Lead image for Stanbic Cuts Interim Dividend 57% on Flat Half-Year Profit.
Stanbic Holdings PLC’s has cut its interim dividend by 56.8% to KSh 1.64 per share from KSh 3.80, after profit after tax edged up just 1.0% to KSh 6.61Billion in the half year ended June 2026, as a 50.2% decline in credit impairment charges offset sluggish revenue growth and rising operating costs.
- Profit before tax increased 8.2% to KSh 9.31 Bn after impairment charges fell to KSh 0.72 Bn from KSh 1.46 Bn.
- The improvement in credit costs was the main driver of earnings growth, with total income rising by a slower 2.5% to KSh 19.93 Bn.
- The Group's total assets expanded 27.1% to a record KSh 602.18 Bn, while deposits and debt funding rose 33.4% to KSh 467.47 Bn.
Net interest income grew 4.1% to KSh 12.31 Bn, while non-interest revenue was nearly unchanged at KSh 7.61 Bn. Operating expenses increased 5.3% to KSh 9.89 Bn, more than twice the rate of income growth, pushing the calculated cost-to-income ratio to 49.62% from 48.26%.
A 31.2% increase in income tax expense to KSh 2.71 Bn further limited the improvement in net earnings. Earnings per share consequently rose marginally to KSh 16.71 from KSh 16.56.
Loans and advances to banks and customers increased 16.7% to KSh 360.16 Bn, narrowly below the KSh 361.40 Bn recorded in June 2024. Financial investments surged 63.2% to KSh 176.87 Bn, with the KSh 68.48 Bn increase in investments exceeding the KSh 51.43 Bn rise in loans.
The faster growth in funding reduced the Group’s loans-to-deposits and debt-funding ratio to 77.04% from 88.10%. Shareholders’ funds rose 6.7% to KSh 79.21 Bn, considerably slower than asset growth.
Stanbic Bank Kenya remained the principal earnings contributor, generating profit after tax of 6.48 Bn, up 1.3%, and accounting for about 98% of consolidated profit. The banking subsidiary’s profit before tax rose 8.2% to 9.09 Bn after loan-loss provisions declined 45.6% to KSh 0.88 Bn.
The Bank’s net loans and advances grew 24.7% to 290.63 Bn, while customer deposits increased 23.0% to KSh 426.66 Bn. Gross non-performing loans declined 5.1% to KSh 22.73 Bn, while net NPL exposure fell 26.4% to KSh 3.04 Bn.