Kenya Commercial Bank Group
shareholders will take home Sh3 per
share after the lender almost doubled
profits for the financial year ended
December 31, 2024.
The board has proposed a final
dividend payout of Sh1.5 per share,
subject to shareholder approval.
This is in addition to an interim
payout of Sh1.5 per share paid out
in September 2024 bringing the total
amount to Sh3 per share, amounting
to a total of Sh9.6 billion for the
year 2024.
The Group’s full-year profit after
tax grew by 64.9 per cent to Sh61.8
billion compared to Sh37.5 billion in
the previous year on strong topline
expansion across all businesses.
Total revenues increased 24 per cent to Sh204.9 billion from Sh165.2
billion on higher interest income and
non-funded income arising from foreign exchange trading income.
Customer deposits closed the year
at Sh1.4 trillion and despite pressure
attributable to the appreciation of
the Kenyan Shilling against the US
dollar, customer loans and advances
stood at Sh990.4 billion, pushing up
its balance sheet to Sh1.96 trillion.
The bank’s assets however dropped
slightly from Sh2.17 trillion the previous year after the exit of National
Bank that is being sold to Nigerian
lender, Access Group at an estimated
$100 million (Sh12.9 billion).
Group managing director, Paul
Russo said the strong performance
illustrates the bank’s resolve over the
past three years to build an organisation for the future that is anchored
on delivering value for customers, shareholders, and all stakeholders.
“We strive to be more agile by rethinking our customer-centred value
propositions and leveraging Group
capabilities in the markets where we
operate in,” Russo said during an
investor briefing in Nairobi
NBK recovered from a Sh3.3 billion loss reported in 2023 to post a
net profit of Sh993 million, despite
assets dropping to Sh148.2 billion
compared to Sh161.1 billion the
previous financial year.
The Group’s diversification model
continued to deliver strong benefits,
with the contribution by subsidiaries (excluding KCB Bank Kenya) to
the total assets standing at 34.9 per
cent, while the share of profit after
tax closed the year at 30.3 per cent.
The Kenyan unit of KCB grew net
profit to Sh45 billion compared to
Sh25.4 billion the previous year.
Fees and commissions from transactions, trade finance and forex
boosted non-funded income contribution of 33 per cent of the total
revenues.
Operating costs grew by
11.8 per cent, to Sh92.9 billion, impacted by staff costs, technological
investments, inflationary pressures
and business-driven expenditure.
Provisions for expected credit losses declined by 11.0 per cent, driven
by appreciation of the Kenya Shilling,
successful rehabilitation of key NPL
exposures and an aggressive recovery
strategy.
The loan default rate rose to 19.2
per cent, translating to Sh225 billion
at the end of the financial year while
return on equity improved to 24.6
per cent up from 17.8 per cent per
cent last year.
Total equity attributable to Group
shareholders increased by 20.8 per
cent from Sh227.5 billion to Sh274.9
billion, highlighting the sustained
value that the Group continued to
deliver for shareholders.
The Group maintained strong capital buffers with all banking subsidiaries except NBK compliant with
their respective regulatory capital
requirements.
Group core capital as a proportion
of total risk-weighted assets stood at
17.2 per cent against the statutory
minimum of 10.5 per cent while the
total capital to risk-weighted assets
ratio was at 19.7 per cent against a
regulatory minimum of 14.5 per cent.
Group chairman, Joseph Kinyua
said that they are optimistic that
there will be a pickup in economic
activity this year across markets.
