Standard Bank gives out K10.5 billion dividend
Shareholders for Malawi Stock Exchange-listed Standard Bank Malawi on Thursday approved a final dividend payout of K10.5 billion, representing K44.74 per share.
During the bank’s annual general meeting in Lilongwe Standard Bank Malawi Board Chairperson Ngeyi Kanyongolo, while acknowledging the negative effects of Covid, said the bank posted a strong set of results and would continue to drive innovation aiming to safeguard its current performance.
Kanyongolo said Standard Bank Malawi posted an increase in profit-after-tax by 50 percent to K23.7 billion in 2020, reflecting the resilience of its business despite a challenging operating environment and subdued economic activity due to the Covid pandemic.
The bank’s consolidated results for the year ended December 31 2020 show that the 2020 net profit was 50 percent above that for 2019 (K15.9 billion), owing to growth in net interest income as a result of growth in deposits and its investments and loan book.
“[This] 2020 was a challenging year due to the impact of the pandemic which affected the economy and operations of most businesses. However, despite the uncertain and challenging operating environment, the group posted a set of strong results,” Kanyongolo said.
She added that the Covid pandemic would continue to threaten prospects throughout 2021.
“The negative economic effects of the Covid pandemic will likely continue in 2021. Currency pressures are expected to continue largely driven by weak foreign currency inflows which can be partly attributed to the ongoing pandemic,” the statement reads.
On dealing with the risk of doing business in the Covid environment, Standard Bank said it invested a total of K107 million for managing the pandemic in all the country’s referral hospitals as well as aiding online learning at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences.
