tandard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited today releases its results for the six-month period ended 30 June 2022.
Kariuki Ngari, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We have delivered a strong set of results for the first half of the year with income up 10%. We’ve seen healthy business momentum driving top line growth with double-digit growth in net interest income and strong performance in Wealth Management and Financial Markets products. The strong momentum on income and low expected credit losses mitigated the 18% year-on-year increase in costs arising from our continued investment spend in transformational digital capabilities. Profit before tax is up 11%. We have achieved this by actively supporting our clients in what continues to be a difficult operating environment.”
Summary financial performance
- Net interest income increased 10% due to higher asset volumes and an expansion in net interest margin.
- Non-interest income increased 11% with strong performance in Wealth Management and Financial Markets products. Customer sentiment saw Wealth Management volumes grow to deliver income growth of 25% compared to the first half of 2021. Assets Under Management in this business grew by 12% year-on-year on the back of favourable market movements.
- Operating expenses were up 18% from higher investment spend as we continue to develop transformational digital capabilities.
- Loan impairment declined by 83%.
The balance sheet remains strong and highly liquid.
- Asset quality remained stable.
- Customer deposits continued to grow with funding quality remaining high with current and savings accounts making up 92% of total customer deposits.
Strategic priorities and Sustainability
At the start of this year, we shared our refreshed strategy where we set out our four strategic priorities; continue to grow our Network business, continue to grow our Affluent business, scale up selectively in Mass Retail and advance our Sustainability agenda. We are making good progress and I will drill down a bit on Sustainability.
We have made efforts to accelerate the stewardship of our environment, widen economic participation between and within communities and address the growing imbalances brought about by globalisation. We have undertaken several initiatives focussing on three sustainability pillars; sustainable economic growth, being a responsible company and investing in our communities.
- Our carbon emissions have reduced by 25% in the first half of this year through the installation of renewable energy sources, more energy efficient equipment, harvesting rainwater and increased waste management. We are pleased to share that 90% of waste collected has been recycled and 49,091 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions saved.
- We have supported preparation and planting of over 90,000 seedlings at the Nairobi Arboretum Nursery.
- We are lifting participation by empowering over 9,000 youth, women, and people with disability through our Futuremakers programme. We have impacted over 3,964 girls through our Goal programme.
To measure the impact of our Sustainability initiatives, we published and launched our inaugural Sustainability Impact Report in June 2022. The report highlights how we are delivering our ambition to be the most sustainable and responsible Bank in the market and the progress we have made to embed our 3 Stands – Accelerating to net Zero, Lifting Participation and Resetting Globalisation. We also launched the first Sustainable Marathon Report to measure our social, economic, and environmental impact of the Nairobi Marathon; a marathon that we have sponsored for the last 18 years.
Concluding remarks
We have delivered a strong financial performance in the first half of the year. However, external conditions remain difficult to predict, as we have seen geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility that has adversely impacted the global economic environment. Inflationary pressures are being felt in the Kenyan economy and this is likely to impact both individuals and companies more severely in the second half of the year. In addition, the impact that the general election that is about to be concluded had on the economic environment should ease.
Cognisant of this, we remain firm in the belief that we have the right strategy and will continue to focus on executing to support clients through this period.
