Azania profit rises by 7.7 per cent

DAR ES SALAAM: AZANIA Bank’s net profit increased in the fourth quarter, contributed largely by the rise in net interest income.

The bank’s financial statement shows that net profit increased by 7.7 per cent to 8.79bn/ in the three months to December last year from 8.16bn/- in the previous quarter.

The lender, with more than 2.16tri/- of assets until the end of last month, registered positive results due to the robust growth in interest income.

Additionally, the net interest income, the report showed, has increased by 32.2 per cent to 33.7bn/- in Q4 from 25.4bn/- in a comparative quarter last year.

The statement showed the increase in the net interest income was attributed to the increase in the number of loans given by the lender to the tune of 1.63tri/- at the end of December last year compared to 1.48tri/- registered in Q3 at the end of September.

On top of that, non-interest income climbed up by nearly threefold to 11.1bn/- from 4.70bn/- in a similar period last year, equivalent to 136 per cent, thanks to commissions and fees.

The lender’s commissions and fees soared to nearly three times to 8.07bn/- in Q4 from 2.90bn/- in a comparative quarter in 2022.

Non-performing loans (NPLs) have dropped by 1.0 per cent to 110.1bn/- from 111.1bn/- recorded in the previous quarter ended in September.

The bank’s NPLs ratio currently stands at 6.57 per cent, above the regulator’s threshold of 5.0 per cent, though it has slightly decreased compared to 7.30 per cent recorded in a previous quarter.

Azania Bank’s other operating expenses have increased by 64.5 per cent to 12.48bn/- from 7.54bn/- of a similar quarter in the previous year, pushed by fees and commission and an increased number of employees.

According to the statement, fees and commissions increased to 329m/- in the fourth quarter from 175m/- registered in the previous year.

Furthermore, the lender’s number of employees has also increased to 632 at the end of last month from 571 in a similar period of the previous year.

Additionally, Azania Bank had 25 branches until the end of last month.