First Citizens paying 12% dividend

Trinidad’s First Citizens Bank has declared a $1.09 per share final dividend that will be paid January 24, 2014 to shareholders on record as of December 31, 2013, the Ex-dividend Date is December 27.

The dividend is equivalent to a 12 percent rate of return on the initial IPO price of $22 per shares in August. That adds to the return of 78 percent on the stock price for those persons who were able to get shares at the IPO price and hold them till the XD date. The dividend policy of the First Citizens Bank is to distribute to its ordinary shareholders funds surplus to the operating capital and strategic requirements of the Group, as determined by the Directors, with an annual target dividend pay-out percentage range of 45 to 55 percent of net profit after-tax. The 2013 dividends translates to around $273 million versus $263 million paid for 2012.

The bank reported profits of $742 million before tax and $606.5 million after tax compared to 2012 pre-tax profit of $714 million and $446 million after tax but the big increase after tax is due to tax adjustment in 2012 that depressed the aftertax profit.

In the prospectus, management in commenting on a large jump in tax liability indicated, “In 2012, the Group recorded a taxation charge for the year of $267.8 million. This was due to management re-assessing its tax strategy in relation to the pursuit of tax benefits to be derived from derivative instruments. This change in strategy, which was done after careful evaluation of all relevant factors and in consultation with its tax advisors but prior to the filing of its 2011 corporation tax return, resulted in a difference between the tax liability as per the tax return for 2011 and the estimate of the tax provision recognised in the financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2011, as well as changes to the deferred income tax estimates. This change in estimate, amounting to an additional one-off tax charge of $128.3 million in 2012, was recognised in the income statement in 2012”.