NAIROBI, KENYA: Leading banks have reported profits into billions in half year of 2018 signifying an improvement in business compared to last year same period which was characterised by election activities.
In half year financial results released on Thursday, KCB Group reported Sh12.1 billion in profit compared to Equity Bank Group’s Sh11 billion profit after tax while Cooperative Bank Group recorded Sh7 billion net profit.
Equity Bank’s profit represents a 10 per cent growth compared to last year’s Sh9.4 billion while Kenya Commercial Bank’s profit is an 18 per cent rise.
“This is a commendable performance in an operating environment that is gradually recovering from the significant headwinds that business had to contend with in the aftermath of the 2017 Elections,” said Gideon Muriuki, Cooperative Bank CEO while releasing the bank’s results.
Cooperative’s total interest income improved by 7.9 per cent from Sh19.25 billion to Sh20.8 billion on account of; Interest income from government securities increasing by 17.45 per cent from Sh3.87 billion to Sh4.55 billion and Interest income from loans & advances increasing by 5.7 per cent from Sh15.26 billion to Sh16.13 billion.
KCB Group which operates in Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan, said net interest income rose 4 percent year-on-year to 24.1 billion shillings in the first half.
Its non-performing loan ratio was at 8.5 percent in June, the same ratio of bad debts that the bank listed in its 2017 results.
The rise in KCB's profits in the first half was attributable to higher deposits, an expansion of the loan book by fourpercent, and a surge in both interest and non-interest income, the bank said in a statement.
Equity and KCB have been top rivals with Equity Bank claiming superior customer base and KCB owning the biggest assets on its portfolio.
Equity, customer-base, grew its interest income by nine per cent to Sh19.6 billion, while loans the book grew by four per cent to Sh275 billion from January to June, 2018 compared to Sh265.1 billion in the same period last year.
Deposits grew nine per cent to Sh393.7 billion in the period under review up from ShSh362.8 billion in the same period last year.
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