Co-op Bank’s net profit: Co-operative Bank’s profit for the nine months ended September has increased by per cent to Sh. 10.31 billion. This was an increase of 8 per cent from the Sh. 9.54 billion that the lender recorded in the same period last year.
“Against the backdrop of a challenging economic environment in the period, profit after tax was Sh. 10.31 billion compared to Sh. 9.54 billion in the previous year,” the bank said in a statement.
The profit growth was largely boosted by an improved performance in the third quarter from its South Sudan subsidiary. “Co-operative Bank of South Sudan made a profit before tax of Sh. 235.12 million in the third quarter of 2018 compared with a profit of Sh. 39.15 million in the corresponding period in 2017.”
Non-funded income rose by four per cent to Sh. 10.58 billion, while the lender’s total interest expenses rose by one per cent to Sh. 9.15 billion.
The growth was also boosted by higher interest income from government securities and lower loan loss provisions.
The lender’s loan loss provision fell by half to Sh. 1.27 billion, easing the pressure on operating expenses even as employee costs rose by Sh. 885 million or 12.3 per cent to Sh. 8.1 billion.
The bank’s interest income from government securities went up by 13.5 per cent from Sh. 6.12 billion to Sh. 6.95 billion in the period, outperforming the growth in interest income from loans and advances to customers, which rose by just one per cent to Sh. 23.77 billion from Sh. 23.58 billion last year.