This archive report was first published on 14 November 2019.
Published on November 14, 2019, KCB Group Plc has maintained its position as the most profitable lender in Kenya.
The lender's financials for the nine months ending September 30th, 2019, indicate a significant increase in net profits, rising to KSh 19.2 billion compared to KSh 18 billion recorded over a similar period last year.
Its closest rival, Equity Group, posted a net profit of KSh 17.46 billion from KSh 15.83 billion in September 2018.
KCB Group's pre-tax profit rose from KSh 25.6 billion to KSh 27.2 billion, a 6% increase, while its balance sheet grew in size from KSh 684.2 billion in September last year to KSh 764.3 billion in September 2019, a growth of 12 per cent.
Customer deposits rose from Sh526.8 billion in 2018 to Sh586.7 billion in 2019, a growth of 11 per cent, and total interest income grew from KSh 49.2 billion to KSh 51.4 billion.
However, the lender's portfolio of gross non-performing loans also ballooned to KSh 42.5 billion in September this year compared to KSh 34.8 billion in a similar period last year.
As a result, KCB Group Plc increased its loan loss provisions significantly to KSh 5.8 billion from KSh 1.8 billion in 2018.
The lender's international business also saw growth, with a 21 percent increase in subsidiaries' loans and advances and a 14 per cent growth in earnings.
KCB Group has subsidiaries in South Sudan, Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania, as well as a representative office in Ethiopia.
Notably, KCB South Sudan remains the fastest growing, with operations posting a 271 percent increase in profit before tax from KSh 109 million to KSh 404 million.
Meanwhile, KCB Uganda made a pre-tax loss of KSh 90 million, while KCB Tanzania profits before tax rose to KSh 713 million from KSh 586 million the previous year, a 22 percent jump.
Following the recent acquisition of National Bank through a share swap, KCB states that it has completed the reorganization of NBK's board and is still looking at the management suite.
