National Bank of Kenya doubles first-half pretax profit to Sh2.5 billion

NAIROBI, KENYA: National Bank doubles first-half pretax profit to Sh2.5 billion, non-interest income rose to Sh2.36 billion from Sh1.58 billion

National Bank of Kenya doubled its first-half pretax profit to 2.5 billion shillings ($24 million) after its non-interest income jumped, the lender said on Tuesday.

NBK, Kenya's eleventh-largest lender by assets at the end of last year, said earlier this month its growth plan could be delayed by at least three years due to failure to secure approvals for a cash call.

The bank said its total income jumped to 6.15 billion shillings during the period from 4.78 billion in the same period last year. Non-interest income rose to 2.36 billion shillings from 1.58 billion shillings, it said.

Earnings per share soared to 5.62 shillings from 2.77 shillings in the prior year period.