KCB Group CEO Joshua Oigara (Photo: File) Kenya Commercial Bank Group has recorded a 5 per cent jump in after tax profit for the year ended 2019.
Thursday the bank said its after-tax profit for 2019 jumped to Sh25.2 billion from Sh23.9 billion in 2018. The performance is linked to strong income growth in the Kenyan business and international subsidiaries.
Net interest income expanded 15 per cent to Sh56.1 billion from Sh48.8 billion due to a 17 per cent growth in loan book, digital lending and additional interest income from NBK.
Earnings per share at the group, which also operates in neighbouring Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan, increased to 8.11 shillings during the period, from 7.83 shillings a year earlier.
Total dividend per share was Sh3.50, unchanged from the previous year, KCB said.
Meanwhile the National Bank on Thursday said it has cut its non performing loan book by 20 per cent during the 2019 financial year ending December, signaling strong recovery for the business following its acquisition by KCB Group Plc in September. The bank however recorded Sh337 million loss in 2019 compared to a profit of Sh 156 million previous year. According to financials released on Thursday, the stock of non-performing loans (NPL) stood at Sh25 billion, down from Sh31 billion in 2018, as a result of an aggressive recovery strategy during the period. The gains were however diluted by higher provisions for loan loss, at Sh1.9 billion, compared to Sh185 million the previous year, effectively hurting the bottom-line. Consequently, the Bank posted a loss after tax of Sh302 million for the period. “We spent the last quarter of the last financial year, following the acquisition, building a firm foundation for the bank’s recovery and takeoff. We have also been on an aggressive loan recovery drive. We are optimistic of a better year ahead,” said NBK Managing Director Paul Russo while releasing the results. The Bank’s total operating income for the year grew by 5 per cent to Sh8.4 billion, driven by increased interest income from loans and advances and higher in non-interest income from innovations, launch of new products and strategic partnerships. Cost management strategies delivered a 3 per cent drop in total operating expenses (excluding loan provisions) from Sh7.3 billion to Sh7.1 billion. From a balance sheet perspective, assets stood at Sh111.9 billion. Customer deposits stood at KES 86 billion, while net loans and advances, on the other […]