NBM profit up 56.6% to k72bn

 National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc has posted a K71.96 billion profit after tax for the year ended December 31 2023, pushed by 20 percent growth in customer deposits.

The profit has increased by 56.6 percent from the previous year’s K45.9 billion, according to a financial statement jointly signed by the bank’s board chairperson Jimmy Lipunga, outgoing chief executive officer Macfussy Kawawa, director Dorothy Ngwira and chief finance officer Masauko Katsala.

“These results were largely driven by growth in customer deposits which resulted in increases in the loan book and fixed income securities,” reads the financial statement in part.

In the year under review, the bank’s net interest and investment income grew by 33 percent coupled with an 86 percent increase in other income, mainly arising from growth in foreign exchange commissions by 99 percent from K12.8 billion to K25.5 billion, the results show.

Overall, net revenue grew by 50 percent while operating expenses increased by 25 percent which was within the 28 percent average inflation for the year, according to the statement.

But the bank’s net impairment losses continued to increase, reflecting the realities of the tough operating environment.

Meanwhile, the bank has forecast a continuing

 challenging operating environment, but said it expects to sustain its performance by exploiting opportunities in the market.

NBM plc board of directors have since recommended a final dividend of K23 billion, a rise from K15 billion paid during the previous year.

While Malawi faces economic challenges, the banking sector continued to post healthy profits in 2023.

Published World Bank data shows that during the year under review, the banking sector’s profit after tax increased by 50.2 percent to K 256.7 billion, compared with K170.8 billion recorded in December 2022.

The high profitability was a result of a 55.1 percent increase in interest income while non-interest income grew by 52.3 percent, reflecting high margins on foreign exchange transactions in an environment of acute foreign exchange scarcity.

During the review period, commercial banks’ return on assets increased by 24.4 percent, from 4.1 percent in December 2022 to 5.1 percent in December 2023.

Similarly, return on equity (ROE) increased by 18.6 percent from 33.3 percent to 39.5 percent.

Last week, Standard Bank plc also announced a 34 percent profit jump from K39.2 billion registered in 2022 to K52.5 billion in the year ending December 31 2023