Barclays shareholders approve a share split

By Jackson Okoth

Barclays Bank of Kenya shareholders have approved a share split of four for every one of the existing ordinary shares, making the counter more affordable to investors at the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE).

During the bank’s Annual General Meeting held in Nairobi Friday, shareholders also sanctioned payment of a final dividend of Sh4.70 per share, bringing the total dividend payout to Sh5.45 per share for the year, an overall 118 per cent increase over 2009.

"Barclays has been an instrumental part of Kenya’s banking sector for the past 95 years. During that time, we have withstood volatile markets, reinvented ourselves to meet market needs, and emerged as one of the most dependable financial institutions," Francis Okomo Okello, the bank’s chairman told shareholders.

During the meeting, shareholders also re-elected Brown Ondego, Jane Karuku and Nick Mbuvi as directors of the bank.

An increase in dividend payout is attributed to a strong performance of Barclays during 2010.

"Last year, we saw Barclays profit before tax increase by 51 per cent to Sh13.5 billion. This includes proceeds from the sale of the custody business. Total assets strengthened to Sh172 billion (2009: Sh165 billion), and our customer deposit base was stable at Sh124 billion," said Adan Mohamed, the bank’s managing director.

He added that this solid financial performance has continued into the first-quarter of 2011, during which Barclays has seen impressive growth in total income.