Sterling Bank Plc investors got a bad return on investment as the shares of the bank dipped drastically in the 2021 financial year, denting investors’ investment in the bank by 28.10 percent.
Findings show that the lender’s share traded N2.10 on January 4, 2021, and was sold at N1.51 at the close of business on December 31, 2021, shedding 28.10 percent in the process.
In the last 365 days, investors have lost 21.50 percent of their investment in the bank, but they have gained 2.61 percent this year as its equity has gone up from N1.53 on January 4 to N1.57 at the close of the market on January 18.
Sterling Bank has a low dividend payout, having paid only 21 kobo as dividend in the last five financial years, which may be one of the reasons investors were averse to its equity last year. It paid just 5 kobo as a dividend in the 2020 fiscal year.
The bank posted N9.47 billion post-tax profit as of September 2021, which was a 26.55 percent improvement to the N7.37 billion declared in the corresponding period in the prior year.
It raked in N156.89 billion as gross revenue in the third quarter of 2021, 6.85 percent higher than the N146.84 billion it made in the same period in 2020. The income growth was driven majorly by 65.30 percent and 104.02 percent rise in net fee and commission income and other operating income respectively.
Net Operating Income went up by 19.4 percent to N67.9 billion, which was attributed to the growth in credit loss expenses.
