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Bank of Kigali profit up to $22m on interest income

Friday September 03 2021
Bank of Kigali CEO Diane Karusisi.

Bank of Kigali CEO Diane Karusisi. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

By PATRICK ALUSHULA

Bank of Kigali (BK Group) net profit for six months to June rose 41.5 percent on the back of increased interest and non-interest income.

The bank, which is listed on both the Nairobi and Rwanda stock markets, reported Ksh2.5 billion ($22.7 million) net profit in the review period up from Ksh1.8 billion ($16.4 million) posted in the preceding similar period.

The profit growth signals a recovery for the publicly-traded Rwandan lender and mirrors the trend that has been seen by lenders in Kenya as the economy picks up from Covid-19 disruptions.

The growth was mainly driven by a 29.9 percent growth in net interest income to Ksh7.3 billion ($66.5 million) supported by growth in net loans and advances to customers from Ksh89.8 billion ($818 million) to Ksh100.1 billion ($912 million).

Non-interest income grew by 43.9 percent to Ksh1 billion ($9.1 million) to support growth in the bottom-line despite a 46.1 percent rise in operating expenses to Ksh1.7 billion ($15 million).

Bank of Kigali hopes to keep up with the growth momentum in the second half of the year, partly helped by loosening of Covid-19 control measures.

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“I am confident that our performance will continue to improve making BK Group Plc more attractive to investors who are looking for strong and stable returns,” said Diane Karusisi, the chief executive at BK Group.

“The recent mass vaccination campaign in Kigali gives hope that full recovery can be expected towards the end of the year.”

BK Group last year posted a 4.1 percent drop in net profit from Ksh4.51 billion ($41 million) to Ksh4.32 billion ($39 million) on the back of increased coronavirus-linked loan loss provisions.

Rwanda has so far administered more than 1.51 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, equivalent to about 8.4 percent of the population and among the highest vaccination coverage ratio in Africa.

The lender, with an asset base of Ksh153.6 billion ($1.3 billion), is Rwanda's largest commercial bank by assets with 68 branches spread across the country’s main towns and cities.

BK Group has also been operating a representative office in Kenya since February 2013.

Other lenders with representative offices in Kenya are Bank of China, FirstRand Bank, HDFC Bank, Mauritius Commercial Bank, Nedbank Limited, Co-operatieve Rabobank U.A and Société Générale.

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