Standard Chartered Bank Kenya demonstrated remarkable resilience in the third quarter of 2023, successfully navigating a challenging economic environment.
The bank reported a noteworthy 11.3% year-on-year increase in pre-tax profit, translating to an 11.8% rise in Profit After Tax (PAT) to KES 9.7 billion, compared to the KES 8.7 billion recorded in the corresponding period last year.
Kariuki Ngari, the Chief Executive Officer of StanChart, expressed satisfaction with the performance, stating, “We have delivered a solid set of results for the nine months ended 30 September 2023, with Profit before Tax (PBT) increasing by 11% year on year. Strong top-line growth of 20% helped offset the increase in operating costs of 20%, attributed to inflationary pressure and investment spend on our digital capabilities.”
Net Interest Income (NII) experienced a substantial surge of 34.5%, reaching KES 21.2 billion in Q3’2023. However, Non-Funded Income (NFI) witnessed a slight decrease of 6.6% to KES 8.2 billion.
The bank’s total operating expenses increased by 28.4% to KES 15.8 billion, primarily due to a significant 193.4% rise in loan loss provisions, totaling KES 1.8 billion.
Staff costs also rose by 19.8% to KES 6.2 billion, reflecting broader operational challenges faced by businesses in the current economic landscape. The bank’s balance sheet expanded by 1.0%, reaching KES 369.7 billion, driven by a 5.5% increase in net loans, totaling KES 143.6 billion.
Notably, the bank’s investments in government securities decreased by 50.3% to KES 55.6 billion in Q3’2023. Customer deposits increased by 4.5% to KES 298.8 billion, signaling growing confidence among customers despite prevailing economic challenges.
Foreign exchange income demonstrated impressive growth, surging by 49.8% to KES 6.3 billion from KES 4.2 billion in Q3’2022. The bank also declared an interim dividend of KES 6.0 per share, further highlighting its commitment to delivering value to shareholders.
