CHAMWE KAIRA
SBN Holdings Limited has received regulatory approval to pay an interim dividend of 67 cents per ordinary share for the six months ended 30 June 2026.
The group announced the interim dividend when it published its unreviewed interim results on 13 August 2026, but the payment was still subject to regulatory approval at the time.
In an announcement issued on Tuesday, SBN Holdings said the required approval had since been received and that the dividend would be paid on Friday, 25 September 2026.
The important dates for the dividend remain unchanged. The last day to trade in the shares cum dividend is Friday, 4 September 2026, while the shares will trade ex-dividend from Monday, 7 September 2026.
The record date is Friday, 11 September 2026, with the dividend payment scheduled for Friday, 25 September 2026. SBN Holdings is listed on the Namibia Stock Exchange under the share code SNO.
In the results ending 30 June, SBN Holdings said despite the impact of lower lending rates following cumulative policy rate reductions of 50 basis points, SBN Holdings reported a 3.6% increase in profit after tax attributable to ordinary shareholders to N$576.4 million, from N$556.2 million in the corresponding period last year.
Headline earnings rose to N$576.3 million from N$556.6 million, while basic earnings per share increased to 110 cents from 106 cents.
Net interest income increased by 6% to N$1.11 billion from N$1.05 billion a year earlier, supported mainly by a 16% increase in average loans and advances and disciplined management of funding costs.
The group said lending income benefited from higher customer balances, although this was partly offset by lower lending rates.
Deposit growth was accompanied by a shift towards lower-cost current account balances, reducing reliance on more expensive call deposits.
Non-interest revenue increased by 2% to N$809 million. Net fee and commission income rose by 3.1%, while trading revenue increased by 23.6%, supported by higher foreign currency sales to clients in import-oriented and investment-led sectors, particularly mining and oil and gas.
Other income declined by 11.7%, mainly because the prior-year period included N$31 million in gains from property disposals.
Investment income also declined following the reallocation of surplus funds towards customer lending.
SBN Holdings said that excluding the prior-year property disposal gain, underlying other income would have increased by 22%, while total non-interest revenue would have grown by 6%.
