Shareholders Hail GTBank’s Performance, Approve Dividend

Goddy Egene Abiodun

Eromosele Shareholders of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc yesterday commended the performance of the bank despite the challenging environment. The shareholders also approved the N1.75 dividend per share recommended for the year ended December 31, 2014.

Some of the shareholders, who spoke at the 25thannual general meeting (AGM) of GTBank in Lagos included the National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu and President, Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA), Chief Timothy Adesiyan.

They encouraged the management of the bank to maintain its adherence to good corporate governance that partly led to the impressive 2014 results.

Speaking on the performance, Mr. Gilbert Imomoh stated that profit before tax increased from N107.09billion in 2013 to N116.39 billion in 2014, while total assets stood at N2.36trillion, representing a 12 per cent increase over the N2.1trillion recorded in the previous year.

He explained that GTBank’s customer’s deposits, which could be viewed as a direct index of public confidence grew by 13.3 per cent from N1.43 trillion in 2013 to N1.62trillion in 2014. Speaking on value creation for shareholders, the Managing Director/CEO of GTBant, Mr. Segun Agbaje explained, “We recorded earnings per share of N3.47, pre-tax return on average equity (ROAE) of 32.94 per cent and return on average asset (ROAA) of 5.22 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, Mrs. Osaretin Demuren has been appointed as the new chairman of GTBank following the retirement Imomoh.

Demuren, who joined the board of GTBank in 2013, had a successful career with

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the Central Bank of Nigeria, which spanned over 33 years.

She served as Director, Trade and Exchange Department and was deployed to serve as the Director, Human Resources Department in 2004; a position which she held until her retirement from the Central Bank of Nigeria in December 2009. She was the first female Director of the CBN.