Equity Bank Group has posted 19% rise in Quarter 2016 profit before tax to Ksh 7.3 billion compared to Q1 2015’s Ksh6.1 Billion. On the other hand, Profit After Tax grew by 20% to Ksh 5.1 Billion. The Growth was driven by a 37% increase in net interest income which was attributed to the lender’s strategy of securing cheaper funds from shareholders and creditors, while increasing lending to customers.
Highlights
Loan book grew to Ksh 275 billion from Sh224 billion in March last year.
Customers savings rose to Ksh 299 billion from Sh276 billion a year earlier and paid out interest of KSh1.7 billion.
Its net interest income increased by 36.8 per cent to Sh10.4 billion which management attributed to acquisition of cheap funds from the international market.
Equity’s operating income rose to by 18.1 per cent to Sh15.6 billion while expenses grew at a slower pace of 16.9 per cent to Sh8.3 billion.
Net loans increased by 22 percent from the same period last year to 275.0 billion shillings. Total costs grew 17 percent during the period as staff costs and loan loss provisions rose.
Non-performing loans stood at 3.8 percent of the total, below the 8 percent recorded for the industry in March.
James Mwangi rules out acquisitions for now
Sources; Equity Bank, Reuters, NSE, Business Daily, TKW
