NAIROBI: Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd., the East African nation’s biggest lender by market value, said first-half profit increased 13 percent as earnings from loans grew.
Net income climbed to 9.24 billion shillings ($91 million) in the six months through June from 8.17 billion shillings a year earlier, Chief Financial Officer Lawrence Kimathi told reporters Thursday in the capital, Nairobi. Net interest income, the money lenders earn from issuing loans, climbed 13 percent to 19.4 billion shillings, he said.
KCB is Kenya’s largest bank by outlets. It has the biggest presence in neighboring countries including South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Kenya’s share of profit before tax increased to 93 percent in the period from 90 percent a year earlier.
KCB’s shares dropped 3.7 percent to 51.50 shillings by the close of trading on Wednesday, increasing its loss this year to 12 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
