Following the release of its FY 2018 financial results earlier today, United Bank Africa (UBA) also announced the final payment of N0.65 as dividend for every ordinary share of 50 kobo each.
Total dividend of N0.85
This brings the total dividend to N0.85 per share for the 2018 financial year ended December 31st.
Payment date
Subject to approval and appropriate withholding tax, the dividends will on Tuesday April 23, 2019, be paid electronically to shareholders whose names appear on the Registers of Members as at the close of business on Tuesday, April 2, 2019.
According to the bank, the dividends will be paid to shareholders who also have completed the e-dividend registration and mandated the Registrar to pay their dividends directly into their bank accounts.
Understanding dividend
A dividend is a payment made by a corporation to its shareholders, usually as a distribution of profits. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, the corporation is able to re-invest the profit in the business (called retained earnings) and pay a proportion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Distribution to shareholders may be in cash (usually a deposit into a bank account) or, if the corporation has a dividend reinvestment plan, the amount can be paid by the issue of further shares or share repurchase.
In other words, a dividend is allocated as a fixed amount per share with shareholders receiving a dividend in proportion to their shareholding. For the joint-stock company, paying dividends is not an expense; rather, it is the division of after-tax profits among shareholders.
Bank’s performance
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc had released its audited financial report for the full-year period ended December 31st, 2018.
According to the result, interest income increased from N325.6 billion in full-year 2017 to N362.9 billion in full-year 2018.
Profit before tax increased from N104.2 billion in 2017 to N106.7 in full-year 2018. UBA’s profit after tax also increased from N77.5 billion in 2017 to N78.6 billion.
The Group’s earnings per share also increased from 2.19 in 2017 to 2.20 in 2018.
Meanwhile, UBA Plc is currently trading N7.45 on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).