KCB doubles nine-month earnings with net profit at Ksh.25.2 billion

KCB Group has doubled its earnings through the first nine months of the year posting a net profit of Ksh.25.2 billion from Ksh.10.9 billion in September 2020.

The jump in profitability is attributable largely to rising operating income flanked by lower costs in the period.

KCB’s total operating income has for instance grown by 15.6 per cent to Ksh.79.9 billion from Ksh.69.1 billion last year with both interest and non-interest funded income (NFI) rising.

The lender’s net interest income now stands at Ksh.56.4 billion from Ksh.47.9 billion while NFI has reached Ksh.23.5 billion from Ksh.21.3 billion previously.

Non-interest based expenses for the bank have meanwhile fallen to Ksh.44.1 billion from Ksh.52 billion anchored mainly on a 53.5 per cent cut in loan-loss provisioning costs to Ksh.9.3 billion.

During the nine months, KCB has grown its asset base to Ksh.1.122 trillion from Ksh.972 billion at the same time last year, which includes a Ksh.651.8 billion loan book which grew by 12.9 per cent over the same period.

Following the profit rise, KCB Group’s earnings per share have improved to Ksh.9.92 from Ksh.5.18.

The lender has followed peer Standard Chartered Bank Kenya in issuing a late Ksh.1 dividend per share ahead of the close of its current financial year next month.

The dividend will be paid on or before January 14, 2022, to shareholders on the register at the close of business on December 9.

“This is the strongest quarter for us since the COVID-19 pandemic struck 20 months ago, with clear signs of economic recovery across key sectors. While we are cautiously optimistic of the prospects, especially due to the dynamic nature of the healthcare crisis, we project that the worst is behind us,” said KCB Group and Managing Director Joshua Oigara.

“Our focus was on cost management, cash preservation and driving sustainable business growth. Our resolve to support our customers to navigate the crisis has helped them pick up from the subdued business environment.”

KCB reports that it is at the tail end of acquiring a majority stake in the African Banking Corporation Tanzania Limited (BancABC) which will be the second part of a twin acquisition that saw it acquire Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR) in August this year.