited, CSL Stockbrokers Limited and CSL Trustees Limited, is on a stronger pedestal and committed to the provision of superior performance that would add significant value to stakeholders in a sustainable manner in spite of the challenging macroeconomic and regulatory environments.
To achieve these, the financial institution said it was laying emphasis on strong capital, cost efficiencies, capital optimisation and accelerated growth in retail business. The Group added that its subsidiaries were well positioned to deliver cutting edge solutions that would provide the best customer experience in their respective target markets.
The assurance was given at the 3rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of FCMB Group Plc held in Lagos on Friday, April 29, 2016. At the meeting, shareholders of the Group unanimously approved the payment of a cash dividend of N1.98billion, translating to 10 kobo per ordinary share, for the year ended December 31, 2015.
Chairman of FCMB Group, Jonathan Long, said, ‘’although 2015 posed many challenges for the Group, it was again possible for us to continue the development of our core banking franchise and to do so profitably’’. With the depth and range of professional excellence among our staff, and benefitting from our strong Board and Committee structure, the Group will deal successfully with the challenges of 2016 and continue to lay a path for future growth and prosperity in a sustainable manner’’.
The Managing Director, Peter Obaseki, noted that the Group is focused on sustaining the momentum of its leading retail presence He added that, “the outlook for 2016 in terms of portfolio strategy is positive’’. As we seek to build more businesses in the retail space, we hope to fully launch a micro-finance business as a full subsidiary of the Group and seek opportunities to improve controlling participation in the pension fund industry; we expect our non-pension asset management and private trusteeship business to grow more steadily. A combination of these initiatives will reduce the pressure on the bank’s balance sheet and steer activities to less capital intensive businesses’’.
Also speaking, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of First City Monument Bank Limited, the flagship firm of the Group, Ladi Balogun pointed out that the Bank has moved swiftly and decisively to address the challenges that affected its financial results last year. ‘’In the fourth quarter of 2015, we began to see early promising signs from the actions we have taken so far to reset the business and restore our growth’’, he said.
According to him, the lender’s performance this year is expected to be driven by improvements in operating efficiency and its retail banking drive, particularly in alternate channels (ATMs, POS and agentbanking).
Balogun also informed the shareholders that the bank currently has 689 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), 12,000 Point of Sale (PoS) terminals and 71 agent banking outlets (with a plan to grow to 800 agents), across the country. ‘’We are now acquiring 55,000 new customers monthly and disbursing 20,000 new loans, with over 2,000 monthly to women-owned micro-enterprises’’,
The audited accounts of FCMB Group Plc for the year ended December 31, 2015 showed a profit before tax (PBT) of N7.8billion, while profit after tax stood at N4.8billion. Revenue was up by 3 percent to N152.5 billion in 2015, as against N148.6 billion in 2014. However, net interest income decreased by 12 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) to N63.9 billion, compared to N72.6 billion in the previous year.
Commenting on the financial statements of the Group, the Co-ordinator of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sunny Nwosu, commended FCMB for its resilience. “We appreciate FCMB Group, its subsidiaries, their respective Boards, Management, the Founder and indeed all staff for their resilience and ability to face the present socio-economic and regulatory challenges. The fact that the institution paid a dividend of 10 kobo shows that it has all it takes to overcome the situation. Things may be tough now, but it will not last forever. Given the advise we have given the Board and Management, we are optimistic that FCMB will perform better going forward” he added.
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