Equity Group on Monday announced its Q3 results, posting a 79 per cent rise in profits after tax to Sh26.9 billion.
Deposits are up 27 per cent to Sh873.7 billion.
The asset base is also up 27 per cent to Sh1.184 trillion.
Net loans are up 23 per cent to Sh559 billion.
During release of the results, Equity Group chief commercial officer Polycarp Igathe said, "Our Strategy is socio-economic oriented."
"We create solutions that are relevant to the evolving needs of the economy and our solutions are salient to our consumers."
"Regional subsidiaries grew their group contribution to deposits to 42 per cent up from 40 per cent, revenue to 37 per cent up from 30per cent and profit before tax to 26 per cent up from 21 per cent,’’ Equity Bank Holding CEO James Mwangi said.
He also linked the increased profitability to falling provisions for bad loans.
Total interest income from loans, investment in government paper as well as earnings from deposits with other banking institutions, increased from Sh42.7 billion in Q2 to Sh67 billion at the end of September this year.
The Group’s earnings from fees and commissions on loans to customers nearly doubled from Sh3.5 billion to Sh5.7 billion during the financial period under review.
The lender's operating expenses, however, went up significantly from Sh28.1 billion in Q2 to Sh43.8 billion in Q3, pushed up by rising staff costs due to recent acquisitions in the region, the latest being in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“Total income grew by 25.5 per cent compared to 16 per cent in the last period. We expect the opening of economy and removal of curfew will lift the interest higher,'' Mwangi said.
