eBusiness Weekly
Tawanda Musarurwa
HARARE – NMB Holdings recorded a profit before tax of $11, 7 million for the half-year ended June 30, 2018, resulting in total comprehensive income of $9 million.
This was an increase of 155 percent compared to the same period last year, when comprehensive income stood at $3, 5 million.
Chief executive Ben Washaya told analysts on Tuesday afternoon that the operating environment had continued to be challenging due to nostro funding challenges, cash shortages and inflationary pressures.
The bank’s focus had been on increasing its customer base and transactional volumes. And there had been a high level of transactional activities in the period under review.
The non-performing loans ratio had come down from 10,7 percent at the end of June last year to 6,12 percent at June 30 this year.
Management is looking to have reduced it to 5 percent by the end of this year.
Total deposits during the period under review amounted to $364, 5 million compared to $273, 4 million at June 30, 2017, and $348, 9 million at December 31, 2017.
NMBZ chief finance officer Benson Ndachena said the operating income of $29, 9 million in the first six months of the year was up 55 percent from the figure at the end of June 2017, which had been $19, 3 million.
Operating expenses had increased by 23 percent due to expansion and related information communication technology (ICT) costs and some one-off costs.
He said there had been a year on year growth of 17 percent in loans and advances, while investment securities were up by 306 percent.
The group achieved earnings of 2,34 cents per share compared to 0,93 cents in the same period last year.
Mr Washaya said $10 million of the $15 million line of credit sourced by the bank last year from two European Developmental Financial Institutions and available to exporters had been accessed. The draw down was lower than expected due to the need to match the facility with exporters, he said.
The bank’s capital adequacy ratio at 22,21 percent was down from its December 31, 2017 level of 24,26 percent but remained well above the regulatory minimum requirement of 12 percent.
