KCB Group has received approvals to enter Ethiopia as it seeks new markets to boost business growth, the lender said today after announcing a 10% jump in profit before tax to Ksh19.4 billion in the nine months ending September 2015. The impressive earnings were buoyed by a substantial growth in net-interest income, fees and commissions and cost management initiatives.
Key Highlights
Total Assets: Up 34% from KShs. 451.6 Billion to KShs. 607.3 Billion
Net Loans and Advances: Up 32% from KShs. 264.3 Billion to KShs 347.6 Billion
Customer deposits: Up 35% from KShs. 350.1 Billion to KShs 471Billion
Shareholder Funds: Up 15% from KShs. 71 Billion to KShs. 81.8 Billion
Long term debt funding: Up 71% from KShs. 13.2 Billion to KShs. 22.5 Billion
Profit Before Tax: Up 10% from KShs. 17.7 Billion to Kshs.19.4 Billion
Net Interest Income: Up 10% from KShs 25.8 Billion to KShs 28.4Billion
Fees and commissions: Up 14% from KShs 9.1 Billion to KShs 10.3 Billion
The Bank said authorities in Addis Ababa had granted it clearance to run a representative office in the country, deepening the bank’s regional expansion to enable it grow and sustain its regional business and open up trade with neighbouring countries.
KCB’s international subsidiaries -Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi and South Sudan – had
an impressive nine months performance, growing by 74% year on year to contribute 12%
of the group’s profit, compared to 7% in the same period last year.
“The new strategy adopted for the international business is gaining momentum and
underpins our regional expansion model. The September 2015 numbers are an indication
of a robust business model that we have continually adopted through initiatives that
support customer-centricity to deliver affordability, efficiency and convenience in
deepening financial inclusion across the East African region and beyond,” said KCB
Group CEO Joshua Oigara adding the performance in the subsidiaries affirms the
Bank’s growing role as a regional lender and a sustainable business.
“Across the six markets we operate in, while we experienced a relatively challenging
economic environment on the overall, we have seen the business show great resilience
arising from our deliberate focus on prudent cost-management and efficiency in
operations, a trajectory we expect to continue in the remaining part of 2015,” said
Mr Oigara.
Net interest income increased by 10% due to growth in the Bank’s
asset book partially impacted by the high cost of funds especially during the last
quarter of September 2015, while gross fees and commissions grew by 14%,
attributable to new products and alternative channels tailored to meet customer
needs and increased transactions volumes.
