The Co-operative Bank of Kenya shareholders are smiling all the way to the bank after the tier one lender recommended a Sh8.8billion dividends payout following profit margin growth to a tune of Sh23.2billion.
The bank recommended a Sh1.5 per share payout for the full year ending December 2023, pending regulatory and stockholder approvals.
This means that the lender will fork out a total of Sh8.8 billion on dividends alone in the review period.
It follows a 5.5 per cent increment in profit after tax in the twelve months to December 2023, to Sh23.4 billion, compared to a similar period in 2022.
“The strong performance by the Bank is in line with the Group’s strategic focus on sustainable growth, resilience, and agility.” Co-operative Bank Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Gideon Muriuki said.
In the period, its operating income grew by 0.6 per cent to Sh71.7billion, up from Sh17.3billion.
While income from the non-interest segment expanded by 2.8 per cent to Sh26.5billion, revenue from interest dropped marginally to Sh45.2billion in 2023, down from Sh45.5billion.
“Kingdom Bank Limited (A niche MSME Bank) contributed a Profit Before Tax of Kshs. 1.08 Billion in FY2023, a remarkable growth of 36.4% from Kshs. 792.6 Million reported in FY2022.” The bank stated.
“Co-operative Bank of South Sudan that is a unique joint venture (JV) partnership with government of South Sudan (Co-op Bank 51 per cent and GOSS 49 per cent) made a Profit Before Tax of Sh291.3 Million in FY2023 compared to Kshs. 132.7 million in 2022, a 119.5 per cent growth.” The bank said.
Total operating expenses decreased by 6.1 per cent, from Sh42.2billion to Sh39.7billion.
