NMB lowers dividend after profit fall

Dar es Salaam. Shareholders for NMB Plc will share a total of Sh32 billion in dividends this year, the bank’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) approved at the weekend.

The money is Sh20 billion less than what they shared last year, largely due to a drop in profits.

NMB Plc – which remains the country’s most profitable commercial bank - reported a net profit of Sh93.3 billion during the year ending December 31, 2017. That was 39 per cent drop from Sh150.3 billion that it registered during the year ending December 31, 2016.

The government will receive Sh10.2 billion from its 31.78 per cent stake in the bank while Rabobank Group – which holds a 34.9 per cent stake in NMB - will get Sh11.2 billion. Last year, the government received a total of Sh16.5 billion in dividend from its shares in NMB.

“This year’s dividend translates into Sh64/share, lower than Sh104/share which shareholders endorsed the previous year,” the NMB Plc managing director, Ms Ineke Bussemaker said.

She said the decrease in profits was a result of increases in credit provisions which reflected setbacks faced by customers.

She however re-assured shareholders that NMB remains committed to its mission to offer affordable customer-focused financial services to Tanzanians.

In 2017, the bank opened 23 new branches, 10 new cash collection points and about 4,000 new NMB Wakala Agents (Mawakala)

She said NMB has a strong capital base which remains well above the minimum regulatory levels.

NMB ended the year with a Total Capital Adequacy Ratio of 17.6 per cent against the required 14.5 per cent and a Liquid Asset Ratio of 39 per cent against the regulatory minimum of 20 per cent.

The bank has also recorded a 24 per cent increase in number of customers to 2.7 million from 2.1 million in the previous year along with 23 new branches around the country to reach 212 branches and 100 new ATM to reach 770 ATM machines.

Assets rose by 11.2 per cent from Sh4.9 trillion in 2016 to 5.5 trillion in 2017 while loans and advances decreased by 0.3 per cent to Sh2.8 trillion.

Source: The Citizen

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