PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk. (BNGA) has announced the summons for the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) for the year 2024. Citing disclosure information, the meeting is scheduled to take place on April 3, 2024, at 2:00 PM WIB at Graha CIMB Niaga.
During the AGM, there will be 14 agenda items to be discussed, including the allocation of CIMB Niaga's profits for the fiscal year ending on December 31, 2023.
CIMB Niaga will propose the utilization of net profits for several purposes, such as the distribution of final cash dividends and granting authority to the Board of Directors to determine the dividend payment schedule and procedures in accordance with applicable regulations.
The company has recorded a consolidated net profit attributable to owners of Rp6.47 trillion for the current fiscal year, marking a 28.41% year-on-year increase from the previous year's Rp5.04 trillion.
In November last year, BNGA stated that it had no plans to decrease the dividend amount or dividend payout ratio for the distribution of dividends from the 2023 fiscal year's profits. It's worth noting that BNGA's dividend distribution for the 2022 fiscal year amounted to 60% of the net profit of Rp4.78 trillion (bank only) in 2022.
Meanwhile, BNGA Director Lee Kai Kwong, of parent company CIMB Group Holdings Berhad, announced plans to increase their dividend payout ratio. CIMB Group has raised the dividend payment ratio to 55% in the first half of 2023, up from 50% in the same period the previous year.
"So we might maintain our dividend payout ratio. So it could be up to 60%, and overall, there will be no reduction," said Lee during the CIMB Niaga Public Expose virtually, quoted on Wednesday (6/3/2024).
CIMB Group has also proposed a second interim dividend, entirely in cash, of 18.50 cents per share. Therefore, the total annual dividend becomes 36 cents per share with a payment ratio of 55%.
The Malaysian-based Group has also proposed a special dividend payment of RM747 million or 7 cents per share. Thus, CIMB Group's total dividend payment reaches a record high of RM 4.59 billion for the 2023 fiscal year.
Consequently, CIMB Niaga is likely to distribute annual dividends with a higher ratio compared to its parent company.
Historically, BNGA has consistently distributed dividends with a payout ratio of 60%. Besides 2023, CIMB Niaga in 2022 also distributed dividends amounting to Rp2.34 trillion or equivalent to 60% of the net profit (bank only) for the fiscal year 2021.
Similarly, in 2021, BNGA distributed dividends amounting to Rp1.09 trillion or 60% of the net profit for the 2020 fiscal year.
As information, BNGA is one of the shares owned by Lo Kheng Hong. He is listed as the 20th largest shareholder of CIMB Niaga.
Last month, the prominent Indonesian investor absorbed BNGA's private placement.