The Co-operative Bank of Kenya has announced a full year net profit growth. The bank has announced a net profit growth to Sh. 23.2 billion for the full year ended December 2023.

This was a 5.2 per cent growth from the Sh. 22 billion net profit that was posted in a similar period the previous year.

This profit growth was largely fueled by increased income and reduced operating costs. In addition to this, Co-op Bank’s asset base grew 10.5 per cent to Sh. 671 billion while customer deposits grew 6.6 per cent to Sh. 451.6 billion.

“The strong performance has led to a sustained increase in shareholder value as reflected in the competitive return on equity of 21 percent,” Co-op  Bank’s chief executive officer Dr. Gideon Muriuki said.

“The Co-operative Bank Group continues to pursue strategic initiatives that focus on resilience and growth in the various economic sectors.”

Following the profit growth, the lender has announced that it will pay dividend at a rate of Sh. 1.5 per share. This will see the bank payout Sh. 8 billion in dividend.

During the period under review, net interest income was flat at Sh. 45.23 billion compared with Sh. 45.52 billion that was posted in the previous  year.

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Non-interest income grew 3 per cent to Sh. 26.46 billion taking operating income to Sh. 71.69 billion from Sh. 71.25 billion.

The bank cut its operating expenses by 6 per cent to Sh. 39.67 billion from Sh. 42.24 billion on reduced provisioning for loan losses and a drop in other operating expenses. Provision for loan defaults fell 30.8 per cent to Sh. 6 billion, while other operating expenses reduced by 16 per cent to Sh. 12.2 billion.

“The bank continues to invest in a competitive team set to serve at existing functions and at the same time tap new growth opportunities across all areas of the business,” said Dr. Muriuki.