NEWS RELEASE
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GCB 2008 PROFIT SOARS
Ghana Commercial Bank Ltd. posted impressive year 2008 results recording a net profit of GH37.59million as against the year 2007 figure of GH¢32.87 million.
Profit before tax for 2008 stood at GH¢49.71 million.
There was also a major surge in customer deposits during the same period from GH¢839.4 million to GH¢1,030.1million representing 22.7 percent growth.
During the 2008 financial year, GCB made major investments in branch expansion and branch refurbishment having opened new branches in strategic locations all over the country. GCB's branch network soared from 136 in 2007 to 148 by the end of December 2008, thus consolidating the Bank's position as Ghana's largest Bank.
This move was intended to make banking more convenient for the customers by bringing banking very close to customers and also serve them in a very comfortable and congenial environment.
The Bank introduced a couple of interesting electronic-based products in a bid to address speed in service to its customers. These are CommernetPlus, an electronic banking service and GCB MasterCard, in addition to Royal Banking, GCB's private banking service.
These initiatives culminated in pre-tax profits of GH¢49.71million as against the 2007 figure of GH¢46.96 million.
The Bank achieved an appreciable growth in shareholder equity. Earnings per share for 2008 was GH¢0.142 compared to GH¢0.124 in the previous year. Shareholders' fund also appreciated from GH¢176.9million to GH¢207.7million for the period under review.
Accordingly, the Board of the Bank has recommended a dividend of GH¢0.06 per share representing a pay-out ratio of 42 per cent to shareholders.
Total assets of the Bank registered a growth from GH¢1,154,719,385 in 2007 to GH¢1,650,220,348 in 2008 while total loans and advances for the period increased to GH¢1,087,118,928 from GH¢750,663,543 a rise of 45.1 percent.
These facilities went to support various sectors of the economy including commerce, manufacturing, agriculture, services and construction.