GEISHA ALONZO
Republic Financial Holdings Ltd (RFHL) achieved a profit of $1.32 billion for the year ended September 30—an increase of $70.7 million or 5.6 per cent over the previous financial year. Total assets stood at $70.5 billion, an increase of 2.5 percent over 2017.
In making the announcement yesterday, Chairman Ronald Harford said the group’s operations in the Cayman Islands and the Eastern Caribbean were the major contributors to the increase in profitability, generating $55 million, followed by stronger performances in Suriname and Ghana.
“Following the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standard No Nine (Financial Instruments), the group charged through opening equity $865 million in expected credit losses (ECL) for loans and investments, of which $658.4 million was accounted for in Republic Bank (Barbados) Limited. The increase in ECL in RBBL was mainly as a result of the Government of Barbados restructuring its local currency obligations,” he said
A final dividend of $3.15 (2017: $3.15) has been declared, which brings the total dividend to $715.1 million or $4.40 (2017: $4.40) per share for the fiscal year. It will be paid on December 3.
Harford said: “The group continued its expansion activities during the year and in September, 2018, made an offer to acquire a minimum of 51 per cent and up to 74.99 per cent of the ordinary shares of Cayman National Corporation Limited, the parent company of Cayman National Bank Limited, at a cost not to exceed US$198 million.
He said as at November 7, 81.37 per cent of shareholders had accepted the offer.
“The acquisition is now subject to all necessary Government and regulatory approvals.” he said.
Shareholding in Republic Bank (Ghana) Limited was increased to 66.54 per cent, with an additional investment of US$47.3 million, which will satisfy the new minimum local regulatory capital requirement and significantly strengthen the bank’s capital base.
Harford said the group’s focus remains on building resiliency into its operations and earnings capacity and to this end, it is implementing a common IT platform across all of its Caribbean subsidiaries which will be the platform for introduction of a shared support services infrastructure for improved efficiency.
These initiatives, combined with its expansion into new markets through acquisitions, will position the group for continued improvement in performance, he said.