NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 21 – The Co-op Bank has recommended a dividend payout to shareholders of Sh1.5 per share for the full year ending December last year, pending regulatory and stockholder approvals.
This means that the lender will fork out a total of Sh8.8 billion on dividends alone in the review period.
It follows a 5.5 percent increment in profit after tax in the 12 months to December 2023, to Sh23.4 billion, compared to a similar period in 2022.
“The strong performance by the Bank is in line with the Group’s strategic focus on sustainable growth, resilience, and agility,” Co-op Bank Group Managing Director and CEO Gideon Muriuki said.
In the period, its operating income grew by 0.6 percent to Sh71.7 billion, up from Sh17.3 billion.
While income from the non-interest segment expanded by 2.8 percent to Sh26.5 billion, revenue from interest dropped marginally to Sh45.2 billion in 2023, down from Sh45.5 billion.
“Kingdom Bank Limited (A niche MSME Bank) contributed a Profit Before Tax of Kshs. 1.08 Billion in FY2023, a remarkable growth of 36.4% from Kshs. 792.6 Million reported in FY2022,” the bank stated.
“Co-operative Bank of South Sudan that is a unique joint venture (JV) partnership with Government of South Sudan (Co-op Bank 51% and GOSS 49%) made a Profit Before Tax of Kshs 291.3 Million in FY2023 compared to Kshs. 132.7 million in 2022, a 119.5% growth.”
Total operating expenses decreased by 6.1 percent, from Sh42.2 billion to Sh39.7 billion.
