Ghanaian mogul Daniel Ofori earns $834,020 in dividends from stake in Ghana Commercial Bank

Ghanaian businessman Daniel Ofori has earned $834,020 (GH¢4.96 million) in dividends from his direct stake in Ghana’s largest bank, Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB Bank Limited).

GCB Bank is one of the largest banks in Ghana in terms of total operating assets and its share of industry deposits.

A recent banking sector report by Tesha Capital revealed that the bank is the second largest bank in the country with 11.5-percent of the banking industry deposits.

The Ghana-based lender in 2020 recorded profits before tax of GH¢610.83 million ($102.98 million), or 6.5-percent higher than its profits before tax of GH¢573.67 million ($96.74 million) in 2019, on the back of increased revenue despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the economy.

During the period, the bank’s net interest income surged by 29.1 percent from GH¢1.17 billion ($196.62 million) to GH¢1.51 billion ($253.51 million), while net trading income grew by 17.6 percent to GH¢166.63 million ($27.97 million) from GH¢141.75 million ($23.79 million).

GCB Bank’s total assets, which include cash and investment securities, grew by 23.5 percent from GH¢12.52 billion ($2.10 billion) in 2019 to GH¢15.45 billion ($2.59 billion) in 2020 on the back of a 21.8-percent rise in deposits from GH¢9.82 billion ($1.65 billion) in 2019 to GHH¢11.96 billion ($2.00 billion) in 2020.

This resilient financial performance led the board of directors to recommend a final dividend of GH¢0.25 ($0.042) per share for the 2020 year.

This translates to a total dividend payout of GH¢69.62 million ($11.68 million) to shareholders, including the government of Ghana, in respect to profits for 2020.

The bank yesterday paid a total of GH¢14.152 million ($2.37 million) to the government in dividends for the 2020 financial year with respect to its 21.36-percent interest in the bank, while Ofori earned GH¢4.96 million ($834,020) in dividends from his 7.49-percent stake in GCB Bank.

The Ghanaian businessman is the third largest shareholder in the bank after the Social Security and National Insurance Trust and the Ghanaian government.

Aside from his stake in GCB Bank, the businessman also holds a 2.45-percent equity stake in the Ghana-based CAL Bank Limited.