DIAMOND TRUST BANK PROFIT HITS $62.2 MILLION ON GROWTH FROM REGIONAL OUTLETS

Diamond Trust Bank CEO Nasim Devji.

Diamond Trust Bank has announced a 9.6 per cent increase in after tax profit boosted by strong performance of its regional operations.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed bank earned Ksh5.7 billion ($62.2 million) net profit last year compared to Ksh5.2 billion ($56.7 million) reported in 2013.

“The group results have benefited from the continuing growth of share of results from DTB’s subsidiaries in Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi,” said DTB’s chief executive Nasim Devji Thursday in a statement.

Subsidiary operations contributed Ksh1.6 billion ($17.5 million) to the bank’s bottom line up from Ksh1.2 billion ($13.1 million) in 2013, rising to the equivalent of more than a quarter (27.2 per cent) of the group’s earnings compared to 22.4 per cent in 2013.

DTB’s loan book expanded by Ksh27 billion ($294.6 million) to Ksh137 billion ($1.49 billion) while its deposit base increased by Ksh32 billion ($349 million) to Ksh160 billion ($1.74 billion). The fast-paced growth in deposits saw interest payments jump 30 per cent to Ksh7.5 billion ($81.8 million).

Expansion

It collected Ksh17.2 billion ($187.6 million) as interest from borrowers. Despite the fast growth in deposits, the lender recorded a 15 per cent growth in net interest income supported by earning from a Ksh3.2 billion ($34.9 million) lending to the government.

“We expect net interest income to grow going forward due to accelerated regional expansion initiatives supported by a larger capital base creating greater potential for loan book growth,” said research analysts at Dyer and Blair Investment Bank.

DTB floated a Ksh3.6 billion ($39.3 million) rights issue last year to fund its regional expansion. The lender, majority-owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AkFED), said it was targeting new operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Rwanda.

READ: DTB charts new expansion path for Kenya banks

In Kenya the bank operates 51 branches, Uganda (33), Tanzania (22) and four in Burundi.

The East African