Noting that first oil augurs well for the country, Chairman of Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited, Nigel Baptiste says that this requires a stable social and political climate and he hoped that upcoming general and regional elections “will unfold smoothly”.
In his Chairman’s address in the bank’s 2019 report, Baptiste cited ExxonMobil’s 14 oil well discoveries and two more by Tullow and said that Republic is “committed to the future development of Guyana and remains optimistic about continued improvement in the economy, thereby providing an enabling environment for the prosperity of all Guyanese”.
Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited’s profit for the financial year ended September 30, 2019 soared by 22.7% or 711.8m.
According to the audited annual results, Republic Bank’s profit before taxation in 2019 was $5.9b. After taxation of $2.1b it registered after-tax profit of $3.8b compared to the 2018 figure of $3.1b.
Baptiste said that as a result of the performance, the board of the bank has recommended a final dividend of $1.075b or $3.58 per stock unit which if approved at its December 9 Annual General Meeting will bring the total dividend for the year to $1.555b.
