Dar es Salaam. Shareholders of NMB Bank Plc will share a record Sh181 billion in total dividends this year, thanks to a monumental rise in the lender’s profit in 2023.
The bank’s shareholders approved the amount to be paid as dividends during their Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the weekend.
The amount is Sh38 billion more than the Sh143 billion that was shared last year from the bank’s 2022 profits.
The Sh181 billion, to be paid on or about June 19, 2024, translates into a dividend per share of Sh361, which represents a 26 percent improvement year on year.
Last year, NMB Bank Plc registered a profit before tax (PBT) of Sh770 billion and a profit after tax (PAT) of Sh542 billion, courtesy of what its managing director, Ms Ruth Zaipuna, says is a result of a disciplined execution of the bank’s strategy, solid growth in revenue, cost containment, and improvement in loan portfolio quality.
NMB Bank’s total income reached Sh1.4 trillion in 2023, up from Sh1.2 trillion in 2022.
This, the bank’s financial statements show, was primarily driven by a 19 percent growth in net interest income, which reached Sh934 billion in 2023 from Sh786 billion in 2022.
With increased customer activity on digital channels, the bank’s non-interest income rose by 16 percent to Sh468 billion in 2023 from Sh402 billion in 2022.
According to the financial statement, NMB Bank’s cost-to-income ratio (CIR) improved to 39 percent while the non-performing loan ratio remained at 3.2 percent, well below the maximum regulatory thresholds of 55 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
NMB Bank closed last year with a balance sheet of Sh12.2 trillion, a 19 percent improvement compared to Sh10.2 trillion in 2022.
The steady growth in the balance sheet is on the back of strong growth in loans and advances to customers by 28 percent, prudent investment in government securities by 17 percent, coupled with commendable customer deposit growth of 11 percent year-on-year, Ms Zaipuna said.
“The execution of our 5-year Medium-Term Plan (MTP) is well on track, as evidenced by solid progress along strategic initiatives,” she said at the weekend.
To drive loyalty and accelerate the financial inclusion agenda, she said, NMB Bank Plc expanded its network coverage by opening four new branches and onboarding over 11,000 new agents, reaching 28,295 agents in 2023.
“In turn, we were able to onboard over 1.2 million new customer accounts. Our effort to create a future-proof, technologically driven bank and the significant investment we make in our people continue to yield positive results,” she said.
According to the bank’s board chairman, Dr Edwin Mhede, the results underscore NMB Bank’s robust governance principles, steadfast dedication to fostering substantial value creation, and heightened emphasis on the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda.
“As we look forward, we remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering superior financial and non-financial returns to our stakeholders,” he said.
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Britam half-year net profit hits Sh2bn on higher investment income
Insurer and financial services provider Britam posted a 22.5 percent jump in net earnings for the half-year ended June 2024, to Sh2 billion, buoyed by increased investment income.
The rise in half-year net profit from Sh1.64 billion posted in a similar period last year came on the back of net investment income rising 2.5 times to Sh13.27 billion from Sh5.3 billion.
“We are confident in the growth and performance trend that Britam has achieved, supported by its subsidiaries in Kenya and the region. Our business is expanding its revenue base while effectively managing costs,” Britam Chief Executive Officer Tom Gitogo said.
“Our customer-centric approach is fueling growth in our customer base and product uptake, particularly through micro-insurance, partnerships, and digital channels.”
The investment income growth was fueled by interest and dividend income rising 34 percent to Sh9.1 billion, which the insurer attributed to growth in revenue and the gains from the realignment of the group’s investment portfolio.
Britam also booked a Sh3.79 billion gain on financial assets at a fair value, compared with a Sh1.8 billion loss posted in a similar period last year.
The increased investment income helped offset the 12.7 percent decline in net insurance service result to Sh2.13 billion in the wake of claims paid out rising at a faster pace than that of premiums received.
Britam said insurance revenue, which is money from written premiums, increased to Sh17.8 billion from Sh16.6 billion, primarily driven by growth in the Kenya insurance business and regional general insurance businesses, which contributed 30 percent of the revenue.
The group has a presence in seven countries in Africa namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Mozambique, and Malawi.
Britam’s insurance service expense hit Sh13.6 billion from Sh11.3 billion, while net insurance finance expenses rose 2.6 times to Sh12.3 billion during the same period.
“Net insurance finance expenses increased mainly due to growth in interest cost for the deposit administration business driven by better investment performance. This has also been impacted by a decline in the yield curve, which has led to an increase in the insurance contract liabilities. The increase has been offset by a matching increase in fair value gain on assets,” said Britam.
Britam’s growth in profit is in line with that of other Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed insurers, which have seen a rise in profits.
Jubilee Holdings net profit in the six months increased by 22.7 percent to Sh2.5 billion on increased income from insurance, helping the insurer maintain Sh2 per share interim dividend.
CIC Insurance Group posted a 0.64 percent rise in net profit to Sh709.99 million in the same period as net earnings of Liberty Kenya nearly tripled to Sh632 million from Sh213 million, while Sanlam Kenya emerged from a loss to post a Sh282.2 million net profit.
‘No Marburg Confirmed In Tanzania’, But Mpox Remains ‘Public Health Emergency’
Monrovia — The Director General of the African Centers for Disease Control, Jean Kaseya, has said the center stands ready to support Tanzania and other countries in the region where suspected cases of the infectious Marburg Virus Disease have been identified. The World Health Organization earlier this week issued an alert warning of a possible outbreak in the country, although the Tanzanian Health Ministry has said tests conducted on available samples did not show the existence of Marburg in the East African nation.
“As of the 15 of January 2025, laboratory results from all suspected individuals were negative for Marburg Virus,” Tanzanian Health Minister Jenista Mhagama said in a statement. This would have marked the country’s second experience with the highly infectious disease that recently killed over a dozen people in neighboring Rwanda. Tanzania previously reported an outbreak of Marburg in 2023 in the Kegara region, said to have been the epicenter of the new suspected cases.
At the Africa CDC online briefing on Thursday, Kaseya also said another infectious disease, Mpox, “remains a public health concern”. He said that while in December 2024, the disease had afflicted 20 countries, a new country – Sierra Leone – has been added to the number after recent outbreak there. Sierra Leonean health authorities said on January 10 that two cases of Mpox had been confirmed in the country and dozens of contacts are being traced.
With thousands of confirmed cases of Mpox across Africa and more than 1000 people having died of the disease – mainly in Central Africa – Kaseya emphasized the need to increase testing, a theme he’s heralded before. The Africa CDC boss said over the next few months the continental health watchdog will deploy additional epidemiologists and community health workers to areas considered hot spots of infectious diseases in the region.
Source: allafrica.com
Karume faults lease of Zanzibar Islets
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