By Amie Sanneh
The Chairman Board of Directors of Standard Chartered Bank Gambia
Limited, Momodou B.A. Senghore, has said that the bank has made a total income of D421.846 million with a profit of D59.250 million before tax.
The Chairman was speaking during the Bank’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Thursday, 10 July, at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi.
Mr. Senghore further said the normalised earnings per share were 19 bututs, adding that the board is recommending a final dividend of 10 bututs per share thus making the total annual dividend to 16 bututs per share.
He described 2013 as a challenging year for the Bank but added that they remain in good shape to support their clients and customers. The growth opportunities for business remain compelling, he said. “While the global economy continued to recover and the impact of the poor harvest in 2011/2012 on the local economy began to wane, the overall impact of the improvement did not present significant opportunities for revenue growth for the bank. Against the background, the financial results for the Bank were muted,” he remarked.
The Chairperson stressed that the Standard Bank Board remains focused on the interest of shareholders. He noted that business has grown substantially over the last decade and they continued to view the Bank as an exciting growth story over the medium and long term. “We remain focused on delivering profitable, sustainable growth that is within our risk appetite,” he added.
The Board Chairman noted that they will continue to support the growth of trade and wealth in the market and drive value for their shareholders. He promised customers that in the years ahead, they will continue to sharpen their focus on deploying their scarce resources behind key priorities to accelerate growth.
For his part, Humphrey Mukwereza, the Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, said despite the sharp focus by the management team to leverage potential opportunities to drive performance, 2013 proved to be a challenging year for the Bank. The improving global and local economic environment did not generate the level of activity and investment required to spur business performance, he said.
Mr. Mukwereza dwelt on price movements in the currency and said the revenue performance was challenged whilst the pressure on tax was heightened. As a result of this, he said, their income slipped marginally and they posted a lower pre- tax profit. This according to him, is not what they aspire to achieve as the challenges have mounted and their momentum slowed, they have been taking action to mitigate the impact and adapt to th
The CEO said the Central Bank of the Gambia from 2013 has ordered all Banks to apply International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for the purpose of financial reporting and that consequently the prior year’s figures have been restated to comply with the request.
On Consumer Banking, he said that Revenue for Consumer Banking grew year on year by a modest 5% to GMD 234.1million. He added that this growth was enabled by an impressive 18% growth in Net interest income whilst Non Funded income registered a decline in performance. We continue to be mindful of our business cost, he added.
Standard Chartered CEO further explained that customer deposits grew by a strong 12%, to GMD2, 300.8 million. This growth, he continued, was achieved as a result of a new sales strategy that was implemented in 2013 and the ”WHO Wants to be at Anfield?”
He said they continue to maintain a robust and cost effective foot print comprising 5 branches and 10 ATMs in the face of aggressive footprint expansion by the competition.
The Executive Director of Finance, Richard Ahulu, said the Bank has delivered another set of steady results amidst continued challenges in the global economy with its indirect impact on the local economy. The bank, he explained, has remained focused on the execution of its strategy and continues to support the growth and activities of its client and customers.
The Finance Director said the operating income at D422m was down 7 percent compared to 2012. Net income interest was up 12 per cent to D256m, but offset by 27 per cent decline in Non-interest income.
Mr. Ahulu noted that profit before tax was down by 47 per cent to D59m and that Consumer Banking’s operating income grew 5 per cent to D234m, whilst wholesale Banking’s income declined 19 per cent to D188m.
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