Listed banks post good half-year results

Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE)-listed stocks in banking sector have posted good results for the half-year ended June 30, despite a subdued economic environment occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic, published results show.

Published financial statements from some of the banks, namely National Bank of Malawi plc, NBS Bank plc and FDH Bank plc, show that they posted higher profits than the corresponding period last year while Standard Bank plc has reported reduced profits.

Bridgepath Capital Limited chief executive officer Emmanuel Chokani said that all banks have done relatively well.

“Save for one bank [Standard Bank] which had a one-off credit impairment reversal last year which impacted its results amounting to K7 billion, stripping that out, then all banks have performed well.”

On his part, Alliance Capital Limited research manager Bond Mtembezeka said that the first half of the year has not been all that bad as anticipated except for the sharp depreciation of the kwacha which was unusual.

“Inflation has been fairly low and economic activity has somewhat picked up despite battling two waves of Covid-19. I think economic agents have found ways to live and operate with the pandemic,” he said..

In the review period, FDH Bank plc reported a profit after-tax of K4.55 billion in 2020, up from K3.223 billion.

Similarly, profitability of NBM Bank plc grew by 41 percent after tax from K9.1 billion to K12.8 billion while NBS Bank plc profit grew by 55 percent to K4.4 billion, a feat the bank has attributed to its five-year strategic plan implementation.