Ecobank  almost doubles profit

Ecobank Zimbabwe reported a 91 percent  increase in after-tax profit to $9.9 million in the full year to December on the back of increased net interest income and operational efficiency.

“Net interest income grew by 10 percent on the back of improved quality of earning assets and reduced costs of funds which alleviated the impact of falling lending margins due to regulatory and market forces,” chief executive Moses Kurenjekwa said.

Ecobank’s net fees and commissions increased by 23 percent to $11.9 million, chiefly on the back of higher customer transaction volumes on electronic channels.

As a result, net operating revenue increased by 26.6 percent from $23.7 million recorded in the previous year to $30 million.

Cost to income ratio improved from 58 percent to 48 percent on the back of improved operational efficiency.

Total assets increased by 69 percent to $395 million.

“This growth is on the back of cautious approach in the granting of credit and slow uptake of the lines of credit as the productive sector struggled to keep afloat amid the deepening liquidity crunch,” said chairman David Whatman.

The bank recovered  $2.1 million of previously written off loans in the period as a result of aggressive recovery efforts.

Loan and advances fell 20 percent from $165.8 million in the previous year to $132.8 million while total deposits increased by 99 percent to $329.461 million in the period.

The contribution of current and savings deposits to total deposits improved from 61 percent to 86 percent.

Non-performing loans declined from 8 percent in the previous year to 0.5 percent.

The bank’s core capital increased by 20 percent to $55 million, thereby improving its capital adequacy ratio to 28 percent from 24 percent previously.

Ecobank increased its treasury bills (TBs) holdings  by 219  percent from $19.1 million in the previous year to $61.1 million.- The Source

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