By Peter Egwuatu

The hope of higher dividend for shareholders of Diamond Bank Plc for the financial year 2015 heightened as the bank maintained stable growth in its half year results despite the harsh operating environment experienced in the period under review.

Diamond Bank Plc, in its half year (H1) performance scorecard, showcased its ability to sustain growth in all parameters, by posting 5.3 per cent  increase in its gross revenues, and N14.59 billion in comprehensive income, which represents 3.3 per cent  increase over 2014 figure of N14.12 and surpasses analysts’ expectations for the half year (H1) ended 30 June 2015.

In the half year results ended 30TH June, 2015 released recently on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, Diamond Bank recorded Profit After Tax, PAT of N12.15 billion, which is lower than its 2014 position of N13.78billion.  The Bank’s capital adequacy ratio surged to 18.6 per cent, in excess of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) required minimum, and signposting the bank’s preparedness for expanded business and to remain an industry leader.

The shareholders who spoke against the backdrop of the bank’s performance for the period under review commended the management for the proactive measures taken to maintain the growth in some of the performance indices.

Mr. Boniface Okezie, Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, PSAN, who spoke the mind of its members said “We are impressed with the bank’s performance and kudos should be given to the management for this result given the tight business environment it operated upon. Many companies are not doing well at the moment due to the slow pace of governance.

Boniface Okezie said  “The bank under the leadership of Otti did not let us  down, so we still believe in the new leadership led by Uzoma Dozie. We hope with this performance, the dividend for this year may likely surpass the previous year if economic condition improves in the next six months.”

He said the dividend for last year was commendable given enormous funds that were deployed for expansion and rebranding. ‘’It is an impressive performance. We commend them. It is a sign of better things to come. Dozie management will do well as economic activities improve in the years ahead” Okezie noted.

Another leader of shareholder Group, Proactive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, PROSAN, Mr. Oderinde Taiwo said “ The bank should be commended for this performance as it is an indication that the second half performance would be better as the country’s  economic indices improves.

The economy is down and it has affected so many institutions so, if Diamond Bank could record this performance, it then means that it would do better in the next half of the year when activities are expected to pick up since the last national election has come and gone.

Speaking on the bank’s half year result from the Bank’s Corporate Head Office in Lagos, Uzoma Dozie, Group Managing Director/CEO, said that the Bank’s continued success in spite of regulatory headwinds, is hinged on focusing on the implementation of strategies that promote sustainable growth and profitability for the long term.

According to the bank’s  Chief Executive Offer, CEO “Our innovative, customer friendly services and retail banking strategy are showing positive results and will enable us to sustain low cost of funds. In the quarters ahead, we will focus on premium quality risk assets, as we continue to explore opportunities to grow our market share responsibly. We shall expand customer relationships, enhanced by our elaborate channels and excellent service delivery”.

The Group’s focus on funding the real sector was reflected in the growth in loans and advances to customers from N791.09 to N793.67 billion since the beginning of the year amidst a decline in the pace of economic activities and weak economic fundamentals. Deposits, however, declined from N1.49 trillion to N1.35 trillion, reflecting cumulative changes in regulation such as the new unified Cash Reserve Ratio and Treasury Single Account that necessitated sterilization of huge sums of money by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The Bank’s focus remains on retail banking and providing convenient and easy banking to the micro small and medium enterprises segment, it has however continue to grow its corporate and mid-tier business segments, and according to the CEO, “the concept of value chain management helps us to provide end to end solution to the value chains of our corporate clients and ultimately improves value for both us and the customers.”

It will be recalled that the bank in its full year 2014 result recorded a growth of 27.3 per cent in total assets from N1.52 trillion in the previous year to N1.93 trillion.

This was driven mainly by growth in deposits, which surged 23.8 per cent from N1.21 billion in 2013 to N1.49 billion, demonstrating the Bank’s strong ability and network to generate cheap deposits from the retail and middle market segments. Also, the bank grew its loan portfolio to customers from N689 billion to N791 billion, representing 14.8 per cent increase.

Gross earnings increased by 15.0 per cent from N181.2 billion in 2013 to N208.4 billion, showing an increase of 9.6 per cent  in net operating income which stood at N116.3 billion in 2013 to N127.4 billion. However, Profit Before Tax (PBT), declined marginally by 12.5 per cent from N32.1 billion in the previous year to N28.1 billion, reflecting the harsh regulatory headwinds that hallmarked business operations in 2014.