Wee Ee Cheong, the deputy chairman and CEO of United Overseas Bank (UOB), bought 200,000 shares via market transaction on Feb 20. The shares were bought at $38.64975 apiece or $7.7 million in total.
Wee’s purchase, which ups his stake in the bank to 10.74% up from 10.73%, came after the bank announced its results for the FY2024 ended Dec 31, 2024, on Feb 19.
UOB’s full-year net profit rose by 6% y-o-y to a record $6 billion thanks to strong net fee income and trading and investment income.
At the same time, the bank announced that it has proposed a final dividend of 92 cents per share, bringing the total dividend for FY2024 to $1.80 per share. In addition, the bank announced a $3 billion package to distribute surplus capital over the next three years. This includes special dividends and share buybacks; the bank will be distributing a special dividend of 50 cents per share in 2025 and it has introduced a $2 billion share buyback programme.
Shares in UOB closed 5 cents lower or 0.13% down at $38.38 on Feb 21. The bank’s shares are up by 5.01% year-to-date.
