- bags GH¢7million profit before tax
- shareholders get 12.16 % of profit after tax as dividend
By Seth KRAMPAH, Jacobu
Odotobri Rural Bank PLC at Jacobu in the Amansie Central District of Ashanti Region has recorded yet another impressive operational growth in all financial indicators for the 2024 year under review.
The bank recorded a profit before tax of approximately GH? 29.7 million as against a little over GH? 13.6 million in 2023 representing a remarkable growth of 117.69 % which translates to about GH¢16.1million in absolute terms.
By this, the Board of Directors has congratulated management and staff for the remarkable GH¢16.1million profit growth and have therefore been urged to work assiduously towards increasing the Bank’s profitability to increase shareholders’ investments.
Directors of the bank have also been commended for their strategic direction and decisiveness in achieving this remarkable success.
Dividend Payment
The Board of Directors has proposed a total Dividend payment of GH¢2,424,674 representing 12.16% of profit after tax. This translates to a dividend-per-share of GH¢0.0075p. The proposed dividend represents 74.42% change of what was proposed in 2023.
This gives a return on a dividend of 7.5 % on the Bank’s current Share Price of GH¢ 0.10p which the regulator has given its exceptional approval to pay the proposed dividend to shareholders.
It is the hope of the Board of Directors that the Bank’s performance will continue to improve and move towards such a positive direction to enable the continuous payment of Dividend in the years ahead.
Stated Capital and Shareholders Funds
In the 2024 year under review, the Bank’s Stated Capital grew by 31.39 % from GH¢3,823,864 in 2023 to GH¢ 5,024,171.00 in 2024. Shareholders’ Funds also increased by 63.41% in 2024 compared to 38.47% in 2023.
The Bank in spite of this satisfactory growth in share capital is strategizing to sign on new shareholders, and also have existing shareholders invest more into the Stated Capital of the Bank. This will enable the growth of the Bank to be accelerated and ensure that the Bank is able to expand its operations and enhance its profitability to the benefit of its cherished shareholders.
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Benedict Boadi announced these and more at the bank’s 38th AGM of shareholders held last Friday at Nana Adu Darko Community Centre at Jacobu in Ashanti.
Operational Environment
According to him, the year 2024 witnessed a sustained momentum in global economic growth. Global inflation had a continued downward trend throughout 2024, and most central banks moved closer to their targets. The Central Bank kept the Monetary Policy at 27% as at December 2024 from 30% at the beginning of the year.
On the domestic front, economic activity was stronger, with higher-than-projected growth in the first three quarters of 2024. At the beginning of the year, inflation rose from 23.2% in December 2023 to 25.8% in March 2024. Thereafter, it declined steadily to 20.4% in August, but rose to 23.8% in December 2024, primarily due to food price increases.
Private Sector credit growth continued to increase towards pre-2022 macroeconomic crisis levels, albeit slowly. Nominal growth in the private sector credit increased to 26.3 percent in December 2024 from 10.7 percent recorded in the corresponding period of 2023. In real terms, credit to the private sector increased by 2.0 percent relative to a 10.2 percent contraction recorded over the same comparative period in the previous year.
The banking sector continues to be profitable, well capitalised and liquid. Assets of the banking sector grew by 33.8 percent in 2024. Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) with reliefs grew marginally to 14.0 percent in December 2024 from 13.9 percent in December 2023.
However, CAR without reliefs rose to 11.3 percent in December 2024, higher than the 8.3 percent recorded in December 2023. Profits went up in 2024 compared to 2023, but the pace of growth slowed, resulting in the moderation of profitability indicators during the period.
In the outlook, elevated credit risk remained the main upside risk to the banking sector. The industry’s Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ratio increased to 21.8 percent in December 2024, up from 20.6 percent in December 2023.
Operational Performance
In spite of the challenging macroeconomic environment coupled with the high inflationary rate that pertained during the reviewed year, the bank managed to pull yet another remarkable operational performance in all key financial indicators as indicated in the table.
Corporate Social Responsibility
The Bank continues to provide support to various state institutions and stakeholders within its catchment areas. Some projects supported within the bank’s catchment areas during the year under review included that of the Traditional Councils, Ghana Education Service (GES), the Ghana Police Service, some government health facilities and support for Farmers’ Day Celebration among others.
For the year 2024, a total of GH¢369,143.00 was spent on CSR programmes for local communities compared with GH¢191,430 in 2023.
The Board Chairperson stressed that the bank is socially responsible and would continue to support projects and engage in environmentally friendly activities in the years ahead.
Commendation / Advice
The Managing Director of ARB Apex Bank, Alex Kwasi Awuah, congratulated the shareholders, Board, and Management of the Bank for the exceptional performance of the Bank.
Due to the Bank’s impressive 117.69% increase in profit, the Managing Director has described the Bank as one of the most profitable rural and community banks in Ghana.
He reminded the board that the pilot phase of the Agency Banking implementation has been effectively concluded. He further encouraged rural and community banks to begin the deployment of third-party Point of Sale devices.
The Managing Director expressed his confidence that the project will serve as a significant revenue generator for rural and community banks as well as offering true convenience to their esteemed customers.
Future Outlook
The Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, Abraham Coffie, in an interview with Business & Financial Times said Odotobri Rural Bank remains steadfast in its commitment to driving inclusive financial growth across the operational areas.
The Bank’s strategic focus according to the CEO will center on deepening digital transformation, expanding the Bank’s mobile banking and agency networks, as well as enhancing customer experience through tailored financial products.
“We are investing staff capacity building and secured digitalization to ensure our systems remain secure, agile, and responsive to the evolving needs of our clients. With the Bank of Ghana’s regulatory reforms and the increasing adoption of fintech solutions, we see immense opportunity to reposition Odotobri as a leader in rural financial innovation”, he stressed.
He further stressed that in the coming years, the bank would prioritize strategic partnerships with government agencies, SMEs, and community-based organizations to unlock new financing channels and promote entrepreneurship.
“Our goal is to increase our loan portfolio in agriculture, education, and women-led enterprises while maintaining prudent risk management practices. We also plan to launch a financial literacy campaign tailored to youth and informal sector workers, reinforcing our role as a catalyst for socio-economic empowerment, he said.
He concluded that with the unwavering support of the Bank’s shareholders, board, and dedicated staff, Odotobri Rural Bank is poised to scale new heights and deliver sustainable value to all stakeholders.
The post Odotobri Rural Bank records remarkable growth in all indicators appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.
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