Shareholders of the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc., at its 27th Annual General Meeting (AGM), approved N1.17 dividend per share payout to all qualified shareholders.

Mr Oscar Onyema, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, at the AGM held on May 18, hailed the company for its performance despite the challenges.

Onyema disclosed that following the approval of the shareholders on the N1.

17 dividend per share proposed by the Board, CSCS would be paying out a total of N5.85billion to its shareholders.

He said that the company recorded some 36.0 per cent year-on-year growth in return to shareholders when compared to the N4.

3 billion dividend paid in the previous year.

“Despite the challenges in 2020, CSCS emerged stronger, delivering outstanding growth in top and bottom-lines, and executing far-reaching initiatives that would sustainably strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of the business.

“Growing profit by over 41 per cent in such a challenging year to deliver 20.3 per cent return on average equity, the Board of Directors is more than ever upbeat on the value-accretive prospects of CSCS.

“More importantly, we are enthusiastic about the progress made thus far in repositioning the business, to efficiently play a more active and leading role in deepening the Nigerian capital market.

“With continuous investments in new technologies, talent and work environment, we expect productivity to grow, as the Board continues to work with the Management to exceed stakeholders’ expectations,” the Board Chairman said.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr Haruna Jalo-Waziri said: “These impressive results reflect our enhanced collaboration with different stakeholders and their unflinching support and loyalty to CSCS, as the core infrastructure for the Nigerian capital market.

“Hence, my colleagues and I are excited to dedicate this performance to our esteemed participants, regulator and the Board of Directors, whose support kept us strong through the pandemic.

“We would continue to invest in our collective objective of deepening the capital market and broader financial system, even as we seek new and efficient ways of enhancing our partnerships for mutual prosperity.

“Having laid a solid foundation over the past three years, we are more than ever-optimistic about the prospect of our business, especially as we diversify the business for enhanced resilience against macro and market volatilities.

“The years ahead look challenging, albeit more promising than ever, as we reinforce our commitment to leveraging best-in-class technologies and our continuous investments in human capital in delivering value to all stakeholders,” Jalo-Waziri added.

The shareholders, most of whom participated through proxies due to the extant COVID-19 precautions, were excited at the performance of the company and unanimously approved the dividend proposal of N1.17 per share, as presented by the Chairman, on behalf of the Board of Directors.

Mr Eric Idiahi, one of the proxy attendees and Managing Director, Verod Capital LLC; a core shareholder of CSCS Plc, lauded the Management for the unprecedented performance in such a challenging year.

He reiterated the support of shareholders for the company, especially as the diversification of the business and culture of innovation should enhance the sustainability of the business and ensure its capacity to deliver superior returns to shareholders over the long term.

Mr Obong Idiong, the Chief Executive Officer of Africa Prudential Plc., the Registrar to CSCS said: “This is a well-conducted General Meeting, with due observance of all relevant statutory requirements, including COVID-19 precautions.

“I congratulate the Board and shareholders of CSCS on the impressive performance during the 2020 financial year and more importantly for a successful General Meeting,” he said.

CSCS has a diversified shareholder base, including Nigerian Exchange Group Plc., some of the largest Nigerian banks, private equity firms, other institutional investors and retail investors.

The shares are traded over-the-counter through the NASD-OTC, the premier market for trading unquoted securities of public limited companies.

As at the close of market on May 17, the bid/ask quotes on the shares of CSCS indicated a price of N17.65 per share, having rallied 17.3 per cent year-to-date, consolidating the strong performance of the share price over the past few years. (NAN)