Stanbic Bank shareholders will earn Sh1.15 shilling per  share in interim dividends after the listed lender posted a net profit of Sh7.1 billion for the six months to June 2023.

This is a 47 percent rise from the Sh4.8 billion that the lender reported over the same period last year.

Stanbic has maintained its streak of dividend payment after shareholders took home Sh4.98 billion in the year ended March 2023.

The profit growth growth was majorly driven by an expansion in the loan book that rose by 12 percent to Sh244 billion while customer deposits increased by 10 percent to Sh259 billion

The directors declared an interim dividend of Sh1.15 for each ordinary share of Sh5 on the issued and paid-up share capital.

Despite the banking industry reporting increased defaults occasioned by tough economic times, Stanbic's non-performing loans dropped by 1.13 percent to 9.23 percent.

The bank's gross NPLs declined from Sh24 billion to Sh23.7 billion during the six month period..

Chief financial and value officer Dennis Musau, said  the firms’ strategy and key growth drivers helped the Group navigate the challenging operating environment.

 “Our business model, liquidity and capital position remain sufficient to support future growth," he said.

This he said was supported by high operational efficiency and market focus saw Stanbic’s banking business in South Sudan remain profitable as it continued to facilitate payments and intermediate foreign currency flows.

The bank reported a 38 percent increase in total revenue to hit Sh21 billion while return on equity rose by 4.7 percent.

A weaker shilling remained a thorn in the sector’s performance with the local currency weakening by about 19 percent year on year against the dollar.

This was driven by increased demand for dollar by importers and government demand to service debt obligations.

The recent rise in base lending rate has however sent shivers in the sector over a projected rise in loan defaults.

This has prompted Stanbic bank to set aside Sh2 billion from its profits as loan loss provision to cover for bad debts, up from Sh998 million in anticipation of surge in defaults.

Stanbic Kenya and South Sudan Chief Executive Joshua Oigara said through a diversified portfolio of corporate and investment banking, business, commercial and retail banking financial solutions, the Group has continued to focus on its key sectors including trade, consumer, power infrastructure and SMEs in Kenya and South Sudan.

The Bank says that going forward it will set its focus on further cutting its NPLs scaling up the risk based lending.

Currently, Stanbic Bank says 68 percent and 38 percent of its retail and enterprise books, respectively, are now on risk based pricing.