Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) plans to give a Shilling per share dividend after reporting a 20.9% increase in net profit to Ksh30.5 billion.
“The directors have approved an interim dividend of Ksh1 for every ordinary share held. The dividend will be paid on or about Friday, January 13, 2023 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on Thursday, December 8, 2022,” KCB said in a statement.
The bank’s net income rose to Ksh30.4 billion in the nine months under review compared to Ksh25.1 billion the year before.
It was among the institutions that skipped declaring interim payouts at the traditional half-year results announcements.
Income from lending and transactions were the key drivers of earnings growth.
Total interest income increased 13.6% to Ksh83.5 billion on account of the expansion of lending.
“Additionally, interest income grew mainly from an increase in our earning assets portfolio, in particular loans disbursed during the period and investment in government securities,” KCB said.
The loan book increased 16.4% to Ksh758.8 billion while investment in treasuries rose 25.2% to Ksh144.8 billion.
Operating expenses grew 10.7 percent to Ksh48.8 Million, this was partly due to the bank acquired in Rwanda.
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“This was on account of the impact of BPR Bank, increased business activities, and increase in staff costs. The group has put in place cost-saving initiatives targeting savings across all its businesses,” the bank said.
KCB said it benefited from higher foreign exchange earnings and lending fees.
Kenyan banks’ earnings have continued to grow, helped by economic recovery and a reduction in loan loss provisions which were pronounced in the initial impact of Covid-19.
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