FCMB Declares 5 Kobo Cash Dividend
Group Managing Director/CEO of First City Monument Bank PLc, (FCMB), Lay Balogun and his management team have declared five kobo per share as cash dividend for ahead shareholder for the financial year ended 2009.
The cash dividend of 50 Kobo for the financial year ended was as a result of poor performance. This poor performance trend in the bank started head of the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN] Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi's action on August 14,2009.
Even though CBN and NDIC declared FCMB spotless, that did not encourage Balogun and team to perform well, instead they turned performance arrow from up to down since then.
The current Financial year ended December 2009, with gross earnings of N35 789.26million as against N72698.31million in 2008, a decline of N36 909.05million representing 50.77perrcent while profit after tax stood at N564.34 compared with N3 994.54million, a decrease of N3 430.20 million to represent 85.87 percent, are clear signals.
FCMB's first quarter ended March 31,2010 showed red signal from unaudited gross earnings figures of N14 439.40million which fell below the forecasts of N21 817.14rnillion, a decline of N7 377.74 million representing 33.82 per cent while profit after tax stood at unaudited of N903.23 million to forecast figures of Nl 347.25million, N444.02million decline to represent 32.96 percent.
The past and present performances of FCMB may show bad signal for the next six months forecasts of gross earnings at N21 199.10million and profit after tax of N2 248.50 million at the end of June 2010.

UACN Gives 88% Profit to Shareholders
Chairman of United African Company of Nigeria (UACN) PLC, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, said that in view of the overall results the Board of Directors has set aside the sum of Nl 664 749 135.40 to be paid out as cash dividend for 2009, which represents Nl.30 per share for every shareholder, whose name appeared in the registrar's book on or before May 23, 2010, while payment date was slated for June 23,2010. Udoma pointed out that despite the difficult business environment in preceding year, the group recorded a turnover of N56.5billion, an increase of N2.8billion representing the preceding year, whilst profit after tax stood at N4.02billion compared decline of N0.22billion, representing 5.18percent.
In the same vein, the Board of Directors has recommended a bonus issue of one for every four shares held till closure date of register, which dated May 24,2010_value 320 144 065 ordinary shares to be added to the existing outstanding shares of the company later.
According to the UACN Chairmen infrastructural decay has negative imparts on the economy of the country.
He stated that crisis in the Nigerian energy sector has constituted a hindrance to socio- economic transformation and capacity utilization in the manufacturing sector.
All these developments imparted indirectly on UACN's business, in area of restaurants and dairies divisionary , which witness significant increase in costs as a result of poor power supply.
Udoma further pointed out that prompt implementation of the Asset Management Company of Nigeria [AMCON] may lead to the restoration of capital and loanable funds from banking system, and indirectly restore credit availability to the private sector.
Senator Udoma also revealed that the UACN has been positioned to exploit from the positive outlook of the economy. "UACN management plans to introduce some new products in the UAC foods and dairies divisions. And to position MDS logistics for growth and expand the capacity of the fish feed mills in the Grand Cereals Limited also", he said.