Even with a 3.87% improvement in its net half-year profit after tax, Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited is trimming its interim dividend this year to $1 per stock unit compared to $1.60 per stock unit last year.
In his statement accompanying the Bank’s unaudited half-year financial statements in the April 29th edition of Stabroek News, Chairman Nigel Baptiste said that while he was pleased to report the rise in the net half-year profit after tax from $1.887b to $1.960b, the future must be tempered by the ongoing uncertainty over the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Your Bank, in recognition of its responsibility to help clients and the communities in which it operates weather challenges, has taken the lead in offering various concessions to clients and contributing financially to the national cause.
“Notwithstanding these actions, the uncertainty over the intensity and duration of this crisis and the lack of clarity over what the new normal will look like, dictates that financial institutions adopt a defensive stance to preserve the integrity of the overall financial system. This integrity will be crucial to the system’s continued ability to support the recovery effort”, Baptiste said.
Adverting to the reduced dividend, Baptiste apologised to stockholders but said that by the end of the year the bank expected to be in a better position to evaluate the overall impact and its implications for the total dividend payout.
The statement which was dated April 20, 2020 did not refer to the ongoing stalemate over the results of the March 2nd general elections.
Net interest income for the unaudited six months ending March 31st, 2020 was $4.375b compared to $3.978b in the previous corresponding period. The credit loss expense for the six months ending March 31, 2020 was 42m compared to $246m in the preceding corresponding period. Earnings per stock unit rose from 6.29 in 2019 to 6.53 this year.
