Equity Group has increased dividend payout by 33 percent to Sh4 per share for the year ended December, joining other listed lenders in rising payments.
The payout, amounting to Sh15.1 billion, is a rise from the Sh3 per share or a total of Sh11.3 billion paid the previous year and came on the back of a 14.6 percent growth in net profit to Sh44.8 billion.
The dividend amounts to a payout of 33.6 percent of net profit, rising from 28.8 percent previously. The payout is in line with its policy of distributing between 30 percent and 50 percent of its net earnings to shareholders.
The dividend will be paid on or before June 30 to the members in the share register on the closure date of May 19.
Equity’s growth in profits from the previous year’s Sh39.1 billion came on the back of a rise in interest and non-interest income, with the lender’s loan book expanding from Sh587.78 billion to Sh706.59 billion.
The latest earnings mean Equity has for the third year running retained its spot as the most profitable lender on the market with KCB's net profit at Sh40.8 billion.
“Equity is not about numbers. It is a human story, built to solve problems in society. But this human story manifests itself in numbers. It is a story of consistency,” said James Mwangi, the CEO.
The Kenyan unit contributed Sh33.4 billion or 73 percent of the group profits while subsidiaries continued to grow.