Southeast Bank to pay 10% dividend
The private lender declared a 7.5% cash dividend and a 2.5% stock dividend at its annual general meeting
Southeast Bank will pay 10% dividend–7.5% in cash and 2.5% in stocks–to its shareholders for the year 2019.
The private lender announced the dividends at its 25th annual general meeting (AGM) held virtually on Wednesday. The AGM witnessed a lively discussion on the bank's operational performance.
The financial institution earned a consolidated operating profit of Tk8,98 crore in 2019. As of December 31, 2019, its total deposits amounted to Tk32,925 crore and total assets reached Tk42,231 crore.
Its consolidated earnings per share (EPS) was Tk2.16, consolidated net asset value per share was Tk26.29, and consolidated net operating cash flow per share was Tk11.68.
The bank's price-earnings ratio, which helps investors determine the market value of a stock, was 6.16 times higher in 2019. Its capital and reserves soared to a record high of Tk3,609 crore as of December 2019.
Southeast Bank is considered one of the most efficient institutions in the industry in terms of cost-efficiency. Its cost to income ratio stood at 37.58%.
The bank's per-employee profit was Tk87 lakh and per branch profit was Tk1.85 crore in 2019.
In his welcome address, M Kamal Hossain, managing director of the bank, highlighted its operational performance in 2019 and outlined the future plans and strategies to further augment operational efficiency and asset quality of the lender.
He highlighted the impact of the sudden outbreak of Covid-19 in the beginning of 2020, and the re-orientation of strategies of the bank to minimise the losses in line with the government's policies.
Alamgir Kabir, FCA, chairman of the bank, presided over the AGM.
Southeast Bank's Vice-Chairperson Duluma Ahmed–as well as directors MA Kashem, Azim Uddin Ahmed, Jusna Ara Kashem, Rehana Rahman, and Md Akikur Rahman–participated in the meeting.
Independent directors Syed Sajedul Karim, Dr Quazi Mesbahuddin Ahmed and Mohammad Delwar Husain, plus Advisor Zakir Ahmed Khan, among others, took part in the AGM.
Alamgir Kabir praised the shareholders for their continuous cooperation and active support for the sustainable growth of the bank.
He assured the shareholders that the valuable suggestions put forward by them at the virtual meeting would gradually be implemented–to accelerate the operational performance of the bank, including its brand image.
The shareholders placed their comments and queries online during the meeting. They lauded the board and bank management for their excellent performance, having declared a stable dividend for the shareholders and bringing out a most informative, comprehensive and impressive 2019 Annual Report with adequate disclosures for stakeholders.