ZB Holdings net profit up 38 percent

ZB Holdings reported a 38 percent increase in net profit from $5.9 million to $8.2 million in the six months to June driven by a jump in transaction revenue.

Chief executive Ron Mutandagayi told analysts that a jump in transaction volumes had driven revenue up 17 percent from $29.4million in 2016 to $34.5 million during the period under review.

“The performance is on the back of improved revenue, enhanced by dividend accruals on investments, increased transaction volumes and improved net insurance premium outturn,” he said.

Net interest income increased by 13 percent to $9.2 million.

Operating expenses increased by 10 percent from $21.8 million to $23.9 million driven by an increase in technology related costs as the usage of electronic platforms became more pervasive.

Zimbabwe is facing liquidity challenges which have forced the transacting public to shift to digital payment methods.

“Intermittent system outages have been reported during the period under review as a  result of increased transaction volumes. This has necessitated the commitment of further resources to strengthen the technological platforms in order to achieve system stability and improve customer experience,” said Mutandagayi.

Depreciation and amortisation charges remained flat at $2.7 million.

Total deposits reduced by 6 percent from $275.3 million as at 31 December, 2016 to $259.8 million as at 30 June, 2017.

Mutandagayi said the “deposits however remained transient and thus not suited for the creation of long dated assets”.

The group’s total assets decreased from $439.2 million to $430.7 million.

Loans and advances decreased marginally from $99 million last year to $97 million with Treasury Bill holdings declining marginally from $118 million to $117 million.

Earnings Per Share grew from 4 cents to 5 cents.  –The Source

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