GTBank declares interim dividend for half-year 2019

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Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) has declared an interim dividend of 30 kobo per ordinary share of 50 kobo for the period ended Sunday, June 30, 2019.

Come Wednesday, September 11, 2019, the dividend will be paid to shareholders whose names appear on the Register of Members as at Monday, September 2, 2019. The ordinary shareholders and holders of the bank’s Global Proposed Dividend (GDR) listed on the London Stock Exchange will receive their dividend payment date subsequently.

The Register of Ordinary Shareholders will be closed on Tuesday, September 3, 2019, while the Register of GDR holders will be closed on Tuesday, August 27, 2019. Similarly, the bank has scheduled its Qualification Date for Monday, September 2, 2019.

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Financial results: The lender’s revenue for the 2019 half-year stood at N146.4 billion as against N160 billion recorded in 2018. Similarly, the company’s gross earnings slipped from N226.6 billion in 2018 to N221.9 billion in 2019.

Profit Before Tax stood at N115.8 billion in June 2019 as against N109.6 billion in 2018. Profit After Tax stood at N99.1 billion in 2019 as against N95.6 in 2018.

Understanding dividend: A dividend is a payment made by a company to its shareholders, usually as a distribution of profits. When a company earns a profit or surplus, it reinvests a portion of the profit in the business (retained earnings) whilst paying a portion as dividends to the shareholders.

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Distribution to shareholders may be in cash (usually a deposit into their bank accounts) or the issuance of further shares, otherwise known as shares repurchase. But this is usually done if the company has a dividend reinvestment plan.

In other words, a dividend is allocated as a fixed amount per share with shareholders receiving a dividend in proportion to their shareholdings. For the joint-stock company, paying dividends is not an expense, rather, it is the division of after-tax profits among shareholders.