CRDB dividend to government hits Sh25 billion
What you need to know:
- The rise in dividend was due to an increase in CRDB Bank Group’s net profit
Dar es Salaam. The government yesterday received Sh25 billion in dividend from CRDB Bank Plc.
The government of Tanzania through Denmark’s Danida Investment Fund (DIF) own a 21 percent stake in CRDB Bank Plc while various other state-owned institutions jointly own 17.1 percent of the lender’s shares.
At yesterday’s event, the CRDB Bank Plc’s board chairman, Dr Ally Laay, presented a Sh25 billion dummy cheque to Finance and Planning Minister, Dr Mwigulu Nchemba, as the government’s dividend from the lender’s 2020 net profit.
The amount has risen from Sh17.1 billion in dividend that the government received from CRDB Bank last year.
The rise in dividend was due to an increase in CRDB Bank Group’s net profit, which reached Sh165.2 billion last year from Sh123 billion in 2019.
Speaking during the event to hand over the cheque in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Dr Nchemba said the money – which was realised following the bank’s improvement in profitability – will help the government in implementing its strategic development projects as outlined in the 3rd Five-Year Development Plan. The plan runs from financial year 2021/22 to 2025/26.
He also congratulated CRDB Bank Plc for registering a strong financial performance during the first half of the current calendar year.
“If you continue with the current profit growth momentum, we will get much more in dividend next year,” he said. During the first half of 2021, CRDB Bank Plc’s net profit rose to Sh89 billion from Sh70.4 billion that was registered during a similar period last year.
He said it was also encouraging that the lender paid Sh181.4 billion in government taxes last year.
The Ambassador of Denmark in Tanzania, Mette Dissing-Spandet, said the good financial results that CRDB Bank Plc was registering were testament to the fact that the lender was providing innovative services to its clients.
In his remarks, Dr Laay said it was due to an improvement in profitability that the shareholders approved a 37.5 percent rise in dividend during their annual general meeting which was held in Arusha in May this year.
From its 2020 financial results, CRDB Bank Plc shareholders are receiving a dividend per share of Sh22 this year. Shareholders will share a total of Sh58 billion in dividends this year.
