Companies

Interest income lifts KCB net profit to Sh19.6 billion

oigara

KCB chief executive Joshua Oigara. PHOTO | FILE

KCB Group posted a 16.4 per cent jump in after-tax profit in the year ended December on the back of increased interest income from the mainstay lending business.

The bank made a net profit of Sh19.6 billion in the period compared to Sh16.8 billion the year before.

This came as total interest income expanded 18.7 per cent to Sh56.3 billion, with the loan book rising 21.9 per cent to Sh345.9 billion.

The company has declared a dividend of Sh2 per share, the same as for the previous period.

The new dividend, expected to be paid on July 22, will however come in two forms. There will be a cash dividend and a separate one in the form of new KCB shares whose exact aggregate number is expected to be disclosed later.

Payment of part of the dividend through issuance of new shares, in a process technically known as scrip dividend, is seen as the bank’s move to preserve cash to fund its expansion plans.