OCBC on Wednesday (Feb 26) posted a net profit of S$1.69 billion for the fourth quarter ended December, up 4 per cent from S$1.62 billion in the previous corresponding period.
The earnings fell short of the S$1.78 billion consensus forecast in a Bloomberg survey of five analysts.
OCBC on Wednesday announced plans to return S$2.5 billion of capital to shareholders over two years via special dividends and share buybacks. This comes on the back of the bank’s “sustained earnings growth and strong capital position”.
The capital return comprises special dividends amounting to 10 per cent of the group’s net profit for FY2024 and FY2025, with the balance via share buybacks over two years.
The lender has proposed a slightly lower final dividend of S$0.41 per share for the half-year period, from S$0.42 the year before.
A special dividend of S$0.16 per share has also been recommended.
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Including the special dividend, this brings the full-year dividend to S$1.01 per share, an increase from S$0.82 per share the prior year, representing a payout ratio of about 60 per cent of the group’s net profit after tax.
For the full year, net profit rose 8 per cent to S$7.59 billion, from S$7.02 billion in FY2023.
This translated to earnings per share of S$1.67 for the full year, up 8 per cent from S$1.55 in the prior year.
Shares of OCBC closed S$0.09 or 0.5 per cent lower at S$17.60 on Tuesday, before the announcement.
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