Stanbic Holdings registered a mild 2.3 per cent increase in net profit in the first half of 2024 to KShs. 7.2 billion from KShs. 7.1 billion in the same period 2023.
- The uptick was primarily driven by a slight increase in net interest income coupled with a 6.8 per cent drop in total operating expenses, reflecting the base effect of previous investments in client experience and foreign exchange gains.
- However, the increase was slowed down by a faster drop in non-interest income, which stood at KSh7.6 billion.
- Stanbic’s customer base grew by 18% in the first half of 2024 to 284,555 from 241,512.
Additionally, customer loans experienced a 2.4 per cent drop to KSh239 billion with deposits growing double digit to 39 per cent year on year to KSh 360 billion.
The South Sudan subsidiary recorded a more than 100 per cent jump in profit after tax, driven by increased customer base, boosting the overall group’s results.
Further, the Stanbic bank assurance intermediary saw a 20 per cent profit growth on the back of increased penetration to the bank’s client ecosystem.
“The appreciation of the Kenya Shilling against the Dollar provided some stability, yet severe floods from March to May and subsequent civil protests posed significant challenges. Nonetheless, our strategic focus and execution have helped us deliver positive results in both Kenya and South Sudan.” Stanbic CEO Joshua Oigara said.
As a base effect from the historic one-off transaction in 2023, involving the British Multinational Diageo acquiring an additional 14.9 percent stake in East African Breweries Limited, which was spearheaded by Stanbic’s SBG Securities, prompting a 91 percent reduction in profits after tax, netting KSh 15 million.
Notably, investments in government securities increased by 7.1 per cent to KSh 23.66 billion pointing to the prevailing favorable interest rate environment during the period.
Loan loss provisioning was significantly downsized pointing to a shrinking credit risk despite the slight 2.5 percent increase in gross non performing loans. However, the gross NPLs ratio stood at 9.4 percent, lower than the industry average of 16 percent.
The lender declared an interim dividend of KSh 1.84 to be paid on or about 27th September 2024 – a 60 percent increase from KSh 1.15 interim dividend issued in 2023.
In Q1, the lender reported a net profit of KES 4 billion, representing 2.8% increase from Q1 2023.
Stanbic Holdings Plc trades under the ticker symbol SBIC at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, closed the previous session at KSh 117.50 ,a year-to-date gain of 8.1 per cent. SBIC has a KSh 46.5 billion market capitalization making it the 9th most valuable stock at the Nairobi bourse.
