AfricaPress-Tanzania: CRDB Bank has reported 31 per cent after-tax profit year-on-year to September, signalling a return on vibrancy in the market. The banking sector growth was partially impacted by disruption occasioned by Covid-19, and the bank’s profit rise shows rebound in the market.
The CRBD Group CEO and Managing Director, Abdulmajid Nsekela attributed the sustained positive growth to proactive strategies that have steered the lender in the wake of an unprecedented pandemic that has adversely impacted various sectors of the economy.
“We have not relented in our quest to pursue economic transformation because we know that despite the challenges in the market, our resilience is what will make the difference,” Mr Nsekela said.
During the quarter, the Group after-tax profit jumped 31 per cent to 120bn/- compared to 92bn/- reported in the same quarter last year.
The jump, according to the bank’s statement, was mainly driven by the increased interest income as a result of growth in the loan portfolio, non-funded income—such as debt and equity—and cost containment.
The interest income for the quarter was 513bn/- compared to 478bn/- reported in the third quarter in 2019. The Group’s total loan portfolio grew by 15 per cent to 3.7tri/- from 3.3tri/- reported in the same period last year.
Mr Nsekela reckoned that the Group’s decision to support its customers during the pandemic implied the adoption of innovative solutions for customer, which has returned good tidings.
“We have elevated our interactions with customers and accelerated our digital offering, supported by a robust system infrastructure, which has ensured service availability and seamless integrations,” he explained.
The CEO said lender’s key performance indicators remained steady with positive growth of the balance sheet, generally characterised by improved incomes.
Total income grew by 11 per cent quarter-on-quarter from 202bn/- to 225bn/-, attributed to a gradual recovery in revenue generation following the Covid-19 outbreak.
“We managed to achieve a delicate balance between sustaining our business, scaling capacity, and helping customers – particularly SMEs – stay afloat as they try to manage their cash flow in the face of supply chain challenges and, decreased customer demand,” Nsekela explains.
CRDB’s Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Frederick Nshekanabo, attributes the improved cost-to-income ratio (CIR) to a raft of cost management initiatives, which have been adopted in line with the strategic direction towards sustainability.
“We have a particular focus on cost efficiency and employee productivity, which we reckon have a net impact on our long-term growth,” Mr Nshekanabo said.
The Group also maintained a healthy loan book with an improved Non-performing Loans (NPLs) ratio brought it down to 4.7 per cent from 7.5 per cent reported in the same period in last year.
Cumulative Return on Equity (ROE) improved by 1.9 per cent to 17.3 per cent from 15.4 per cent reported in 2019. Return on Assets (ROA) improved marginally to 3.4 per cent from 2.9 per cent reported in the previous year.
“We are proactively working to improve productivity across the network and creating cost efficiencies within our operations,” Mr Nshekanabo added.
The impressive performance comes against the backdrop of an improved business environment, following the easing of travel restrictions in many parts of the world, which the lender believes will accelerate recovery especially for the most affected sectors of the economy.
CRDB, listed on Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE), share went up by 3.13 per cent to 165/-. The results may push further the share price up.
