NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 4 – Barclays Bank of Kenya (BBK) on Tuesday announced a 7.5 percent increase in after tax profit for the first half of the year.
The bank posted a Sh3.1 billion profit up from Sh2.89 billion recorded during the same period last year.
BBK Managing Director Adan Mohammed says the increase in profit can be attributed to stringent cost management and better focus on the quality of the bank’s loan book.
“Compared to the same period last year, income was broadly flat reflecting the tight portfolio management and a slight change in the mix of assets,” Mr Mohammed said, adding that the bank’s costs had also remained flat despite high inflationary pressures experienced during the period under review.
Profit before tax for the bank increased by five percent to Sh4.5 billion compared to Sh4.25 billion for the same period last year.
Loans and advances to customers went up from Sh6.8 billion to Sh6.94 billion while loan loss provision went down by 49 percent to Sh398 million from Sh809 million.
“Our significant improvement in loan loss provision indicates the high quality of Barclays loan portfolio, despite a demanding business environment,” Mr Mohammed said.
Operating expenses remained flat for the period under review with total assets going up to Sh170 billion from Sh166 billion.
The bank’s board declared an interim dividend of 50 cents per each share held.
Mr Mohammed said growth for the bank in the second half of the year will highly be determined by how the bank handles its loan portfolio in the future.
The bank boss however cautioned that despite recent efforts by government through Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to ensure interest rates are contained, the success of these efforts will be determined by how the government embarks on borrowing from the market the Sh109 billion provided for in this year’s budget.
