NCC Bank recommends highest dividends in 7 years

The National Credit and Commerce (NCC) Bank Limited has recommended 17 percent cash dividends to its shareholders for the 2019 financial year – the highest payout of the bank in the last seven years.

The dividend payout was recommended at an online meeting of the bank's board of directors on Monday.

The NCC Bank posted a net profit of Tk213.29 crore in the last financial year. Net profit of the bank rose 48 percent in the last seven years.

The bank had paid highest 27 percent dividend, including 10 percent cash and 17 percent stock, after the 2010 market crash.

"The whole banking sector has been struggling in the last few years owing to a huge number of defaulted loans and high interest rates. Our bank performed better amid the squeeze," Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, managing director of NCC Bank, told The Business Standard.

He added that they always try to give their shareholders the best.

The annual general meeting (AGM) of NCC Bank is slated for July 27 where the bank's recommended dividends and financial report will be approved. The record date will be June 1.

The earnings per share of the bank stood at Tk2.30, while the net asset value per share amounted to Tk21.02 by the end of the 2019 financial year.

The bank's net operating cash flow per share is Tk4.60. Its paid-up capital is currently Tk927.37 crore.

Sponsors and directors together had 36.74 percent shares of the NCC Bank till last February. The institutional investors, foreign investors and general investors owned 18.88 percent, 1.11 percent and 43.27 percent shares, respectively, till February 2020.

The most recent closing price of NCC Bank shares was Tk12 in the Dhaka Stock Exchange, whereas the bank's shares hit their highest price at Tk16.30 last year.