NAIROBI, Kenya, May 27 – Barclays Bank of Kenya shareholders on Friday approved a final dividend of Sh4.70 per share, bringing the total dividend payout to Sh5.45 per share for the year, which represents an overall 118 percent increase over 2009 payouts.
At the Annual General Meeting held in Nairobi, shareholders also approved a share split of four for every one of the existing ordinary shares held, making Barclays shares more available on the Nairobi Stock Exchange.
Francis Okomo-Okello, the bank\’s chairman said: "Barclays has been an instrumental part of Kenya\’s banking sector for the past 95 years. During that time, we have withstood volatile markets, reinvented ourselves to meet market needs, and emerged as one of the most dependable financial institutions."
The Managing Director Adan Mohamed attributed the increase in dividend to Barclays\’ strong performance during the year.
"Through our efforts, in 2010 we saw Barclays profit before tax increase by 51 percent to Sh13.5 billion; this includes proceeds from the sale of the Custody business. Total assets strengthened to Sh172 billion (2009: Sh165 billion), and our customer deposit base was stable at Sh124 billion."
"This solid financial performance continued into the First Quarter 2011 during which we also have seen good growth in total income – driven largely by interest margin management as well as an increase in customer assets."
"We will continue to focus on providing the best value to our customers through enhanced propositions, better use of technology and strong cost efficiency," added Mr Mohamed.
During the meeting, shareholders approved the re-election of directors Brown Ondego, Jane Karuku and Nick Mbuvi.
Follow us on TWITTER @CapitalFM_Kenya
