The Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has gained 74 percent to post Ksh.34.2 billion net profit from Ksh.19.6 billion registered last year.
The rise in performance has been driven by the growth in the total income of Ksh.108.6 billion, going up by 14 percent year over year change compared to Ksh.96 billion and reduction in loan provision charge.
The bank profit before tax jumped 86 percent high to Ksh.47.8 billion compared to Ksh.25.7 billion driven by income from loans and investments in government securities and a decline in provisions charge
Speaking during the investor briefing and the release of the 2021 full year ending December 2021, KCB Group Chief Executive and Managing Director Joshua Oigara said the strong financial performance was in line with gradual economic recovery across all markets.
“The third and fourth quarters were the turning point with a pick-up in lending activity even as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact on economic activity,” said Oigara.
Oigara also said the group “focused on supporting customers to weather the healthcare storm. We expect good business momentum this year with a projected economic recovery across markets.”
The bank net profit grew to Ksh.34.2 billion from Ksh.19.6 billion in 2021 on the back of increased income, cost management and lower credit provisions which saw the Group post higher returns to shareholders.
The ratio of Non-Performing Loans (NPL) increased from 14.7 percent to 16.5 percent signaling the longer-term effects of COVID-19 impact.
Several key sectors, largely construction, hospitality, and manufacturing continued to come under pressure with slow recovery.
Provisions for the period were reduced by 52 percent to close at KSh.13.0 billion from KSh.27.2 billion in a similar period last year.
The decrease is largely due to lower corporate and digital lending impairment charge after the deliberate action on COVID-19 related provisions absorbed in the previous year.
KCB reported an increase in its revenues by 13.5 percent to KShs.108.6 billion on account of a rise in net interest income which was up 15.0 percent to KSh.77.7 billion.
Customer deposits went up by 6 percent to Ksh.624.5 billion compared to Ksh.588.6 billion in 2020.
Its total assets increased by 15.4 percent to Ksh.1.139 trillion, driven by organic growth across the bank’s businesses and acquisition of business processing reengineering (BPR) strategy.
The Bank’s Board of Directors has recommended a final dividend of Ksh.2.00 per share. This follows an interim dividend of Ksh. 1.00 paid out in January this year.
