The Bank of Industry (BOI) said its profit in 2014 improved significantly from N2.18 billion in 2013 to N5.19 billion, representing a growth of 137 per cent.
This is contained in a statement signed by the Head, Corporate Communications BOI, Mrs Hadiza Olaosebikan, on Monday in Abuja.
The statement said the Chairman, Board of Directors, BoI, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, gave the statistics during the bank’s 55th Annual General Meeting.
It said that Rabiu noted that the growth profitability was an indication that shareholder value was being enhanced owing to the achievements of its developmental mandate
The statement said that the bank’s major shareholders were the Federal Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Central Bank of Nigeria, adding that there were 42 other private corporate and individual shareholders.
“The bank, at the annual general meeting, proposed a dividend of N612m for the year ended 31st December, 2014, which was also approved by its shareholders.
“The dividend payment approved by the shareholders at the meeting represents 10 per cent of the bank’s Profit-After-Tax of N6.12 billion for the 2014 financial period.
“The bank also puts its loan portfolio to the Medium and Small Scale Enterprises in the 2014 financial year at N127 billion
“According to the development bank, the disbursement of the loan facilitated the creation of over 500,000 jobs within the year under review,’’ statement said.
The statement reported Rabiu as saying that in spite of the nation’s challenging business environment, the bank was still able to achieve loans and advances of N544.3 billon in 2014.
“The loans and advances of N544.3 billion represent a nine per cent growth when compared to the 2013 figure of N498.2 billion.
“In the year under review, our bank disbursed loans worth about N127 billion to enterprises, while over 500,000 jobs were created directly and indirectly through our business activities.
The statement said that in spite of the harsh economic climate, the group’s capital and reserves grew by 5.9 per cent from N153.7 billion in 2013 to N162.2 billion in 2014.
Rabiu said the bank would continue to monitor developments in the operating environment to ensure that pro-active steps were taken to achieve its corporate objectives.
“Our new strategy blueprint provides a framework within which we shall operate by providing strategic focus in addressing the ever changing needs of our customers.
“We are also in the process of re-engineering our processes in a bid to leverage automation opportunities to achieve operational efficiency,” statement said.
According to the statement, the shareholders commended the management of the bank for its developmental impact in Nigeria’s real sectors and its “impressive financial performance”.
