Fidelity Bank Plc announced earlier today (Wednesday, July 1st, 2020) that it has commenced the preparation of its half-year 2020 financial statements.
A statement sent by the bank to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), said the financial statements would be sent to the Central Bank of Nigeria for approval, once the audit process is completed. All things being equal, Fidelity Bank’s H2 2020 financial statements will be made available to the public by August 29 this year.
In the meantime, the tier-2 bank said it shall observe a close period from today until twenty-four hours after the H2 financial statement is eventually released. The implication of this closed period is that all persons with insider knowledge of the company’s affairs shall be prohibited from trading the company’s shares. Part of the statement by the company said:
“Upon completion of the audit, the Audited Financial Statements shall be presented to the Central Bank of Nigeria for approval and thereafter, published in compliance with the provisions of the Nigerian Stock Exchange Rule Book and other relevant statutes and/or regulations. The Bank expects to publish its Audited Financial Statements for the Half Year ended June 30, 2020, on or before August 29, 2020.
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“In addition, the trading window for dealings on the Bank’s shares shall be closed to all insiders from July 1, 2020, until 24 hours after the release of the Bank’s audited Financial Statements for the Half Year ended June 30, 2020.”
Recall that Fidelity Bank Plc released its Q1 financial statement back in April this year which showed gross earnings at N51.1 billion compared to N48.4 billion in Q1 2019. Overall, both Profit before tax and profit after tax declined by 1% y/y to N6.6 billion and N5.9 billion respectively. Annualised RoAE however moderated to 9.8% in Q1 2020 compared to 12.0% in Q1 2019 and 13.3% in FY 2019.
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Fidelity Bank’s stock closed trading earlier today on the NSE at a share price of N1.70, dropping by -2.30% from a previous close of N1.74. Year to date, the stock has shed about -8%.
